Recording screen on your mobile device or a computer can be very useful, especially if you want to share a how-to guide, tutorial with someone.It can be used for both professional and personal purposes. Unlike taking screenshots, recording screen can be a bit demanding. Depending on the device you use, we will show you how to record screen on Android, iPhone, Windows and Mac.
How to record screen on Android devices
In the older versions of Android OS there was no option to record screen so you had to download a screen recording app. If you don’t mind installing new mobile apps, there are tons of apps that record screen for free. Also, if your phone runs on older versions of Android OS, you won’t have any other choice. For the lucky ones who have Android 9 or later, the good news is that you can record screen on your phone without an app. Before we show you how to do that, let’s take a look at the most promising screen recording apps:
AZ Screen Recorder– The top-rated app, works on Android 5 or later
Twitch-only for games and esports
Mobizen Screen Recorder– Supports Android 4.4 and newer versions, no rooting, full HD
No Root Record Screen to Video– works on older versions of Android too such as Android 4 and older
Recording screen on Android 9 or 10
Even though the option to record screen on the latest versions of Android is available, it is turned off by default. Here’s how to turn it on:
- Tap on the Settings icon and then on About Phone.
- Find the Build Number and tap on it 7 times until the message comes up “You are now a developer”.
- In the System Settings, tap on Developer Options (from the Advanced tab).
- Scroll through the Developer Options and tap on Feature Flags.
- Turn on the option called settings_screenrecord_long_press.
- Hold the power button until you see the menu that contains the option to start recording.
You can record screen with internal sound by using both mobile apps or this developer feature in the latest Android versions. But mobile apps give you a wider range of possibilities and features.
Recording screen on your iPhone or iPad
- Tap on the Settings icon and in the Control Center tap on Customize Controls.
- Start recording the screen by tapping on the + button and swiping up from the bottom edge of the screen.*
- Press and hold the red circle for a while.
- When the option appears, tap on Start recording.
*In later versions starting from iOS 12, you need to swipe from up to down.
This guide above is only for recording the screen and not the sound. To record an external voice and in-app sounds, turn on the microphone when you start recording. To record only the sounds in the apps and not external ones, turn off the microphone and make sure your ringer is turned on.
How to record screen on Windows with or without installing apps
You can record screen with PowerPoint, Game Bar and third-party tools. There are various online tools and screen recording applications you can use on your Windows computer. Here are some of them:
Sharex– open source tool with no ads
Ezvid– very easy to use
Jing– free tool for taking screenshots and recording screen
If you use Windows 10 you can also record the screen with the Game Bar.
- Start Game Bar by pressing the Windows + G keys on the keyboard.
- You may see the checkbox asking you to confirm that that is a game. Just tick the box to continue.
- If you want to record the sound, turn the microphone on.
- When you are ready, click on the Record button. To stop the recording click on the blue button.
With Game Bar you can screen record the games obviously but also many other programs. However, it cannot record the desktop of Windows.
Another way to record screen on Windows is by using PowerPoint.
You can also record screen with YouTube live streaming, so if you have a YouTube account, go to Live Events> Other Features> Enable live streaming>New live event.
How to record screen on Mac
Believe it or not, it is easier to record screen on Mac than on Windows. It is just more accessible.
Mojave users just need to use this shortcut for recording screen on Mac: Shift+Command+5. Then you choose from the options- Record Entire Screen or Record Selected Portion. When the recording starts you will see the stop button at the bottom of your screen.
Mac users who have OS version that is older than Mojave can use the default app QuickTime Player to record screen. To find the app in your computer, use Command + Space to open the search bar where you will type QuickTime Player. By selecting New Screen Recording a recording bar will show up with the option to start recording or even set up the microphone before recording.
