Some problems are much easier to show than to describe, a sync that stalls, a button that doesn't respond, a screen that flickers. Every current operating system can record your screen without extra software. Here's how.
iOS and iPadOS
- Add the control once: go to Settings › Control Center, scroll to More Controls, and tap + next to Screen Recording.
- Open Control Center, swipe down from the top-right corner (or up from the bottom edge on devices with a Home button).
- Tap the Record button and wait for the three-second countdown.
- To stop, tap the red indicator at the top of the screen and confirm Stop.
The video is saved to Photos. To record your voice as well, press and hold the Record button before starting and turn the Microphone on.
Android
- Swipe down twice from the top of the screen to open the full Quick Settings panel.
- Tap Screen record. You may need to swipe across to find it, if it isn't there, tap the pencil or Edit icon and drag the tile into your Quick Settings.
- Choose whether to record audio and whether to show taps on screen, then tap Start. Recording begins after a short countdown.
- To stop, swipe down and tap the Screen recorder notification.
The video is saved to your gallery. Tile names vary by manufacturer, Samsung calls it Screen recorder, and puts the audio and quality options behind the same tile.
Android gained a built-in screen recorder in Android 11. On Android 9 or 10, the tile exists only if your manufacturer added one of their own, Samsung and LG did, so on other devices you'll need a screen-recording app from the Play Store.
Windows 11
Using Snipping Tool:
- Press Win + Shift + R, or open Snipping Tool from the Start menu and switch to the Record mode in the toolbar.
- Click New, then drag to select the part of the screen you want to record.
- Click Start. A three-second countdown runs, then recording begins.
- Click Stop when you're done, then save the clip.
Recordings are MP4 files and are saved to your Videos folder.
Using Xbox Game Bar: press Win + Alt + R to start and stop a recording of the active window straight away, or Win + G to open the Game Bar first. If nothing happens, enable it under Settings › Gaming › Xbox Game Bar. Clips are saved to Videos › Captures.
On Windows 10, Snipping Tool cannot record video, use Xbox Game Bar instead. Windows 8.1 has neither, so you'll need a third-party screen recorder there.
Mac
- Press Shift + Command + 5 to open the Screenshot toolbar.
- Choose Record Entire Screen or Record Selected Portion.
- Click Options to pick a save location, add a countdown timer, choose a microphone, or show mouse clicks.
- Click Record to begin.
- To stop, click the stop button in the menu bar, or press Command + Control + Esc.
Recordings are saved to your Desktop by default. Opening QuickTime Player and choosing File › New Screen Recording brings up this same toolbar.
Linux
On GNOME, the default desktop on Ubuntu, Fedora and many other distributions, screen recording is built in:
- Press Ctrl + Alt + Shift + R to start recording. A red dot appears in the top bar while it runs.
- Press Ctrl + Alt + Shift + R again to stop.
Recordings are saved to your Videos folder, named Screencast followed by the date and time. You can also press Print Screen to open the capture overlay and switch it from the camera icon to the camcorder icon, which lets you record a selected area or a single window.
On KDE Plasma, use Spectacle and switch to its recording mode; other desktops generally ship a comparable tool.
