To transcribe a Zoom recording, use the audio-only M4A file that Zoom saves next to the video. With a computer recording it lands in the Zoom folder in your Documents once Zoom has converted it. With a cloud recording you download it from the Zoom web portal, and on paid plans Zoom can also create its own audio transcript as a VTT file. To turn the audio into a transcript or meeting minutes on Android, move the M4A file to your phone or cloud drive and import it into a transcription app. And before any of this: everyone in the meeting should know it is being recorded.
Everything we say about Zoom below comes from Zoom's own help pages, checked on September 25, 2026. Zoom changes its menus from time to time, so the labels in your app may differ.
What Zoom gives you
| Computer recording | Cloud recording | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it is started | Zoom desktop app (Windows, macOS, Linux) | Desktop, mobile or web app |
| Account type named by Zoom | Basic (Free) or above | Licensed user on Pro, Business or Enterprise |
| Where the files go | Your computer, Documents/Zoom by default | Zoom web portal, Recordings & Transcripts |
| Audio-only file | Yes, M4A next to the MP4 | Optional setting: one audio file for all participants, one per participant, or both |
| Zoom's own transcript | Not described for computer recordings | Audio transcript as a VTT file, if enabled (Pro, Business, Education, Enterprise) |
Computer recordings: find the M4A file
According to Zoom's help page "Starting a computer recording", the host records the meeting or gives a participant permission to record. The host clicks Record in the meeting controls and, if a menu appears, Record on this Computer.
After the meeting ends, Zoom converts the recording. When the conversion is done, the folder with the recording files opens. Zoom's default folders:
| System | Default folder |
|---|---|
| Windows | C:\Users\[Username]\Documents\Zoom |
| Mac | /Users/[Username]/Documents/Zoom |
| Linux | home/[Username]/Documents/Zoom |
Inside you find, among others, video[random number].mp4 (audio and video) and audio[random number].m4a (audio only), as Zoom's page "Understanding recording file formats" describes. If separate audio tracks per participant were recorded, each has its own M4A file with the participant's name.
Computer recording is not available in the Zoom mobile app for Android or iPhone, according to Zoom's help pages.
Cloud recordings: download the audio
Cloud recording needs a licensed user on a Pro, Business or Enterprise account. On Android, a host or co-host taps More, then Record, then Start recording in the Zoom app.
- Audio-only file: in the cloud recording settings, Zoom can "record the audio of the video separately": one audio file for all participants, a separate audio file for each participant, or both.
- Finding it: sign in to the Zoom web portal, open Recordings & Transcripts and the Cloud recordings tab.
- Downloading it: open the recording and click Download, then confirm. Zoom's page describes the download for the recording as a whole; which files you get depends on your recording settings.
- Zoom's audio transcript: with Create audio transcript turned on, Zoom transcribes cloud recordings automatically and saves the transcript as a VTT file you can open in a text editor. Zoom lists 19 languages, among them English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Arabic and Japanese.
If Zoom's transcript already covers your language and you only need the raw text, that may be all you need. If you need minutes, a summary or action items, or the recording is a computer recording, continue below.
Turn the Zoom audio into a transcript or minutes with Retexta
Retexta is a cloud voice to text and AI writing app for Android. It imports audio files through Android's file picker. It has no share target, so you save the file first and then import it.
- Get the M4A file onto your phone. For example, upload it from your computer to your cloud drive, or copy it to the phone with a cable. Make sure you can see it in your phone's Files app.
- Open Retexta and tap New task.
- Choose what you want back:
- Summarize a meeting: meeting minutes with a summary, decisions, action items and open questions.
- Transcript only (under More templates): the plain transcript, no AI rewrite.
- Under Add your input, tap Import audio. Android's file picker opens and shows audio files. Pick the
.m4afile; the.mp4video is not an audio file and will not be offered. - Retexta uploads the audio and transcribes it on its servers. With Summarize a meeting it then writes the meeting protocol in the language of the meeting.
- Check names, dates and owners before you send anything. Retexta marks results with "AI-generated. Check important details."
Import audio and Summarize a meeting are part of Retexta Pro. Retexta is free to try: new users get a few free Pro results to view in the app. Copying, sharing, exporting and screenshots need Retexta Pro or credits, and so does everything after the free results.
What to check in AI minutes, and what the draft contains, is explained in AI meeting minutes from a recording.
Consent: Zoom tells people, you still ask
Zoom's help pages say that Zoom "will always notify meeting participants that a meeting is being recorded". When the host starts recording, or someone joins a meeting that is already being recorded, participants are asked for consent and can click OK or leave the meeting. Dial-in participants hear an audio message.
That notice is Zoom's feature, not a legal assessment. Recording laws differ by country and, in the US, by state, and some require the consent of everyone in the conversation. Transcribing the file in a cloud app also sends other people's voices to another service. So say at the start that you record, what for, and that you will use a transcription app, and follow your organization's rules. This is information, not legal advice; our guide on how to write meeting minutes has more on consent.
No recording at all
If someone objects, stop the recording and speak your own summary into Retexta right after the call: decisions, owners, dates. That gives you minutes without recording anyone else.
Tips for Zoom recordings that transcribe well
- Headsets beat laptop microphones. Ask speakers who sound far away to use one.
- One person speaks at a time. Crosstalk is where transcripts get weakest.
- Say names and dates clearly, especially when assigning tasks: "Tom, payment tests, by October 7."
- Rename the M4A file after the meeting, so you find it again in the file picker.
Keep reading
For the format of the minutes themselves, see how to write meeting minutes and the meeting minutes template. Recordings from your phone's own recorder app are covered in how to transcribe a voice memo on Android, and file formats such as M4A in how to convert MP3, M4A or WAV to text. More about the app: Retexta, voice to text for Android.
Sources
Checked by FLAME Apps on September 25, 2026. Extracts are kept in our research notes.
- Zoom Support, Starting a computer recording: requirements, who can record, steps, conversion, indicator and dial-in message.
- Zoom Support, Finding your computer and cloud recordings: default folders, no computer recording in the mobile app, web portal path.
- Zoom Support, Understanding recording file formats: MP4, M4A, VTT and other files.
- Zoom Support, Starting a cloud recording: account types, steps in the mobile app.
- Zoom Support, Changing basic and advanced cloud recording settings: separate audio files, audio transcript setting.
- Zoom Support, Managing and sharing cloud recordings: download steps.
- Zoom Support, Using audio transcription for cloud recordings: account types, VTT format, 19 languages.
- Zoom Support, Modifying recording notification prompts and Providing consent to be recorded.
- Digital Media Law Project, Recording Phone Calls and Conversations: one-party and all-party consent in the US.
- Retexta: goal names, the audio-only file picker, input options and plans as shown in the app (release 2026.1.23) and on its Google Play listing.
