If you have ever had a special voicemail follow you from phone to phone, you probably know the slightly nervous feeling of wondering what happens if it disappears. Maybe it is from a family member, an old friend, or just a moment you do not want trapped only on your iPhone.
In this walkthrough, I used iExplorer on a Mac to pull a voicemail from an iPhone backup and save it to the desktop. From there, I converted it into a regular audio file that can be played, archived, or converted again if needed.
Quick Answer
The easiest method I showed was to install iExplorer, plug the iPhone into the Mac, let iExplorer create or read a local backup, open the Voicemail section, select the message, and export it to the desktop.
After exporting the voicemail, you can open it in QuickTime Player and use File > Export > Audio Only to save it as an M4A file. If you need MP3 or WAV instead, you can open that M4A in an audio editor like Audacity and export it in another format.
What You Need
For this method, I used a Mac, an iPhone connected by cable, and an app called iExplorer from Macroplant. The app has a demo, but in my testing the demo lets you get to the point of exporting and then stops there.
At the time of the video, iExplorer was listed at $34.99. That is not nothing, especially if you only need to save one voicemail, but it is one of the easier routes if you do not want to mess with Terminal commands or manually dig through backup files.
- A Mac
- Your iPhone plugged into the computer
- iExplorer installed
- A local iPhone backup created or available for iExplorer to read
Install iExplorer
I started by going to Macroplant.com, opening the Downloads section, and downloading iExplorer 3 for Mac. Once the DMG file finished downloading, I opened it and dragged iExplorer into the Applications folder.
After that, I launched it with Spotlight using Command-Space and searched for iExplorer. I continued with the demo mode for the walkthrough.
Let iExplorer Read Your iPhone
With the iPhone plugged in, iExplorer showed basic device information like the phone name, capacity, software version, and firmware. The voicemail export option is not pulled directly from the live phone screen. It comes from the iPhone backup data.
In my case, I normally backed up to iCloud, so iExplorer said there were no backups on the computer. To continue, I had to let iExplorer create a local backup first. That backup process took a bit because it had to process a lot of files.
Export the Voicemail
Once the backup finished, I opened the Data section in iExplorer and selected Voicemail. From there, it showed a list of the voicemails currently on the phone.
I selected the voicemail I wanted, clicked Export Selected Voicemail, and chose the desktop as the save location. After the export finished, the voicemail file appeared on the desktop and played correctly.
Convert It to a Standard Audio File
After saving the voicemail, I opened it in QuickTime Player. From QuickTime, I used File > Export > Audio Only to save it as an M4A file.
M4A is a normal Apple audio format and should work well for most Mac users. If you want a different format, you can bring that M4A into an app like Audacity and export it as MP3 or WAV.
What to Know Before You Buy
This is not the only way to save an iPhone voicemail to a computer. There are other approaches, including methods that involve digging into backup files or using Terminal commands. Those can save money, but they are less friendly if you just want to get the voicemail safely exported.
The main reason I used iExplorer is that it makes the process straightforward. It can also pull other data, such as call history and photos, so voicemail export is only one part of what the app can do.
Key Takeaways
- iExplorer can export iPhone voicemails from a local iPhone backup.
- If you only back up to iCloud, you may need to let iExplorer create a local backup first.
- The exported voicemail can be opened in QuickTime Player on a Mac.
- QuickTime can export the voicemail as an M4A audio file.
- Audacity or another audio editor can convert the M4A to MP3 or WAV if needed.
- iExplorer is a paid app, but it is one of the easier options for saving voicemails without using Terminal.
Watch the Video
The video above above to see the full walkthrough, including where the voicemail section is inside iExplorer and how the exported file is converted with QuickTime.
