How to Record an iPhone Screen on a Mac With QuickTime

Before you start

This method records the iPhone screen locally on the Mac. No third-party service or upload is required. Prepare an iPhone with a Lightning or USB-C connector, a compatible cable, and a Mac running macOS Mojave or later with QuickTime Player built in. Connect the iPhone directly to a USB port on the Mac when possible; avoid unpowered hubs if the device is not detected.

If the computer asks for an iPhone passcode or a prompt to trust the device, confirm both on the iPhone before opening QuickTime Player. iOS may also show a one-time pairing alert that must be accepted for the Mac to use the iPhone as a media input.

Step-by-step instructions

Open QuickTime Player on the Mac. From the menu bar, choose File and then New Movie Recording. A preview window opens with the Mac camera by default. To switch the capture source, click the small arrow next to the record button and look for the iPhone under the Camera section. Select the iPhone so the preview changes to the device screen.

On the same menu, choose a microphone if audio is needed. The iPhone microphone can be selected as an audio source, or use an external microphone attached to the Mac. Check the recording volume with the slider before you begin because QuickTime does not add an audio-only recording track without a selected microphone.

Set the iPhone orientation before recording. The Mac preview follows the current orientation, but rotating the device during a session can change the framing of the captured screen. Turn off notifications, low power mode, and background audio that may appear in the recording.

Click the red record button in QuickTime Player. The recording starts immediately. Unlock the iPhone and perform the actions you want to capture on its display. The Mac screen does not need to stay visible, but QuickTime Player must remain open. Click the same button again when finished.

Save the recording with File and then Save. Choose a location and enter a file name. QuickTime Player creates a MOV file that contains the recorded screen. Saving early does not interrupt the current recording; creating a copy after the session is the safer workflow if the original file must be kept unchanged.

Check the output

Open the saved MOV file in QuickTime Player and play the first few seconds. Confirm that the iPhone screen, orientation, and selected microphone audio are present. A black or frozen preview may mean the iPhone was not selected as the capture source even though the Mac camera was recording.

File size and quality depend on the display resolution, filmstrip activity, and the recording format chosen by macOS. QuickTime Player controls the encoding; there is no separate bitrate selector in the screen-capture panel. Higher motion and sharp text typically produce a larger file because the encode preserves detail rather than lowering the data rate.

If the frame rate appears uneven, reduce on-screen movement during recording and close other capture or playback apps on the Mac. The captured recording format is a QuickTime movie container, so playback on non-Apple devices may require a compatible media player.

Common problems and next steps

The iPhone does not appear in the camera menu: disconnect the cable, unlock the iPhone, reconnect it, and accept the trust prompt. If the Mac has more than one USB port, try the port directly on the computer. A cable intended only for charging may not carry data, so replace it with a known data-capable cable.

Screen recording begins, but only a black screen appears in QuickTime Player: the iPhone may still be paired as a camera while the actual display mirror is blocked by an accessory or a restricted app. Some video apps and protected content do not permit screen capture and may show black frames in the saved file.

The audio is out of sync or missing: check the microphone selection again in the arrow menu and keep the iPhone connected during the entire recording. Disconnecting the device before saving can truncate the end of the capture. If the Mac is low on storage, free space and record a shorter segment because QuickTime Player may not report the write failure until the final save.