How to Enable Screen Recording on iPhone in iOS 26 | Fix Missing Screen Recording Button

💡 This built-in feature is the best way to capture video from your Apple phone screen, especially for tutorials, gaming, or recording important video calls.

Enabling iPhone Screen Recording in iOS 18 (New Method)

If you have updated your iPhone to iOS 18 or newer versions and are looking for the screen recording button, you should know that Apple has changed the entire method of configuring the iPhone Control Center.

There is no longer a need to go to the Settings section to add the button. In iOS 18, the Control Center has become completely modular, and screen recording is now in the form of a widget that you must add manually.

To add various widgets and understand the function of each widget in the Control Center, you can use Apple's official guide.

Step-by-Step Guide to Activation in the New Control Center

1️⃣ First, on your home screen, swipe down from the top right corner 🔻.

2️⃣ Now, tap on the "+" icon located at the top left of the screen.

3️⃣ In this section, tap on the "Add a Control" option located at the bottom of the screen.

4️⃣ Here, you will see many widgets; you need to search for the Screen Recording widget. Find it and tap on it to add the screen recorder to the Control Center section at the top of the screen.

5️⃣ To start recording the iPhone screen, simply tap on the widget you created in the Control Center to begin the countdown.

Enabling Screen Recording on Older iPhones (iOS 17 and Prior)

If you are a user who hasn't updated your device to iOS 18 yet, don't worry. Activating iPhone screen recording on older operating systems is done through a classic and different path.

Path to Add the Screen Recording Button via Settings

To add the recording button to the Control Center in previous versions, you must follow the path below:

🔴 Enter your phone's Settings, scroll down a bit until you see the "Control Center" option, and tap to enter.

🔴 In this section, if the phone is on an older version (iOS 17 or lower), you should see the "Screen Recording" option among the list. Add it from the bottom section to the top until the icon next to it turns into a remove icon (minus sign).

🔴 Now exit Settings and swipe down 🔻 to open the Control Center. In the opened menu, you will see the iPhone screen recording option added to the Control Center.

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Additional Settings: Audio, Quality, and Advanced Tips

After you have enabled the record button, it's time for professional settings, specifically regarding audio recording in iPhone screen recording.

How to Record Audio with Microphone While Filming the iPhone Screen

Many users struggle with recording ambient sounds, their own voice, or their commentary in the video. Fortunately, the iPhone records system audio by default, but enabling the microphone requires an extra step:

1. Open Control Center: Open the control center. 🔻
2. Long Press: Instead of a quick tap, press and hold your finger on the Screen Recording icon (the circle inside a circle).
3. Microphone Settings: A small window will open. At the bottom of this window, you will see a Microphone icon that is off (Gray) by default.
4. Activation: Tap on the microphone icon so its color changes to Red (On).
5. Start Recording: Tap the "Start Recording" button.
   

Now, filming your Apple phone screen will be accompanied by microphone audio. To end the recording, simply tap on the status bar (the orange or red bar at the top of the screen) and select "Stop".

In some iPhone models, pressing the screen lock button (Power button) will also stop the screen recording.

Where Are Screen Recordings Saved on iPhone?

One of the users' questions is: Where do screen recordings go? All videos recorded using the iPhone screen recording feature are automatically saved in the "Photos" app.

• Enter the Photos app.
• Go to the "Albums" section.
• Find the album titled "Videos" or "Recents".
• Your video is ready for viewing and editing in this section as an MP4 or MOV file.

Fixing the Missing Screen Recording Icon

If, despite following the steps above, you still cannot find the icon, the problem is likely due to one of the following:

✅ Content Restrictions: Check if this feature has been disabled in Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions.

✅ iOS Version: Ensure your device supports at least iOS 11 (where this feature was introduced).

✅ Restart: In rare cases, a simple restart can reload the Control Center.

Conclusion

The Screen Recording feature is one of the most useful capabilities of the iPhone, allowing you to capture everything happening on your screen without the need for third-party software. Despite the visual changes in the iPhone Control Center settings in iOS 18, you can still easily retrieve this button and benefit from all its features, including audio recording during screen capture.

Whether you are on the new version or older versions, with this guide, learning how to screen record on iPhone has now become an easy task for you.