# Has anyone figured out how to record from the Gmail phone yet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 27, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-figured-out-how-to-record-from-the-gmail-phone-yet/555236 "2010-09-27T16:21:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-figured-out-how-to-record-from-the-gmail-phone-yet/555236/1 "2010-09-27T16:21:52Z")
So, I love that Gmail lets me make free calls anywhere in North America on my laptop, especially considering how much of my current thesis project has to do with phone interviews across the states. As per my title line, is there any practical way of recording this, short of holding my tape recorder up to the PC speakers? Some sort of new software for the PC, perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![Silophant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Silophant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silophant)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-figured-out-how-to-record-from-the-gmail-phone-yet/555236/2 "2010-09-28T02:18:48Z")
[Freecorder](http://www.applian.com/sound-recorder/) is a plug-in for Firefox (and probably other browsers) that records whatever’s coming out of your sound card to an mp3. ---
**Author:** ![ChrisBooth12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@ChrisBooth12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisBooth12)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-figured-out-how-to-record-from-the-gmail-phone-yet/555236/3 "2010-09-28T02:52:04Z")
or just get a google voice number which lets you do the same thing, bear in mind in most places both parties have to konw they are being recorded ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-figured-out-how-to-record-from-the-gmail-phone-yet/555236/4 "2010-09-28T02:52:49Z")
> [@Silophant](#): > > [Freecorder](http://www.applian.com/sound-recorder/) is a plug-in for Firefox (and probably other browsers) that records whatever’s coming out of your sound card to an mp3. Thank you! Do you know if the includes anything coming _in_ to the sound card (i.e., my voice on the mic)? ---
**Author:** ![mittu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@mittu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mittu)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-figured-out-how-to-record-from-the-gmail-phone-yet/555236/5 "2010-09-28T03:05:34Z")
You shouldn’t need to mess about with 3rd party apps. Windows comes with a sound recorder built into it which I _believe_ will also record sound coming into the laptop through a microphone. Give it a go and see: > [@](#): > > To open Sound Recorder, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to Entertainment, and then click Sound Recorder. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-figured-out-how-to-record-from-the-gmail-phone-yet/555236/6 "2010-09-28T04:00:15Z")
^ Yes, but only if you know enough to swtich your default input device in the Volume Control. It needs to be set to Stereo Mix, or something like that. Also, I don’t know if it’s changed in later versions of Windows, but Windows XP’s sound recorder will only record to WAV or to really low quality formats. I finally buckled down and got Audacity. ---
**Author:** ![Silophant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Silophant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silophant)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-figured-out-how-to-record-from-the-gmail-phone-yet/555236/7 "2010-09-28T06:17:06Z")
> [@antonio107](#): > > > [@Silophant](#): > > > > [Freecorder](http://www.applian.com/sound-recorder/) is a plug-in for Firefox (and probably other browsers) that records whatever’s coming out of your sound card to an mp3. > > Thank you! Do you know if the includes anything coming _in_ to the sound card (i.e., my voice on the mic)? If it isn’t being played through your speakers, it won’t record it, I’m afraid. Your best bet for your end of the conversation is probably to get Audacity and record your half of the conversation, then use it to overlay the two recordings. The Sound Recorder built into Windows 7 will work to record your mic, but will save into .wma format only. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-figured-out-how-to-record-from-the-gmail-phone-yet/555236/8 "2010-09-28T18:13:03Z")
> [@Silophant](#): > > [Freecorder](http://www.applian.com/sound-recorder/) is a plug-in for Firefox It’s actually more of a separate application, and it only works on recent versions of Windows. ---
**Author:** ![mittu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@mittu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mittu)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-figured-out-how-to-record-from-the-gmail-phone-yet/555236/9 "2010-09-29T11:53:00Z")
> [@Silophant](#): > > > [@antonio107](#): > > > > Thank you! Do you know if the includes anything coming _in_ to the sound card (i.e., my voice on the mic)? > > If it isn’t being played through your speakers, it won’t record it, I’m afraid. Your best bet for your end of the conversation is probably to get Audacity and record your half of the conversation, then use it to overlay the two recordings. **The Sound Recorder built into Windows 7 will work to record your mic, but will save into .wma format only.** It would still be easier to use the Windows recorder then convert the file into .mp3 or whatever is needed if .wma won’t suit, in my opinion of course.