Recording your iOS Device in ScreenFlow

iOS DevicesiOS Devices in ScreenFlow

One of the best new features in ScreenFlow 5 is the ability to record straight from your iOS device! No more complicated workflows and additional programs are needed! Take a look at this quick tutorial and video of how to get started recording your iOS device in ScreenFlow.

Before You Start

In order to record your iOS device in ScreenFlow, there are a few things you need before you start.

1. Screenflow 5, which you can find on our website.

2. Your Mac operating system must be OSX Yosemite v10.10 or later, which you can download from Mac App Store.

3. iOS 8 or later must be installed on you iPhone, iPad or iPod (older versions with the 30 pin connector port will not be supported).

iOS Devices
Lightning Port vs. 30 Pin Connector Port

4. You will need an official Lightning to USB cable to plug your device into your computer (this cable comes stock with your iOS device).

iOS Devices
Lightning to USB Cable

Once you have all of the required updates and devices, plug your iOS device into your computer using the Lightning to USB cable.

When you open ScreenFlow, in the configure recording box, also accessable through the SF Helper icon in the upper right of your screen, under the new recording tab you will be presented with a “record screen from” option. Check the box and select your connected device.

Press record and ScreenFlow will record your iOS device!

 

54 Comments

  1. Frank Lowney
    Reply

    There are some distinct advantages of ScreenFlow’s approach to iOS recording compared with the other, AirPlay-based apps, First, the audio from the iOS device is captured directly via the Lightening Cable. With the AirPlay apps I had to run audio cable from the iOS device to an audio input on my Mac and then configure that as audio input so that Record Mac Audio would capture it. Second, the AirPlay apps never handled movie playback correctly. All you’d get on your Mac to record is the movie playing full screen. If you need to show how the video overlays for movie playback and accessibility (subtitles and alternate audio) only ScreenFlow will capture the scene exactly as the iOS audience would normally view it. Here’s a quick and dirty screencast I did to confirm for myself that this works as I need it to:
    https://podcasting.usg.edu/4DCGI/Podcasting/GCSU/Episodes/29838/784764313.mp4
    I do a lot of work with making video more accessible so it’s important for me to be able to communicate how these accessibility features work.

  3. Frank Lowney
    Reply

    You really don’t need ScreenFlow to record the iOS screen. This can be done for free with the bundled QuickTime X Player. What ScreenFlow adds that you cannot currently get anywhere else is the post-processing – especially the iOS cursor animation, limited as it may be.
    Duplicating all that ScreenFlow does on iOS, especially post-processing/export, may not be feasible on iOS devices at this time. A multi-processor MacPro can be seriously challenged by a complex ScreenFlow project. The CPU and GPU simply isn’t yet up to the task on iOS.

          • Brandt Steinhauser

            Hi Lucas,

            I’m currently evaluating the trial of Screenflow. So far I love it. I really appreciate having an “all in one” system for recording my iOS device and webcam. However, the one and only hold for me is the device audio issue. I see above that your team is still working on this. Has there been any update?

            If not I’d be happy to work with your team to provide feedback to assist in getting this feature implemented.

        • Jonathan
          Reply

          It hasn’t been fully tested, but I may have found a workaround for this, particularly if you are working with audio recording/production apps. If you download the app “audiobus,” it will give you the ability to feed the audio from one app into another. For example, from “Loopy” to “Garageband,” so that you can easily import or record audio from one program to another. If you start screenflow with your iPad screen being recorded, but put your HEADPHONES in the iPad, you will be able to hear your iPad audio, but it will NOT be recorded into screen flow, only the screen. But, if you use audiobus to record the audio into something like Garageband, you can then export that audio track, and in post-production, line it up where it needs to go in your video. This way, you can listen to your audio from your iPad as you are recording, then put it in the video that you use. Again, I’m only in the early stages of trying this out, but I hope this helps!!!!

    • Frank Lowney
      Reply

      @Jon, you say, “When I record my iPad air, I can not hear the audio from the iPad while recording.”
      This doesn’t square with my experience recording a 5g iPod touch with ScreenFlow 5.0.1 on a 2009 Mac Pro under OS X 10.10.2. I play a movie on my iPad and the recording that results has the sound of that movie.
      So, @Lucas, can you be more precise in stating that this is a known issue? Is it just iPads or a certain gen of iPads?

      • Eric Goetz
        Reply

        I think what John was saying (and this is my experience as well) was that you can’t hear the audio while recording. The audio is correctly captured, but there’s no way to actually hear it while capturing it. As a composer who is trying to make a reel of video games I’ve scored, this is a real problem: trying to play through the game and show the music in a positive light, while not being able to actually hear the audio. I’m very much looking forward to a fix or workaround, and I’m thrilled to hear that a solution is being actively worked on.

        • Andy Buchanan
          Reply

          This still appears to be the case, I too want to record some audio from the ipad that I can hear whilst I’m creating it, I really need a monitoring option, though I’m not bothered whether it’s on the ipad or the mac. I need to hear what I’m doing!

  8. K
    Reply

    I can record iOS screens along with the audio using Quicktime however I cannot record my commentary with a mic because Quicktime can either capture iOS audio or mic audio but not both. Can Screenflow 5 capture iOS screen+iOS audio+mic commentary?

    Thanks.

  9. dailytut
    Reply

    @maik, had same question in my mind, but after installing it in my imac it just a breeze to record the screen without any problem. Also @lucas, a standalone app will help us to record screens on the go when not in front of mac and please consider bringing such addition in future.

    Anyone using portable mics with iPhone or iPad for recording purposes? i need some suggestion to pick the best one. Thanks in advance.

    Robin.

  10. Rhandell Mitchell
    Reply

    I’m still having trouble getting this feature to work. I’m using the USB cable that came with my iPad by default. I’ve updated my iPad’s software and I’m also running the most recent version of Yosemite on my Macbook Pro. So why is it that when I try to record from my iPad that the area to record your IOS device is grayed out??? I’ve contacted support about this and they take like 3 or 4 days to respond each time they reply. And each reply never has the solution to my problem.

  12. Jono
    Reply

    The option is grayed out for me. I have my iPhone 6+ plugged in, and when I configure a new recording, I cannot check the box of “Record screen from” – it is saying “No available iOS devices” even though iTunes and Dropbox can see my iPhone.

    I quite Screenflow, but still no luck. Any ideas how to fix this?

  14. Nicholas
    Reply

    I found a workaround for Recording sound on iOS. It’s simple.
    First, plug your speaker or headphone to your mac.

    Open Quicktime, and set it as audio recording.
    Press the down arrow button next to the red record, and choose your iPad or iPhone.
    Then drag and increase the volume meter. This will give you the real time sound preview.

    Then open screenflow and record the screen of your iOS device.
    Now you can record while listening to what’s on your device.

  15. Trish
    Reply

    I was recording using my ipad but just got an iphone 6s Plus, which is more convenient. When I used screenflow to record, the phone timer showed on playback (which it didn’t with the ipad). I think this is an iphone issue, but wondered whether anyone else has noted it and what they may have done.

  16. Trish
    Reply

    I figured out what it is. Screenflow is recording the video of the iphone screen while it’s recording, including the timer and the red record button. However, it doesn’t solve my problem, which is to eliminate those on my screen, so I’m still looking for possible answers.

  19. Susan Resz
    Reply

    I’m very new to all of this so my question is whether getting screen flow will solve my problem. In a graduate course, I am required to create a Power Point presentation, with narrative. I use a Mac, and would prefer to make the presentation in Keynote, but I do have 2011 Microsoft Power Point installed. I am told that when I go to export my presentation, that narration, a requirement of my online class, must be in Ppt format but that Power Point for Mac will not support the narration. Will screen flow solve that part of my problem? I have an an uptodate IMac and an iPad Pro, both with Keynote and Powerpoint. If so, am I better off creating the presentation in Keynote or PowerPoint, on my IMac or on my iPad?

    Thanks for your help.

  21. Brian M.
    Reply

    Still looking for a work around for “hearing” audio while recording from an iphone. Recap. there is NO audio to monitor during the recording process. I appreciate the quality of recording but it seems almost useless without being able to monitor what you are recording from the device. – and to toss in the headphone jack on the iphone is disabled. kind of wish maybe instead of having the iphone microphone as an input option, maybe when this is disabled we could actually hear whats coming out of the phone without feed back…..anyway I’m watching for an update:) thanks.

  22. julia
    Reply

    Hello,
    first thank you for this blog which is very helpful. I record Udemy classes with screenflow using my iphone and it has been wonderful. But I do have one problem, maybe somebody can help me with.

    I use my iphone 6 with Mac Air and Screenflow 5.06

    If I put my phone on Foto or Video and record the screen to simply use it as a camera to record talking heads, there is always the yellow automatic Focus Box which appears constantly when I move. I cannot find a way to use my iphone as a camera without showing the box on film in screenflow.

    It would make things so much easier than to make a separate video with the iphone, transfer blablaba.

    Any ideas? HOw to use Iphone as a camera, attach to macbook and record screen disabling the yellow box, which does not seem to be possible?
    I would be supergrateful for a reply. All best, Julia

    • Rayna Charnley
      Reply

      Unfortunately, ScreenFlow doesn’t have control over what is shown by Apple on the iPhone. ScreenFlow is just acting as a recorder, so we can’t disable the auto-focus box that Apple has on the iPhone camera. I would recommend checking with Apple to see if there’s a way to disable that auto-focus box, but it’s not something that ScreenFlow would be able to do.

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  24. Joe McD
    Reply

    I am trying to record the phone screen when I am getting an incoming call. However, it will not record the call screen?!?! How do I get it to record the call screen of me answering the call? This is why I bought this for work! I need this to work. It there a work around?

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