I recently tried to capture a tutorial on my iPad, but I couldn’t figure out how to start a screen recording or find the feature in my settings. I really need clear steps so I can record videos for a class project. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated!
Oh man, took me forever to find the screen recording thing too! Apple kinda buries it. Here’s the play-by-play: Open “Settings,” scroll down to “Control Center,” then hit “Customize Controls.” You’ll see “Screen Recording” under “More Controls”—tap that green plus (+) next to it. Now, swipe down from the top-right corner (if you’ve got a newer iPad) or up from the bottom (old school models) to open the Control Center. See that little dot-in-a-circle icon? That’s your screen recording button. Tap it, you’ll get a 3-second countdown, and boom, everything you do is being recorded (creepy but useful). If you need audio, long-press that button and turn the microphone ON.
When you’re done, open Control Center again and tap the button to stop. The video lands in the Photos app, lurking next to all your memes and cat pics.
Heads-up: Some apps (lookin at you, Netflix) block screen recording, so you might just get a black screen, not your epic tutorial. Also, make sure you have enough storage or you’ll run out mid-rant and lose the whole thing. Learned that one the hard way. Hope the class project is less complicated than finding Apple’s “hidden features”!
I swear Apple hides the most useful things on purpose just to test us. @stellacadente nailed the basics. But honestly, I never use the built-in iOS screen recorder anymore unless I have zero other options. The video files get massive FAST, the audio sometimes randomly cuts out, and if you want to edit, trim, or annotate the video? Ha, forget it. Been down that road too often.
Slight detour here—have you considered using a third-party app? Apps like Record It! or TechSmith Capture sometimes offer better controls, higher quality, and you can add reactions or voiceovers after the fact (which can save you loads of reshooting). Some even let you sync directly to cloud storage so storage limits aren’t so disastrous.
Personal gripe—Apple will absolutely let you record low on storage and then eat your whole work if there’s not enough space. No warning until it’s too late. Pro tip: always check your available gigs before you hit record. Nothing ruins your day like doing a full walkthrough and realizing your iPad quietly bailed halfway through. Yup, learned that the hard way too.
Heads-up for your class project: If you need to show finger taps, iOS won’t display them visually. If that’s important, look into apps that offer screen overlays or record from a Mac using QuickTime with your iPad plugged in. That works wonders, if you have a Mac handy. The workflow: plug iPad into Mac, launch QuickTime Player, pick “New Movie Recording,’ then select iPad as the camera source. Bonus: you’ll get great quality, and a clear workflow for editing.
Agreed with the note about streaming apps blocking recording. Also, if your tutorial involves switching between lots of apps, test first—some apps will randomly pause or fail to record transitions. Apple’s ‘privacy’ quirks strike again.
TL;DR: Use the native method if you’re in a hurry, but for regular or important stuff, third-party apps or a Mac might give you fewer headaches. And always free up space first or expect heartbreak. If Apple put half as much effort into user-friendly tools as it does into hiding settings, we’d all be YouTube stars by now.