Transcribe audio and video files offline on Android (2026)

Checked 9 November 2026 by the Murlivo team.

You may have a voice message from a friend, a lecture you saved, a call recording or a video, and you want the words as text. Many tools do this by uploading the file to a server. Murlivo 1.3.0 adds another way: the file is read and transcribed on your Android phone, with the same on-device speech recognition Murlivo uses for its own recordings. After the one-time model download, no internet is needed.¹²

What you can import

Murlivo takes audio files and video files. Its file picker is set to audio and video, and the share sheet entry accepts both. Typical examples are voice messages from WhatsApp or Telegram, saved lectures, call recordings and videos from your gallery. You can bring in one file or many files at once.

Murlivo reads files with the decoders that Android gives it, so a very rare format may not open. In that case the card in your inbox says “Murlivo can't read this file type.” Murlivo detects the spoken language, or you can choose one of 20 languages.²

How to import a file, step by step

1. Install Murlivo and download the model once. This is the only step that needs internet. If you import a file before the model is ready, the file waits and is transcribed when the model is ready.
2. Choose one way to bring the file in.
   • Share: open the file in any app, such as a voice message in WhatsApp or Telegram or a file in a file manager. Tap Share and pick Murlivo (“Share to Murlivo”).
   • Import button: open Murlivo and tap “Import a file” at the top of your inbox. Then tap “Choose files” and pick one or more audio or video files.
3. Answer the question for a large file. For a big file Murlivo asks first. It says how much free space it needs, because it keeps one copy on the phone and one in your notes folder. Tap “Import” to go on.
4. Wait for the copy. Murlivo copies files one at a time, in the order you gave them. A notification “Importing files” shows how far it is, for example “1 of 3”.
5. Read the note. The text appears in your inbox, and the note goes into the notes folder you chose, such as an Obsidian vault. The card is marked “Imported”.

Speed depends on your phone and on how long the file is. A long file takes longer than a short one.

What happens to a video

Murlivo keeps only the sound of a video. Its own message says: “Murlivo keeps only the sound. Your video is not changed.” If the video has several audio tracks, Murlivo takes the first one your phone can decode and leaves the others out. If the video has no sound at all, the import stops with “This video has no sound.”

Is the file uploaded? Is it changed?

The speech recognition runs on your phone, so the audio is not sent to a server to be transcribed. Your original file is not changed: Murlivo reads it and works on a copy. Files that are copy-protected cannot be read, and Murlivo says so.

What if you import the same file twice

Murlivo recognizes a file by its content, not by its name. If the same content is already in your inbox, it says “Already imported” and offers “Open”. If you imported it before and then deleted it, it says “Imported before” and offers “Import again”, so a file does not come back by accident. This memory stays on your phone and lasts after you delete the recording.

Recording comes first

An import never gets in the way of a live recording. While you record, imports wait, and they go on when the recording is done. New recordings are transcribed before imported files, and imported files run one after another. Android can also stop a background job. If that happens, the card says “Android stopped this import in the background. It goes on when you open Murlivo.”

Limits to know

• Speed: transcription on the phone depends on its processor. An older phone needs more time, and a long file needs more time still.
• Space: an audio file is stored twice, once on the phone and once in your notes folder, so you need free space for both.
• Files Murlivo cannot read: empty files, files with no sound, copy-protected files, and file types the phone cannot decode.
• One file, one note: Murlivo makes one note from one file.
• Android 11 or newer is needed to run Murlivo.

When another approach fits better

Offline import is not always the best choice. Pick something else when:

• You have a slow phone and a very long file. A cloud service can finish sooner and does not use your battery. That is fine if you do not mind uploading the audio.
• You need more than the text. Cloud apps add summaries, shared team workspaces and chat with your notes.
• You have many files on a computer. A desktop transcription tool can handle a big batch more comfortably than a phone.
• New recordings should become notes by themselves. Murlivo 1.3.0 also has a watched folder: new recordings in a folder you pick become notes with no tap.¹ Use that instead of importing by hand.

Stay on the phone when the audio is private, such as health, legal, family or work talks you should not upload, when you have no signal, or when you want to own the files. For more apps that work offline, see Offline speech to text on Android.

Questions

References

1. Murlivo changelog, version 1.3.0, checked 9 November 2026.
2. Murlivo product facts, checked 9 November 2026.
3. Murlivo on Google Play, checked 9 November 2026.