You’re holding an iPhone 8 Plus. It’s got that classic home button, a hefty feel, and honestly, a screen that still looks pretty great for a phone released in 2017. Maybe you want to capture a crazy glitch in a game, or perhaps you're trying to show your grandma how to change her font size without having to drive to her house. Whatever the reason, knowing how to screen record on iPhone 8 plus is one of those "quality of life" skills that feels like magic until you realize it’s just buried in a menu.
Back in the day, before iOS 11, you had to plug your phone into a Mac and use QuickTime just to record the screen. It was a nightmare. Now? It’s built right into the software, though Apple doesn’t exactly put a "Record Me" button on the home screen.
Getting the Record Button Into Your Control Center
Your iPhone 8 Plus uses the Control Center for almost everything quick—brightness, volume, flashlight. But the screen recorder isn't there by default. You have to invite it to the party.
Open up your Settings. Scroll down a bit until you see Control Center. It’s right under General. Inside that menu, you'll see a list of things already in your Control Center and a longer list of "More Controls" with green plus icons next to them. Find the one that says Screen Recording. Tap that green plus.
Boom. It’s moved to the top.
Now, when you swipe up from the bottom of your screen—remember, on the 8 Plus, we swipe up, not down from the corner like the newer face-ID phones—you’ll see a new icon. It looks like a solid white circle inside a thin white ring. That’s your golden ticket.
The Actual Recording Process (And the 3-Second Panic)
So you've got the button. Now what?
Swipe up to open the Control Center. Tap that circle icon. You’ll see a countdown: 3... 2... 1...
This is your grace period. It gives you enough time to swipe the Control Center away so you don’t start your video with a giant menu covering half the screen. Once the timer hits zero, that little circle turns red. Also, you'll notice a thin red bar appears at the very top of your screen. That’s your indicator that everything happening on your display is being captured.
Everything.
If a text message from your group chat pops up saying something embarrassing, the recording will catch it. If your battery hits 20% and that "Low Battery" alert interrupts your flow, the recording catches that too. Pro tip: Turn on Do Not Disturb or Focus Mode before you start. It saves you from having to re-record because your mom called mid-video.
To stop the recording, you have two choices. You can either swipe back up into the Control Center and tap the red record button again, or you can just tap that red status bar at the top of your screen. A little prompt will pop up asking if you want to stop. Hit "Stop," and a notification will slide down telling you the video was saved to your Photos app.
Capturing Audio: The Hidden Long-Press
Most people think screen recording is silent. It doesn't have to be.
If you want to narrate what you're doing—basically becoming a one-person tutorial machine—you need to use Haptic Touch. Instead of just tapping the record icon in the Control Center, press and hold it. A hidden menu pops up. At the bottom, there’s a microphone icon.
If it says "Microphone Off," your phone is only recording the internal system sounds (like the music in a game). Tap it until it turns red and says "Microphone On." Now, your iPhone 8 Plus will use its built-in mic to record your voice while it records the screen.
This is incredibly useful for troubleshooting. "Hey, look, when I click this button, the app crashes." It adds a layer of context that a silent video just can't match. Just keep in mind that if you're in a noisy coffee shop, the mic is going to pick up that espresso machine too.
Why Your Recording Might Fail (Troubleshooting 101)
Sometimes things go sideways. You hit record, you do your thing, and then... nothing. Or the video has no sound.
First off, check your storage. The iPhone 8 Plus came in 64GB and 256GB versions. If you’re rocking the 64GB model and you have 4,000 photos of your cat, a five-minute screen recording might just fail because there’s nowhere for the file to live. High-resolution video eats space fast.
Another common hiccup involves Content & Privacy Restrictions. If you’re using a phone managed by a school or employer, or if you have Screen Time restrictions turned on, screen recording might be disabled. You’d find this under Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > Content Restrictions. Look for the "Game Center" section to see if "Screen Recording" is set to "Allow."
Then there's the "Black Screen" issue. If you try to record a movie on Netflix or a show on Disney+, the screen will just go black. This isn't a bug. It’s Digital Rights Management (DRM). These apps are coded to prevent screen recording to stop piracy. There's no way around this on a stock iPhone 8 Plus, so don't bother trying to "record" a movie to share with a friend.
💡 You might also like: Apple Store Summit Birmingham AL: Why This Tech Hub Hits Different
Making Your Videos Look Professional
If you’re planning on posting these recordings to social media or YouTube, the raw footage usually looks a little messy at the start and end. You’ve got that swipe-up motion and the "Stop Recording" prompt.
Don't leave those in.
Open your Photos app, find the video, and hit Edit. At the bottom, you’ll see the timeline of your video with yellow handles on the ends. Slide those handles to trim off the beginning and the end. It takes five seconds and makes the final product look like you actually know what you're doing.
Also, remember that the iPhone 8 Plus records in the orientation you start in. If you start recording while holding the phone vertically (portrait), but then rotate it to play a game horizontally (landscape), the video is going to look tiny and weirdly oriented. Decide on your orientation before you hit that 3-second countdown.
Beyond the Basics: External Audio and Editing
For those who want to get fancy, the iPhone 8 Plus still supports lightning-port microphones. If you plug in a high-quality mic, the screen recording tool will prioritize that over the internal tiny mic. This is how "Pro" mobile gamers get that crisp commentary.
Once you’ve finished, you aren't stuck with the Photos app for editing. If you need to add text overlays or music, dump the file into iMovie (which is free) or LumaFusion if you’re really serious. The A11 Bionic chip inside the 8 Plus is old by today’s standards, but it’s still surprisingly capable of rendering 1080p video without bursting into flames.
Actually, the 8 Plus is a bit of a legend in the tech community because it was the last "big" iPhone with a home button before the SE models took over that niche. Its 5.5-inch display gives you plenty of room to demonstrate apps without your fingers getting in the way too much.
Actionable Steps for Your First Recording
Ready to try it? Follow this exact sequence to ensure it works the first time:
- Go to Settings > Control Center and tap the green plus next to Screen Recording.
- Swipe up from the bottom of your home screen to verify the circle icon is there.
- Long-press that circle icon and ensure your microphone is turned ON if you want to speak.
- Open the app you want to record first.
- Open Control Center, hit record, and wait for the "3... 2... 1..."
- Perform your task clearly and slowly.
- Tap the red bar at the top of your screen to end the session.
- Go to the Photos app, select your video, and use the Edit tool to trim the messy bits at the start and end.
By following these steps, you’ll avoid the common pitfalls like silent audio or awkward menu swipes at the beginning of your clips. The iPhone 8 Plus might be a "vintage" device in Apple's eyes, but its screen recording capabilities are identical to the newest flagship models. Use it to share, teach, or just document the weird stuff you find online.