Screen recording on your iPad lets you capture everything on your display, from tutorials and gameplay to video calls and presentations. It's built right into iPadOS 18 and takes just a few seconds to set up. Here's how to use it on your iPad Pro M5 (11‑inch or 13‑inch).
Add Screen Recording to Control Center
Before you can record anything, you need the Screen Recording button in Control Center. On your iPad Pro M5, swipe down from the top‑right corner of the screen to open Control Center. Press and hold on an empty area of the panel until you see the controls start to jiggle. Tap Add a Control, scroll to Screen Recording, and tap the green + next to it. The button now lives in Control Center and you can access it from any app.
If you ever need to rearrange controls, just press and hold on any icon and drag it to a new spot. Once you're done, tap the empty area to lock everything back in place.
Start a Screen Recording
Swipe down from the top‑right corner of your iPad screen to open Control Center. Tap the Screen Recording button (it looks like a circle inside another circle). A three‑second countdown appears, giving you time to navigate to whatever you want to record. After the countdown ends, the button turns red and your display is being captured. You'll see a red indicator in the top‑left corner of the screen or in the status bar, letting you know recording is active.
If your iPad is locked or you switch to another app, recording continues in the background as long as the app you're using supports it. Just keep an eye on that red indicator.
Record with Microphone Audio
By default, screen recording only captures system sounds, not your voice. To add narration or commentary, press and hold the Screen Recording button in Control Center instead of tapping it. A small menu pops up with a Microphone toggle at the bottom. Tap it to enable your iPad's built‑in microphone (or any connected external mic), then tap Start Recording.
With the microphone on, your voice and any ambient sound will be recorded alongside the screen. This is perfect for narrated tutorials, walkthroughs, or recording a video call you want to save.
Stop the Recording
When you're done, tap the red indicator at the top of your screen and confirm by tapping Stop. Alternatively, open Control Center and tap the Screen Recording button again. The recording automatically saves to the Photos app in the Videos album. You don't need to do anything else.
If your iPad freezes or the screen becomes unresponsive during recording, you can force a restart: press and release the Volume Up button, then press and release the Volume Down button, then press and hold the Top button until the Apple logo appears. Any unsaved recording will be lost, so use this only as a last resort.
Edit Your Screen Recording
Open the Photos app and find your recording in the Videos album. Tap Edit in the top‑right corner. You'll see a timeline at the bottom with handles on each end. Drag the handles to trim off the beginning (where you opened Control Center) and the end (where you stopped). Tap Done and choose to save as a new clip or overwrite the original. The built‑in editor also lets you adjust exposure, color, and even apply a filter if you want.
For more advanced editing like splitting or adding text, you can use the iMovie app that comes pre‑installed on your iPad. It handles longer recordings without a hitch.
Share Your Recording
From the Photos app, open the screen recording and tap the Share button (a square with an arrow pointing up). You can send it via AirDrop, Messages, Mail, or upload directly to social media platforms like YouTube or TikTok. For very long recordings (think 20+ minutes), the file size can be large. If you need to shrink it, use the built‑in Photos editor to reduce the video quality, or use a video compression app from the App Store.
What You Can and Cannot Record
Screen recording captures almost everything on your iPad's display, apps, games, web browsers, settings, and your own content all work fine. There's one big exception: DRM‑protected content. Streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV+ block screen recording during playback. You'll see a black screen or a "This content cannot be recorded" message instead of the video. The same goes for some music and ebook apps. Regular apps and games are unaffected.
If you're trying to record a video call (FaceTime, Zoom, Teams), screen recording works, but the other participants may see a privacy indicator or hear an announcement depending on their app settings. Always ask permission when recording conversations.
Use Screen Recording for Troubleshooting
Having a weird glitch or a bug that only happens when you swipe or tap a certain way? Record it. Screen recording is a fantastic way to capture the exact steps that cause the problem, then share the video with tech support or on forums. It's way more helpful than trying to describe the issue in text.
On your iPad Pro M5, you can also use the on‑screen indicator to make sure you're getting the whole issue on tape. If you need to include a force restart sequence for a crash, just start recording before the issue occurs and stop after you've restarted. You can trim the unnecessary parts later.
