I can't access my audio or locate my previously recorded interview in the StoryCorps App

If you recorded your interview with the StoryCorps App and are having trouble locating or accessing your interview, don’t panic! While this situation is rare, in many cases, user are able to recover their missing or inaccessible interview audio using the USB Export feature.

To use the USB Export feature, first confirm you are running version 5.1.28 or later of the StoryCorps App. You can find which version of the app you are running by selecting the Profile tab on the far right side of the navigation bar in the app (you'll find the app version at the bottom of the page.) From there, simply plug your device into a desktop or laptop computer to access the files associated with the app. You'll find instructions on how to access and export your audio using either an Apple or Windows computer for both Android and iOS devices below. 

For iOS Devices

To access your files on an Apple computer using Finder:

• Plug your iOS device into your computer.
• Open Finder on your computer. 
• Select your device (which should appear under the Locations section of the Finder menu.)
• Select Files to see all of the apps on your device with accessible files.
• Select StoryCorps from the list to see all accessible files associated with the StoryCorps App on your device. 
  • Please note: You cannot access the contents of folders saved to the StoryCorps App in Finder. You'll only be able to access the contents of these folders after you've exported the folder from the app to your computer. 
• To export any app files to your computer, simply drag and drop the files you want to save onto your computer's desktop. 
• Once you have exported the files to your computer, you'll be able to review any of the audio you have downloaded.

To access your files on a Windows computer using iTunes:

• Plug your iOS device into your computer using a USB cable
• Launch iTunes on your computer
• Select the iPhone image on the upper left side of the screen   
• Select Apps on the left, and scroll down to the bottom of the page to File Sharing to see a list of all file-sharing apps on your device.
• Select the StoryCorps App. The StoryCorps documents saved to your iPhone will be listed on the right side of the screen. 
• Please Note: Audio files will be listed with the extension .wav and the date and time of the recording.
• Select the audio file(s) you would like to save to your computer. 
• In the lower right corner, a Save to button will appear that you can use to save the audio file to a specific location on your computer (or you can simply drag and drop the files onto your computer desktop.)
• Once you have exported the files to your computer, you'll be able to review any of the audio you have download.

For Android Devices

To access your files on an Apple computer using Android FIle Transfer:

• If you haven't already, download and Install Android File Transfer on your Apple Computer
• Unlock your Android device and plug it into your computer using a USB cable. 
• Once the cable has been connected, open Android File Transfer (if you have used Android File Transfer before, it may open automatically.) 
• If prompted to do so by Android File Transfer, select the Charging this device via USB notification on your device and under Use USB for select File Transfer
• Scroll down to your list of files and folders. Depending on your Android, the file may appear in “root,” “sd card," or as a free-floating file with a file extension of .amr and the date and time of the recording. 
• Select the audio file you wish to download, and save to your computer by clicking and dragging the file. You can then save the audio file to a specific location on your computer. 

To access your files on a Windows computer using iTunes:

• Unlock your Android device and plug it into your computer using a USB cable. 
• Select the Charging this device via USB notification on your device and under Use USB for select File Transfer
• Scroll down to your list of files and folders. Depending on your Android, the file may appear in “root,” “sd card," or as a free-floating file with a file extension of .amr and the date and time of the recording. 
• Select the audio file you wish to download, and save to your computer by clicking and dragging the file. You can then save the audio file to a specific location on your computer. 

If you are able to locate your missing interview audio using the instructions above and still want to include your interviews on our Online Archive, you can manually publish your downloaded audio to archive.storycorps.org so that it will be accessible from your profile page and in the StoryCorps App going forward. You'll find step by step instructions on how to manually publish your interview audio to archive.storycorps.org in the Help Center article below.

Can I upload interview audio directly to archive.storycorps.org without the app?

Still have questions? Submit a request to our support team here.