hplab · Learn
How to record your snoring at night
You can capture a full night of snoring with a phone on the nightstand — then let an AI mark every event on a timeline. Here is the simplest reliable way to do it, and how to read the result.
What you need
Almost nothing. A phone, tablet or laptop with a microphone is enough — snoring is loud and low, so even a built-in mic picks it up from a nightstand a meter away. You do not need a special device or a wearable.
- A phone or tablet placed on the nightstand, mic facing the bed.
- Enough battery (keep it on the charger) and free storage for a multi-hour recording.
- A quiet-ish room — a fan or white noise is fine; the AI is trained to separate snoring from steady background sound.
The easiest way: record in the app
The Snore Analyzer app records overnight directly and analyzes the night for you — no file wrangling. Install it on your phone (it is also a website), start recording when you go to bed, and stop it in the morning. It keeps the screen from interrupting the recording and saves the audio with the result so you can play back any snore.
- Open Snore Analyzer and tap record before sleep.
- Put the phone on the nightstand, plugged in.
- Stop in the morning — analysis runs and the timeline appears.
Prefer another recorder? Upload the file
Any recording works. Use your phone's built-in Voice Memos / voice recorder, a sleep-tracking app that exports audio, or a dedicated recorder, then upload the file. Snore Analyzer accepts common formats (m4a, mp3, wav, and more) and uploads large multi-hour files in resumable chunks, so a dropped connection resumes instead of restarting.
Tips for a clean recording
- Record uncompressed or high-bitrate if your recorder offers it — but even phone-default quality is fine.
- Point the mic toward the sleeper and keep it within ~1–1.5 m.
- Do not mute notifications by switching to airplane mode if that stops the recorder — instead enable Do Not Disturb.
What happens after you record
The audio is analyzed by an AI detector that scores every few seconds for snoring, snorts, gasps and breathing. You get a night-overview timeline with each event on a real clock, a total snoring time and percentage of the night, and the ability to click any event and hear that exact moment. If you are signed in, the night saves automatically so you can compare it with other nights later.
To learn what the numbers mean, read Understand your snore report.
Frequently asked questions
Does recording all night use a lot of battery or storage?
Keep the phone on its charger and battery is a non-issue. Storage depends on format: a full night of compressed audio (m4a/mp3) is typically tens of megabytes; uncompressed WAV can be a few hundred MB. Both upload fine in resumable chunks.
Can I use my phone's built-in voice recorder?
Yes. Record with any app you like and upload the file, or record directly in Snore Analyzer to skip the transfer. Common formats (m4a, mp3, wav) are all supported.
Where should I place the phone?
On the nightstand, microphone facing the bed, within about a meter or so. Snoring is loud and low-frequency, so exact placement is not critical.
Is my recording private?
Analysis works without an account. If you sign in and save a result, the recording is stored with it so you can replay events; you can untick that at save time, or delete a saved night (audio included) at any point.
Is it free?
Yes — recording and analysis are free. One hplab account lets you save results and compare nights.
Keep reading: Understand your snore report · Snoring vs. sleep apnea sounds