The exact error is: “Screen Recording failed to save due to: Failed due to asset writer being in wrong state.” This is an iOS/iPadOS-specific bug in Apple’s built-in Screen Recording feature (the one you start from Control Center) — not a Mac, Windows, or Android issue, whatever else you might read elsewhere.
Quick Guide
- Try recording again with the microphone/voice-over toggle turned off — this specifically triggers the error for a lot of affected users.
- Restart your device.
- Check you’re not low on storage, even though this often isn’t the actual cause.
- Remove and re-add the Screen Recording control in Control Center settings.
- Check Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions isn’t blocking it.
- Update to the latest iOS version.
Try Recording Without the Microphone First
This is worth trying before anything else. Multiple affected users report the exact same pattern: screen recording works fine with the microphone/voice-over off, but fails with this exact error the moment it’s turned on — even with plenty of free storage and fully updated software. To test it, swipe to Control Center, long-press the Screen Recording button, and make sure the microphone icon is off before you start recording. If that fixes it, the audio input itself is the trigger, not your storage or software version.
Restart Your Device
A full restart clears temporary system conflicts and stuck processes that can interfere with the Screen Recording feature specifically. Hold the side button and either volume button until the power slider appears, slide to turn off, then press the side button again to restart.
Check Your Storage
Go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage and confirm you’ve got reasonable free space. Worth doing, but be aware: several affected users report this error happening with plenty of storage free, so don’t assume this alone will fix it if the microphone toggle above doesn’t help either.
Remove and Re-Add the Screen Recording Control
A glitched Control Center button is a common, often-overlooked cause. Go to Settings > Control Centre, find Screen Recording under “Included Controls,” tap the red minus to remove it, then add it back from “More Controls.” Restart your device afterward and test again.
Check Content & Privacy Restrictions
If Content & Privacy Restrictions are enabled on your device, they can silently block screen recording from saving properly. Go to Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions, and make sure screen recording isn’t set to “Don’t Allow” under the relevant permissions.
Update iOS
Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install the latest version if one’s available. Apple has patched various Screen Recording bugs across past updates, and it’s a quick step to rule out before moving to anything more involved.
Still Not Working? Try a Different Recording Method
If none of the above resolves it, recording without audio commentary and adding narration separately afterward (in a basic video editor) sidesteps the issue entirely, since the microphone input appears to be the common trigger. A third-party screen recording app is also an option if Apple’s built-in feature keeps failing on your specific device, though that’s a workaround rather than an actual fix for the underlying bug.
Wrapping Up
Start with the microphone toggle — it resolves this for a genuinely large share of affected users, more reliably than the generic storage/restart advice usually given for this error. Work through the Control Center reset and Content & Privacy Restrictions check next if that alone doesn’t fix it. If you’re still stuck after all of this, it’s likely a deeper iOS bug worth reporting directly to Apple via Feedback Assistant, since this has affected multiple iOS versions without a single universal fix.
