Why did my iPhone video stop recording when I got a call or a notification? (and how to prevent it)

• A phone call or FaceTime call. An incoming call can take over the screen, and people often report that it stops the recording. Do Not Disturb hides banners but may not stop every call, depending on who is allowed through.
• Notification banners. They do not always end a recording, but they can cover your text or show up in a screen recording.
• Storage that is nearly full. The video stops when there is no room left to write it.
• Battery and heat. A phone that is very low on charge or too hot can shut the camera down or switch off.
• Leaving the camera app by accident, for example with a swipe or a tap on a banner.

1. 1Open Control Centre, tap Focus and choose Do Not Disturb (or a Focus you made for recording). Banners and previews are held back while it is on.
2. 2If you do not need the network for the take, also turn on Airplane Mode. That is the most reliable way to keep calls and messages from reaching the phone at all. Remember that the phone will not receive anything until you turn it off again.
3. 3For a Focus, check which people and apps it still allows. Some Focus settings let selected contacts and repeated calls through.
4. 4Turn the Focus or Airplane Mode off after the recording so you do not miss a call later.

• Battery: plug in for anything long. The camera and a bright screen use a lot of power.
• Storage: check Settings › General › iPhone Storage. Video takes a lot of room, and the recording stops when the phone is full.
• Heat: take the phone out of a case or a hot car if it feels warm. A hot phone may dim the screen or stop the camera.
• Screen lock: set Auto-Lock to a longer time or Never for the session, or use an app that keeps the screen on.
• A short test: film ten seconds, play it back with sound, and only then start the real take.

Open the Photos app first: the part you filmed is often saved, and only the rest is missing. Do not restart the phone before you have checked. Then record the rest as a new clip and join the two in an editor, or redo the take from the start of the sentence where it stopped.

To lose less when something goes wrong, record in short sections instead of one long take, so one interruption costs a minute and not the whole video.

Talkzy writes a take to a file in small pieces, about every two seconds, while it records. If Talkzy is closed, crashes or the battery dies in the middle of a take, the next time you open it, the app finds the file again, adds it to the script’s takes and marks it Recovered. At most the last couple of seconds are lost. This is about the app being closed or killed; it does not stop a call from interrupting the camera, so the checklist above still applies. Talkzy for iPhone and iPad is on the App Store, and its prompter-only mode is free.