How to Fix MP4 Not Compatible with QuickTime on Mac? 7 Ways to Repair MP4 Video on Mac

While MP4 has less compatibility issues with Mac's QuickTime and other devices like Windows, iOS, Android, and TVs, nothing is perfect. The most common issue when you try to play MP4 files on Mac using QuickTime Player is the MP4 not playing on Mac problem:

“I have a 2020 MacBook Pro with an M1 chip, and I can't play mp4 video files in QuickTime Player. I thought I wouldn't need any extra software to do this. Does anyone have a solution?” — Apple Support Communities

As we'll see in this article, however, there are always ways to resolve the “MP4 vs Quicktime” incompatibility issue.

How to Fix Incompatible MP4 Issues on Mac with QuickTime

Whether it's the player or the video file that's causing MP4 not to play on Mac, we've got 7 workable solutions for each problem. So, how do you fix the issue of “MP4 not playing on Mac”? Read on for the solutions.

1. Solution 1: Repair MP4 File with Fixo Video Repair Tool
2. Solution 2: Restart Mac or Relaunch Quicktime Player
3. Solution 3: Update or Reinstall Quicktime Player
4. Solution 4: Clear Recent and Temporary Files on Mac
5. Solution 5: Play MP4 File with Another Player on Mac
6. Solution 6: Download MP4 Codec on Mac
7. Solution 7: Fix MP4 File by Converting It

Solution 1: Repair MP4 File using Fixo Video Repair Tool

When MP4 videos won't play on your Mac, it could be due to software issues or a damaged video file. Users usually delete the corrupted video files when they encounter data corruption (a common issue among Mac users) and restart their MacBook.

Fortunately, you can easily repair corrupted video files on Mac using the Fixo Video Repair tool. The application lets you fight video data corruption in various scenarios and is very user-friendly. It can recover MP4 files that got damaged while editing, recording, transferring, or converting on your Mac.

- Supports various storage devices, including cameras, camcorders, Android phones, iOS devices, and SD cards. - Accommodates video formats such as M4V, FLV, AVI, MOV, MP4, MKV, WMV, SWF, MP3, MPEG, 3G2, and more. - Requires no professional expertise, making it easy for anyone to use.

This tool can fix videos that won't play due to virus infections, bad sectors, and more. To perform an MP4 repair on Mac, download the Fixo tool on your macOS and follow these steps.

Step 1: Launch the Fixo tool on your Mac

Download and launch Fixo on your Mac. Click on “Video Repair” from the left panel, and then hit “Add Video” to upload the corrupted MP4/MOV/MKV/3GP video file.

Step 2: Select the corrupted video and start the repair process

Select the video you want to fix, then click the “Repair” button to start the repair process for a single video. To repair all the videos, select them all and then click “Repair All.”

Step 3: Preview and Save the Repaired Video

Wait for a few minutes – the time it takes will depend on how damaged the video is – and then click “View Fixed” to preview the video. To save the repaired video, click the “Save” button. If you want to save multiple videos, select “Save All.”

Step 4: Run the Advanced Video Repair Process

If Quick Repair doesn't work, try the Advanced Repair mode. Select Advanced Repair to start the process. After you upload an example video, select Confirm.

Run the Advanced Video Repair Process

Step 5: Preview and Save the Repaired Video

A window will pop up with detailed information about the corruption and a sample video. Click on "Repair Now" to initiate the repair process. Once the repair is complete, you can preview the fixed video and click on the "Save" button to save the repaired video file to your desired location.

There's a video that might help you learn more about MP4 repair. You can download the software mentioned in the video to fix MP4 files on your Windows computer:

• 00:18 Reasons for video corruption
• 00:38 Download the Fixo Video Repair tool
• 01:30 Advanced repair mode in Fixo
• 02:02 Online video repair tools
• 02:41 Try using the VLC media player
• 03:33 Create a copy of the original file in VLC

If this article helped you, please share it on social media to let more people know how to fix corrupted video files on Mac.

Fix 2: Restart your Mac or reopen QuickTime Player

If Mac won't play MP4, close the application and restart MacBook. Then check if you can open and play the MP4 video after the restart.

Here are the steps:

Step 1: Click the Apple icon.

Step 2: Choose Restart from the drop-down menu.

Step 3. Your system will shut down, and after a brief delay, restart. You can also change your Mac or MacBook's startup disk when restarting.

If the restart didn't work, close and reopen QuickTime Player. After relaunching the app, try to open and play the MP4 movie again. If it opens and plays, then everything is fine; if not, try other solutions to fix the problem with QuickTime Player not playing MP4 on Mac.

Solution 3: Update or Reinstall QuickTime Player

There are times when, for various reasons, we are unable to play our favorite movie on the installed media player. The main reason for video issues is an outdated media player.

Similarly, if QuickTime Player can't open your downloaded MP4 file on Mac, your media player might be too old or outdated. Update it to the latest version as soon as possible.

You can update or reinstall QuickTime Player in either of these ways:

• Uninstall QuickTime Player, then download and reinstall it from Apple's official Mac QuickTime download page. • You can also manually check for any available QuickTime updates. Choose "QuickTime Player" > "Check for Updates" in the QuickTime menu. If there are any updates available, follow the instructions to install them. Then try playing your MP4 file in QuickTime Player.

Note: Choose the version that corresponds to the most recent version of macOS that you used.

If that doesn't work, you can install software on your Mac to fix issues with MP4 files not playing in QuickTime.

Fix 4: Clear out your Mac's recent and temporary files

Both Windows and macOS machines generate temporary and cache files with regular use, and these details can lead to issues like QuickTime not playing MP4 files on a Mac. You can fix the problem by deleting temporary or recent files.

Here's how to find and delete temporary files on your Mac:

Step 1: Close all running applications before searching for temporary files.

Step 2. In Finder, right-click “Go” > “Go to Folder.”

Step 3: Type ~/Library/Caches/ in the search field, and then press Go to perform the command.

Step 4. Look through the open window for any temporary files saved on your Mac.

Step Five: Select temporary files from specific apps, and delete them, sending them to the Trash.

To clear the "Recent" list on your Mac, follow these steps:

Step 1: Choose Spotlight from System Preferences

Step 2: Select “Privacy,” then click the “+” button in the bottom left corner of the window.

Step 3: Select “Macintosh HD” to add it to the list.

4. Click “OK” next to the warning message. Your recent projects list should now be empty.

This option disables Spotlight on the Mac, so if you choose it, you won't be able to search for files and folders on your hard drive. In this case, recent items in Finder will be deleted after reindexing.

Solution 5: Play MP4 Files on Mac with Other Players

If that doesn't work, try using a different media player on your Mac. If the issue is with QuickTime Player, you can use VLC or MPlayer instead.

You can use VLC to play your videos instead of QuickTime by following these steps:

Step 1: Download and install VLC on your Mac. Then, right-click the video file you want to play in VLC.

Step 2. Select “Open With,” and a dialog box should appear with “VLC media player” as an option.

Once you've done that, your video should play in the VLC media player.

Solution 6: Download MP4 Codecs for Mac

When digital video is compressed, codec algorithms combine different multimedia streams, such as audio and video. Codecs are also used to convert digital data into a readable format. Thus, if your file won't open in QuickTime, it's possible that your Mac doesn't recognize the codec used for the video. You can determine a file's codec by following these steps:

Step 1: In the Window menu of your open video file, choose Show Movie Inspector.

Step 2: A dialog will appear showing the source, format, frame rate (FPS), resolution, file size, and bit rate of the video. To see all the codecs in the media, look for “Format.”

Here's a list of all the audio and video codecs that QuickTime supports:

• **Video encoding:** MPEG-4 Part 2, H.264, MPEG-2 (OS X Lion or later), H.263, H.261 • **Audio encoding:** HE-AAC, AAC (MPEG-4 audio), Apple Lossless, MP3

Make sure those formats are listed. If not, you'll need to install the necessary codec support. You can also download third-party applications to help QuickTime recognize all audio and video types.

Fix 7: Repair MP4 File by Converting It

If the video won't play in QuickTime Player, try converting the original video to a codec that QuickTime Player supports. Renaming the file lets you change the file extension. For example, change the filename to end in ".avi" instead of ".mp4."

You can also download third-party apps to convert videos into a format that's compatible with QuickTime Player.

Why won't MP4 play on Mac?

Most of the time, the issue with Mac not playing MP4 or MP4 having no sound is due to software problems. You might encounter this issue if any codec on your device is incompatible with the media file. However, since most users are not well-versed in codecs, it can be challenging to pinpoint the problem right away. Here are four primary reasons:

1. Damaged MP4 file

Damaged MP4 files are one of the reasons why MP4 videos won't play on a Mac. This can occur due to various reasons, such as virus infections, poor compression quality, transmission or conversion issues during video editing processes, and more.

2. Damaged media player

A corrupted video player is closely related to this issue. Since QuickTime doesn't have a repair tool, it fails to play MP4 files that a damaged player or software can't play.

3. Incorrect audio codec

Usually, MP4 video files are missing the necessary codecs. Apple states that QuickTime supports MP4 files encoded with H.264, MPEG-4, and H.265/HEVC, and that it no longer supports older or specialty codecs and formats starting with macOS 10.13.

4. System Failure

When your Mac is inflicted with a virus, malware, or is experiencing power issues and other hardware problems, MP4 files won't play on your Mac.

Conclusions

While watching videos on a Mac, you might encounter the issue of "MP4 not playing on Mac." The good news is that, despite the various reasons, a corrupted or damaged video can be fixed with simple manual procedures or an automated file repair tool like Fixo Video Repair. If the manual methods don't work for your issue, you can grab the free trial of the video recovery software by clicking the download button below. It will show a preview of the repaired video.

Frequently Asked Questions About MP4 Not Playing on Mac

Here are some related questions that might interest you, continue reading to quickly find your answer.

On a Mac, you can use QuickTime Player to open an MP4 file. You can also use Windows Media Player to open an MP4 file.

2. Why is my video corrupted?

Sometimes, video files can become corrupted due to various reasons, such as:

• Damaged header information
• Issues with the download source
• Interrupted network connection
• Compression issues, etc.

3. Can QuickTime Play MP4?

Theoretically, MP4 files should be natively compatible with QuickTime Player, which is based on the QuickTime file format. Assuming that the MP4 file is encoded using codecs compatible with QuickTime, such as MPEG-2, MPEG-4, or H.264 for video, and AAC for audio, it should play seamlessly. Since MP4 is a container format, it can house other codecs aside from MPEG-4 (AAC) or H.264 (AAC), which is why QuickTime may play MP4 files on a Mac sometimes but not others.

4. Can VLC Play MP4 on Mac?

Yes, the most powerful open-source and free multimedia player is VLC, supported by VideoLAN. It can play almost any audio or video file on just about any system, including a Mac, including MP4s.