MP4 files are one of the most popular file types for playing videos, whether that's a song on your smartphone, a clip on your computer, or a video you upload to YouTube.

Hence, it is quite common to encounter unplayable MP4 video files. For instance, your MP4 video might get corrupted due to malware, data damage during transfer, or battery drainage during recording.

If your MP4 won't play, don't worry – you're not alone. Whatever the reason for your corrupted MP4 video files, this guide will walk you through the steps to fix them.

Symptoms and Errors of Unplayable MP4 Files

    - Your computer application is missing the codec required to play the video, even though it plays on your Android phone. - The video keeps buffering randomly. - There's audio distortion or no sound at all in the video. - The video is blurry, choppy, or pixelated. - An MP4 video fails to play, unrelated to any special effects in the movie. - There's an issue with the synchronization between the video and audio. - The player displays a black screen or a blank screen instead of the video.

Solution 1: Try opening the MP4 file with VLC Media Player

One issue with MP4 files not playing could be that the media player lacks the correct decoder to support the format. If your video file is not corrupted, you can try using another player, such as VLC Media Player.

    - Media players like VLC Media Player are popular choices for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux. - VLC is a great option since it can play almost any file format without needing any codecs. - In addition to supporting DVDs, audio CDs, VCDs, and such, VLC Media Player can stream various audio and video protocols. It also allows you to play video files from the web through its interface.

Playing an MP4 video file with the VLC media player is simple, just follow these steps.

Step 1: Open the VLC media player. Click "Media" and then select "Open File."

Select folder in VLC

Step 2: In the new window, select your MP4 folder and open it. If the file isn't corrupted, the video will start playing.

Select a file or folder in VLC

Method 2: Convert MP4 to Another Format Using Windows Media Player

Sometimes, converting an MP4 to another format can fix the issue. You can use free players like Windows Media Player to do this.

Windows Media Player (WMP) is a media player and media library application developed by Microsoft that is used for playing audio, video, and viewing images on personal computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system, as well as on Pocket PC and Windows Mobile devices.

Windows Media Player is more than just a media player; it can also rip and burn CDs, synchronize content to an MP3 player or other portable device, and provide access to music stores for purchasing or renting music.

Here are the steps to convert an unplayable MP4 file to another format:

Step 1: Open Windows Media Player. If you don't see the toolbar, press Ctrl+2 to activate Classic Skin. Click on File, then click Save As. A Save dialog box will appear.

Open File in Windows Media Player

Step 2. Select the MP4 file that you want to convert to another format from the folder location on your computer. Click on Open.

Windows Media Player location MP4

Step 3: Once the file is opened with Windows Media Player, click on “File” and then “Save As.” In the dialog box that appears, click on the “File name” bar and change the extension to the format you require.

Choose where you want to save the new video file on your computer, then click “Save”.

In a few seconds, Windows Media Player will start converting the MP4 file to another video format and save the converted file to your preferred location on the computer. This process shouldn't take long, in most cases.

Click Save in Windows Media Player

Fix 3: Repair MP4 Video with Repair Tool

You can repair all types of videos using a professional software solution, the Fixo Video Repair Tool. The process is straightforward and will have your video fixed in no time.

As compared to Windows Media Player, Fixo tools are better for MP4 repair because a conversion in WMP may not always work, and this is a professional video repair software that runs on compatible devices.

Using a tool makes it incredibly easy to fix corrupted videos. All you need to do is select the damaged video and hit the repair button. The software takes care of the rest, fixing your corrupted video file. It can handle various issues like MP4 no sound or more common problems like video format not supported.

    • The tool runs on Windows and repairs videos on macOS, Android, and iOS.
    • It supports all major video formats, such as MP4 repair, MOV, MKV, FLV, AVI, 3GP, M4V, WMV, FLV, SWF, MPG, 3G2, RM/RMVB, MPEG, and more.
    • Whether your video got damaged during editing, conversion, or while attempting recovery, Fixo can fix it.
    • You can use this tool to repair videos from multiple sources, including external hard drives, damaged HDDs, USB flash drives, SD cards, cameras, dashcams, CCTV systems, pocket cameras, and more.

Follow these steps to repair an unplayable MP4 file using video repair software:

Step 1. Launch Fixo on your local computer and click on “Video Repair.” Add the corrupt MP4/MOV/AVI/MKV/3GP/FLV/MKV/WMV video file by clicking on “Add Video.”

Repair videos with Fixo

< strong > Step 2. Move the pointer over the video and click the "Repair" button to start the single video repair process. Click "Repair All" to fix all videos.

Select the video to repair select videos to repair

Step 3: Wait a few minutes for the corrupted video to be repaired. Preview the video by clicking the play icon. If you want to save an individual video, tap the "Save" button next to the play icon. To save all repaired videos, select "Save All."

Save the repaired video in Fixo

Step 4: If the Quick Fix was unsuccessful, you should try the Advanced Repair mode. Click on “Advanced Repair” and add a sample video. Select “Proceed” to continue.

Add sample video for advanced repair

Step 5: A detailed list of corrupted and sample videos will be displayed. Click on 'Repair Now' to initiate the advanced video repair process. Once done, you can preview the video and click on the 'Save' button to save the repaired video file to a desired location.

Click “Repair Now” to begin the advanced repair.

Conclusions

This guide will show you how to fix an MP4 file that won't play. For example, your computer might be missing the codecs needed to play the MP4 format, so you could try using another media player, like VLC Media Player.

Alternatively, your MP4 file could be corrupted. In that case, you can try using Windows Media Player to convert it to another format. This essentially repairs the MP4 video file, though it doesn't always work.

Thus, you need a professional video repair tool, such as FixoTM, designed to fix videos in various states of damage.

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