Repair Corrupt MP4 Video: A Complete Guide

Are you having trouble playing an MP4 video file? Whether it’s a clip you shot on your phone or footage from a traditional video camera, a faulty MP4 will not play smoothly on your media player.

If a codec is missing, you can simply download the required codecs, and the video will play without glitches. But if your video file is damaged or corrupted, you’ll have to apply advanced repair methods to fix it. This guide shares detailed steps to repair a corrupt MP4 file and get it running smoothly again.

How do MP4 videos turn Corrupt?

MP4 files can get corrupted for many reasons, mostly due to the digital media used to store these videos, such as SD cards, pen drives, USB flash drives, or hard drives. These storage mediums have a limited lifespan and can develop bad sectors, which can cause damage to files.

Apart from this, it could result from not following the best practices for handling digital files, which could have prevented video corruption. And then, there are technical hiccups that we can’t escape, despite our best efforts.

Some of the common causes of MP4 file corruption are:

• Sudden system shutdown while watching or editing video.
• Incomplete MP4 file transfer or download due to sudden power cut, disconnection, etc.
• OS crash.
• Presence of virus or malware.
• Presence of bad sectors on the drive.
• Missing or corrupt MP4 file header.

Watch this video to learn “How to Repair Corrupt MP4 Video Files.”

How to Repair Corrupt MP4 Files?

If you’re facing trouble with your MP4 videos, don’t worry, there’s a good chance you can fix them! MP4 video repair tools are great for fixing damaged or corrupted videos. But note that just because a video isn’t playing or showing an error doesn’t mean it’s corrupt.

Often, the problem might be with the device or the media player you’re using. So before using an MP4 video repair software, try these troubleshooting methods to fix damaged MP4 videos:

Method 1: Play the Video in Another Media Player

Media players are not compatible with every video format. Although they mostly support the MP4 format, technical issues can still occur. So try playing your MP4 files in VLC Media Player, Winamp, KMPlayer, or others to see if it works. If not, jump to the next step.

Method 2: Convert the Video File to Another Format

If MP4 videos are not playing, convert them to another file format, such as MP4 to MOV, MP4 to AVI, and so on. You can choose any online MP4 converter program or desktop conversion software like Stellar Converter for Audio Video.

Additionally, VLC Media Player can also convert MP4 videos to a different file format.

Here’s how to use VLC Media Player to convert MP4 files to other formats:

• Open VLC Media Player on your Mac/Windows. (Here we used Mac.)
• Click the File option at the top and select the Convert/Stream option.

• Click the Open Media button and select one or more MP4 videos you want to transcode. Select the Customize option next to the Choose Profile.

• Navigate to the Encapsulation tab, and select any file format, like, for example, AVI. Click Apply.

• Click the Save as File button at the bottom of the Convert & Stream window.

• Click Browse to select the location to save your converted video, and remember to give a proper name to your file. Then click Save.

After transcoding, play the converted video in VLC or any other media player.

Method 3: Download MP4 Codecs

A codec is used to compress or decompress a video file. Every video file format has an audio and video codec. For example, MP4 file types use MPEG-4 and AAC codec to compress video and audio files, respectively. If your media player doesn’t have these codecs, it cannot play an MP4 file and may show errors, such as ‘A codec is required to play this file.’

The solution is to download the right codecs. You can also get a codec pack online, such as Media Player Codec pack, X codec pack, or K-Lite or Perian for your PC or Mac computer.

Caution: Always download the video codecs from a trusted source to avoid any virus or malware risk.

Method 4: Repair MP4 File Header Using the Hex Editor Program

Use Hex editor tools that can repair corrupt or damaged video file header. The program lets you view and edit the binary information in a video file.

As Hex editor programs use fundamental binary data to fix the MP4 file header, you should have good knowledge about hexadecimal codes. HxD, HexEd, Hex Fiend, OxED, etc., are common Hex Editors that you can easily find online and download on your computer.

Fix Corrupt or Damaged MP4 Files with Video Repair Software

When the above troubleshooting doesn’t work, go for the efficient Stellar Repair for Video software. VLC Media Player also has a built-in video repair feature that can fix corruption in the file index.

Method 1: Repair Corrupt MP4 Videos With Video Repair Software

Stellar Repair for Video is an advanced repair software that fixes all corruption issues in a video file. For example, you can use the software to repair damaged and severely corrupt MP4 files.

It can repair choppy, flickering, jerky, black/ green screens, truncated, no-sound, audio-lag, and many other video problems arising from corruption in the file header, frames, movement, or sound section, etc.

 

Steps to repair corrupt MP4 videos with Stellar Repair for Video:

• Download & launch Stellar Repair for Video on PC or Mac.

• Click Add file to upload corrupt MP4 videos.

• Then, click Repair to begin the repair process.

• Preview the repaired video. Click Save Repaired Files to save the repaired MP4 videos at your chosen location.

Method 2: Repair MP4 Videos by Using the VLC Video Fix Feature

VLC Media Player is a multi-functional app that can fix corrupted or damaged video files. The built-in ‘Repair AVI fixes’ feature in VLC fixes corruption issues in any video’s file index and file header. To use this feature, you need to convert a copy of your original MP4 video file to AVI and then repair it.

 Here’s how to repair MP4 video files using AVI fix in VLC:

• Follow the steps mentioned above to convert your MP4 video file to AVI.
• Open the converted video file in VLC Media Player and then click Tools > Preferences.

• Go to the Input/Codec tab.
• Choose the Always Fix option from the drop-down next to Damaged or incomplete AVI Files. Then click Save.

Now, try to play the repaired video file.

Method 3: Repair Mp4 Video Files Online

Various online video repair tools can help fix corrupt MP4 videos, such as Online Converter and Fix Video etc. These online MP4 repair tools are completely free and can repair various video file formats. These tools are simple to use and can repair MP4 video in just a few steps.

Here’s how to use the Online Converter tool to repair MP4 videos:

• Go to Online Converter on your Mac or Windows web browser.
• Next, upload the corrupted MP4 video files.
• If you have a reference video (a playable video created from the same device as corrupted video), upload it or leave it blank.
• Click the Convert button to initiate the conversion process.
• Wait for some time for the process to get completed, and then save the fixed video.

Caution: Using online tools can lead to data theft, as you need to upload your damaged videos to the server of these online MP4 video repair tools to get them fixed.

Conclusion

Although video repair software is the best solution for fixing corrupt MP4 files, we first recommend trying out some workarounds like file format conversion or playing the file in a different media player.

If these don’t work, use Stellar Repair for Video, a professional video repair tool. It can fix unlimited videos in one go and is known to repair severe corruption issues in MP4 and other video file types.

FAQs

1. How to fix ‘MP4 not playing on Mac’?

If your MP4 video is not playing on Mac, you can try the following steps to fix this:

• Restart your Mac.
• Update QuickTime Player.
• Download MP4 codecs on Mac.
• Play MP4 video file in another media player on Mac.
• Convert MP4 file to another format.

2. How to convert AVI to MP4 video files without losing quality?

You can use professional tool like Stellar Converter for Audio Video File or VLC Media Player to convert AVI to MP4 video files without losing quality.

3. How to open or play MP4 files?

You can use VLC Media Player, Windows Media Player, QuickTime Player, KMPlayer, and others.

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About The Author

Nishat Paiker

Nishat Paiker is an expert technical writer and editor with over 8 years of experience. She has deep knowledge about data recovery and loves to explore new technology and DIY tools. Nishat has keen interest in photography. You will often find her giving photography tips and hacks.