How to Fix Corrupted MP4 and/or MOV Video Files

MP4 and MOV file corruption is a common problem responsible for many lost video memories. Fortunately, it can often be fixed using the five methods I’ll describe in this article. The same methods have helped me and many other people who have experienced the frustration of unplayable video files in the past, and I’m sure they’ll help you too.

What Causes MP4 and MOV Files to Become Corrupted?

I know I know, you’re itching to fix your corrupted MP4 or MOV video file so that you can play it again and your patience for reading me explain how corruption happens in the first place is limited, but understanding it isn’t just about satisfying curiosity—it’s about prevention too.

You don’t want to repair one MP4 or MOV file just to see another one become corrupted a few hours or even minutes later. So, with that said, let’s go through the most common causes of video corruption as quickly as possible:

• Device malfunction during video recording: Sometimes, your camera or smartphone might have a sudden hiccup while you’re capturing that perfect moment, which is exactly what happened to this unfortunate person on Reddit. These malfunctions can prevent the video file from being properly finalized, leaving you with a corrupted file that won’t play.
• Power interruptions during file transfer: If you’re downloading a video file and your laptop’s battery reaches 0 percent of charge or something (or something) flips the breaker in your house, then the file transfer will be interrupted and your file corrupted.
• Short circuit or device failure when saving files: Electronic devices can be temperamental sometimes. A short circuit or sudden failure while your device is in the middle of saving a video file is guaranteed to result in corruption.
• Software bugs leading to incomplete transfers: Even the most competent software developers make mistakes, and some of their mistakes make it into public releases and lead to costly problems. Depending on how severe the bug in question is, it can cause the software to crash or produce an error so severe that it interrupts the video file transfer process.

To deal with the consequences of MP4 and/or MOV corruption (both avoidable and unavoidable), continue to the next section, where I describe five repair methods that can help you fix your corrupted video files.

3 Best Methods to Repair MP4 and MOV Files

Alright, let’s cut to the chase: your video is corrupted, and you want it fixed yesterday. To achieve the best repair results in the shortest amount of time possible, please follow the methods below in the order in which I present them. That way, you can start with the simplest and most effective solutions before moving on to more complex and less likely-to-succeed ones.

Method 1: Use a Video Repair Tool

Video repair tools are specialized software solutions that can analyze the structure of your MP4 or MOV file, identify the corrupted section, and attempt to bypass it (they don’t restore lost video frames).

You have two main options when it comes to video repair tools: online services and offline (downloadable) software. Each has its pros and cons:

• Online tools are typically easier to use and don’t require installation (so you can use them even on mobile devices), but they may pose privacy concerns since you’re uploading your video to a third-party server. That’s why it’s extra important to choose a reputable online video repair tool and just the first one you stumble across.
• Offline tools offer more privacy and control, but they can be more complex to use and may require some technical know-how. Also, many need to be installed, which is something users who don’t have administrator privileges, such as those trying to repair MP4 or MOV files on a library computer, can’t do.

Let’s look at the two best online and offline video repair tools, one from each category and both completely free:

Option A: Use Clever Online Video Repair Service

Clever Online Video Repair service is the best completely free online solution for fixing corrupted MP4 and MOV files, especially those resulting from improperly terminated recordings or interrupted downloads.

Unlike many other similar online tools, Clever Online Video Repair takes user privacy very seriously. All uploaded videos are automatically deleted from their servers 24 hours after processing, so you can rest assured, knowing your private moments won’t linger on some unknown server.

To use Clever Online Video Repair, you need to:

1. Visit the Clever Online Video Repair website and drag your MP4 or MOV video file onto the designated area.
2. Provide a healthy sample video recorded by the same camera as the video you’re trying to repair.
3. Download the repaired video file to your computer.

If you want to, you can create a user account to keep your files on the server for up to three days—useful if your internet connection is unstable and you need more time to finish the repair process.

Option B: Try Untrunc GUI

For those who prefer an offline solution, Untrunc with its optional graphical user interface is a solid choice. It’s an open-source tool that can repair MP4 and MOV (and M4V and 3GP) files using a working video file as a reference.

Unfortunately, the GUI is included by default only with Windows builds, and Linux and macOS users are expected to build it themselves, which isn’t something even many power users can do. That’s why I strongly recommend you find yourself a Windows machine if you don’t have access to one already if you decide to give Untrunc a chance.

With a Windows computer ready, the repair process using Untruct GUI isn’t complicated:

1. Download and install Untrunc GUI from its GitHub repository.
2. Launch Untruct GUI.
3. Select a reference file.
4. Select the corrupted MP4 or MOV file you want to repair.
5. Click the Execute button and wait.

While it may require a bit more effort than online tools, Untrunc GUI can be very effective, and it won’t cost you any money to try it.

Method 2: Change the File Format to AVI and Play It Using VLC

This method involves a bit of file extension trickery and leveraging VLC Media Player’s built-in repair capabilities. It’s not guaranteed to work for severely corrupted files, but it’s quick, easy, and free to try.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Make a copy of your original corrupted MP4 or MOV file. We’re going to be messing with file extensions, and it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
2. Take your copy and change its file extension from .MP4 or .MOV to .AVI. For example, “corrupted_video.mp4” becomes “corrupted_video.avi”. To do this on Windows, you can simply right-click on the file, select “Rename,” and change the extension from “.mp4” or “.mov” to “.avi.” On a Mac, you can right-click the file, select “Get Info,” and then change the extension in the “Name & Extension” field.
3. Download and install VLC Media Player from its official website. VLC is available for all major platforms, but only the Windows, macOS, and Linux versions have the repair feature we need—the mobile versions, for example, won’t help you.
4. Launch VLC and open Preferences/Settings. Navigate to Input/Codecs tab. Look for an option called Repair AVI Files. Make sure the option is set to Ask for action or Always fix.
5. Try playing your renamed file in VLC. If the Repair AVI Files option is set to Ask for action, you will also need to confirm the repair process. With any luck, VLC will repair the file and play it without any major issues. Unfortunately, I wasn’t lucky, and VLC didn’t manage to repair my video, as the screenshot below shows. 

Note, however, that you might experience some skipping during playback. That’s because this method is telling VLC to try its hardest to play whatever data it can find in the file, even if it’s not perfectly structured. While this trick has saved many of my videos in the past, it’s not perfect.

Method 3: Re-Encode the Video with HandBrake

Re-encoding is the process of decoding the existing video data and then encoding it again from scratch. This can often bypass corruption issues by essentially rebuilding the video file structure.

For this method, I recommend using HandBrake. It’s a powerful, open-source video transcoder that’s completely free and incredibly capable, which is why it’s loved by many and commonly recommended on online forums and question-answer sites.

Here’s how to use it:

1. Download and install HandBrake from its official website.
2. Launch HandBrake and click on “Open Source” to select your corrupted video file or drop it into the designated area.
3. Choose a preset. For general use, “Fast 1080p30” is a good choice. You can adjust the Constant Quality slider in the Video tab if you want to. A value between 18-24 usually provides a good balance between quality and file size.
4. In the Save As field, give your new video a name and choose where to save it.
5. Click the Start Encode button to begin the process.

How to Use Recovery Software to Recover Videos Lost During Recording Interruptions

Sometimes, the issue isn’t just corruption—your video file might be missing entirely because the logical references leading to its physical location on the storage device haven’t been recorded. Since there’s no visible file, there’s also nothing to repair.

The main one is that it’s incredibly user-friendly while still being powerful enough to recover lost video files in various scenarios. It supports a wide range of file formats, including MP4 and MOV, and can recover files from virtually any storage device, be it your computer’s hard drive, an SD card from your camera, or even a USB flash drive.

To recover your missing MP4 or MOV files using Disk Drill:

1. Download and install Disk Drill from the official website. The data recovery software is available for Windows and macOS. The Windows version can recover up to 500 MB of data for free, while the macOS version boasts unlimited preview capabilities.
2. Connect the device where your video was being recorded (e.g., camera, phone, or memory card) to your computer.
3. Launch Disk Drill and select the connected device from the list. Click the Search for lost data button to start scanning.
4. Once the scan is complete, use the file type filter to show only video files. You can preview the found videos to identify your lost recording.
5. Select the video you want to recover and click the Recover button. Finally, choose a safe location on your computer to save the recovered video.

It’s important to note that while Disk Drill can often recover lost videos, success isn’t guaranteed. The sooner you attempt recovery after the interruption, the better your chances.

Conclusion

If there’s something I’ve learned as a tech writer over the years, it’s that every issue has a solution. What’s great is that the solutions to common problems like the corruption of MP4 and MOV files have been becoming easier and easier to use. Now, in 2024, just about anyone can repair video corruption thanks to online tools like Clever Online Video Repair service. Who knows, maybe in 5 years, you’ll be able to just tell your computer or smartphone what’s wrong with your video, and it’ll fix it automatically!