How to Repair Corrupted iPhone Videos

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Do you have trouble playing your iPhone videos because they are corrupted? While iPhone videos are of excellent quality, they remain vulnerable to corruption like any other video file.

Issues like incomplete transfers or sudden shutdowns of iPhone can render your videos unplayable or corrupt. The solution involves using specialized tools and methods to repair corrupted iPhone videos.

In this article, we provide a detailed guide to repairing corrupted iPhone videos. Whether your video fails to play or displays visual issues, the solutions outlined here aim to restore your videos to a functional state.

What Are the Signs That iPhone Videos Are Corrupted?

If an iPhone video does not play, it does not necessarily mean it is corrupted. To prevent unnecessary troubleshooting, we have listed the definitive signs that indicate the video is corrupted, along with potential causes for each type of corruption.

  • If the video fails to play on any device (iPhone, Windows, or Mac) and the media player shows error messages such as “cannot read file” or “unsupported format,” it typically indicates the absence of necessary components required for playback. This corruption can result from interrupted file transfers or system crashes that corrupt the file structure.
  • Should the video display pixelation, flickering, or erratic stops and starts during playback, it suggests partial data corruption. These disruptions often occur due to incomplete file writing or interruptions during the transfer process, which cause gaps or errors in the video data stream.
  • Only the audio plays without the accompanying video indicates corruption in the video stream, while the audio component remains unaffected. This issue usually arises from codec failures or specific damage to the video track within the file.
  • If a previously clear video now appears blurry or the colors seem off, it could have suffered from encoding errors. These problems may occur because software malfunctions happen during the encoding process or because partial corruption undermines the video’s data integrity.

How to Repair Corrupted iPhone Videos

Regardless of your video file's corruption, neither the iPhone nor any other device inherently possesses built-in tools to repair corrupted videos. Consequently, you must use third-party tools to tackle this task. Below, we will present a few methods to repair corrupted MOV files, which is the most common video format on iPhones. However, you can apply these techniques to other video formats depending on your iPhone's settings to record videos. These tools restore access to your iPhone recordings and guarantee that you retain the original quality of your files as much as possible.

Method 1: Use Specialized Repair Tool

You will need a specialized video repair tool to address playback issues with iPhone videos, whether they fail to play entirely or exhibit visual problems. These tools typically fall into two categories: online solutions and software that requires installation on your device. As no specific app exists solely for iPhone repair tasks, we recommend using an online tool for convenience.

One such tool is Clever Online Video Repair. This tool offers free service, setting it apart from other options that often charge per video repair. It supports iPhone video formats and codecs, such as MOV and HEVC (H.265), making it highly suitable for iPhone video repairs. Clever Online Video Repair allows you to fix videos up to 5GB, which is enough for most iPhone recordings.

Note: To successfully repair a corrupted iPhone video, you must have an uncorrupted sample video shot on the same iPhone under the same settings as the corrupted one. If you lack a suitable sample, record a new one, but check it remains uncorrupted.

  1. Launch your browser, navigate to Clever Online Video Repair, and click the yellow ‘Choose file’ button on the homepage. Use the file selection dialog to locate and select your corrupted iPhone video, then click ‘Upload.’

Note: If you use a device other than the iPhone where the video is stored, you should transfer the corrupted video and a healthy sample to this device before you start the repair.

  1. Provide details about the iPhone video, such as the events leading up to and following the corruption and what occurs when you attempt to play the video. You can also skip this step.
  2. Use the dropdown menus to select ‘Camera’ under Type and ‘Apple’ under Brand. Then, select the exact model of your iPhone and click ‘Repair.’
  3. Click ‘Choose file’ again, select your healthy video sample, and click ‘Upload.’
  1. After you upload your sample, a prompt to create an account will appear. Registration is necessary to initiate the repair process. Once registered, the tool automatically begins repairing your video.
  2. If the repair is successful, you can preview screenshots of the repaired video. If satisfied with the outcome, click ‘Download’ to save the video.

Note: Additionally, software options are available that you can install on your computer to repair iPhone videos. Free tools such as Untrunc and FFmpeg are accessible but use command-line interfaces in Terminal, which may be difficult if you are unfamiliar with such environments.

On the other hand, most software with graphical user interfaces, like Yodot or Remo Video Repair, typically allow you to preview the repaired videos for free. However, you must purchase the full version of the software to download the fully restored video files.

Method 2: Convert Your iPhone Video to Another Format

Converting the video format can solve issues such as out-of-sync audio and video tracks or blurry iPhone video playback. This process involves recording the video stream, which can correct synchronization issues and clarify the video quality. During conversion, the original video file is decoded into a raw format and re-encoded into a new one. This can often repair corruption errors caused by the original encoding process.

If you prefer to perform this conversion directly from your iPhone, using any available online converter will suffice, as they all operate on the same fundamental principles. The following steps are generally adaptable to any converter you choose and will guide you through the process:

  1. Choose a reliable online video converter that supports various file formats and codecs.
  2. Navigate to the converter’s website and upload your corrupted iPhone video file.
  3. Select a new format for the video. MP4 is widely recommended due to its balance of quality and compatibility across various devices and platforms.
  4. Adjust the video and audio codec settings. If available, opt for H.264 for video and AAC for audio, as these codecs offer good performance and broad compatibility.

Note: This step is beneficial if the problem with video playback is due to codec incompatibility with your device.

  1. Initiate the video conversion. The online tool will process your video, which may take a few minutes, depending on the file size and internet speed.
  2. Once the conversion is complete, download the new video file to your device and check for improved playback.

Note: If you prefer to handle the video conversion on your computer and do not want to upload your files to a third-party website, software like Handbrake for Mac provides a powerful, user-friendly solution. For Windows users, a similar program is Freemake Video Converter. Both programs offer intuitive interfaces and various codec options, which allow you to repair and improve your iPhone videos securely.

Additional Methods to Restore iPhone Video Playback

In this section, we introduce two additional methods to resolve issues if your video is played successfully on the iPhone but something goes wrong during transfer to another device or the editing process. These methods aim to recover the playback functionality of your videos after such incidents and restore them to their original operational state.

Method 1: Use Third-Party Media Players

If your video plays without issues on your iPhone but encounters problems on another device, such as a computer, the issue may be due to codec incompatibility between the video player and the video file. iPhones typically use specific codecs and container formats, such as MOV files with H.264 video and AAC audio, which default media players on other devices may not natively support. In such cases, you can play the video with third-party media players to resolve the issue. 

Unsure which media player to choose? Several reliable options are available for both Mac and Windows. VLC Media Player, IINA, and Elmedia Player are excellent choices for Mac users. For optimal performance, Windows users might consider VLC Media Player, KMPlayer, or PotPlayer.

  1. Choose a media player from the list provided and download it from the official website. Follow the installation instructions to set it up on your device.
  1. Navigate to the location where you stored the problematic video file from your iPhone.
  2. Right-click on the video file, select ‘Open with,’ and choose your installed media player. This action will attempt to play the video using a third-party player.

Method 2: Restore Corrupted iPhone Video Files From Backups

If your iPhone video corrupts during editing—for example, if the app crashes or the iPhone unexpectedly turns off—you may restore the original video from available backups. This method assumes, of course, that such backups exist and contain the video you need along with all other critical data.

Note: You must completely reset your iPhone to restore it from an iCloud backup. Meanwhile, restoring from an iTunes or Finder backup overwrites existing data on the phone, which could result in the loss of any data added since the last backup was performed.

  1. Before proceeding, check that your backup contains the video you need to recover. Check the data backup date to confirm that it predates the corruption incident.
  2. If you will be using iCloud, go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings. After your iPhone restarts, follow the onscreen steps to reach the Apps & Data screen, then tap “Restore from iCloud Backup.”
  1. If you will be using iTunes/Finder, connect your iPhone to the computer you normally sync with. Open iTunes (or Finder on macOS Catalina and later), select your iPhone, click ‘Restore Backup,’ and choose the appropriate backup.
  2. Initiate the restoration process using the method you’ve chosen. This will overwrite existing data on your iPhone with the contents of the backup, so check that you have saved any recent data elsewhere if needed.
  3. Once the restoration is completed, verify that the video plays correctly and that any other important data has been restored as expected.

Conclusion

As we demonstrated in this article, you can repair a corrupted iPhone video, though no method guarantees a 100% success rate due to the varying degrees of video damage.

The outcome largely depends on how severely the video file has suffered. We presented practical methods to address such problems and provided tools and repair techniques.

Ultimately, you must restore corrupted iPhone videos through technical insight, the right tools, and a knowledge of the video formats used by Apple devices. If you face persistent issues, consider consulting with a multimedia professional.

FAQ

What steps should I take immediately after discovering an iPhone video corruption to increase the chances of successful repair?

Upon you discover that an iPhone video is corrupted, you should first check no additional data is written to the device, as this could overwrite the corrupted file. It is important to avoid deleting the video, even if it does not play. Make sure your device has enough free storage space to handle repair operations without causing additional issues.

Can I use the mentioned methods to repair videos taken on other smartphones?

The methods described for repairing corrupted iPhone videos are universal and can be applied to videos taken on other smartphones. These repair techniques and tools support many video formats common to most smartphones, such as MP4, AVI, and MOV. Therefore, regardless of the brand or model of the phone, these methods should work as long as the video format is compatible with the repair tools used.

What are some common error messages that might indicate my iPhone video is corrupted?

When an iPhone video is corrupted, several error messages might appear during attempts to play the video. Common indicators include messages stating, “This media file cannot be played,” or “Error loading media: File could not be played.” You might also encounter alerts such as “Cannot play video. The file is corrupted or unsupported,” “The video file cannot be opened,” or “Playback error: The file format is unrecognized.” These messages suggest that the video file has issues that prevent normal playback.