How to fix ‘MP4 not playing on Mac’

“I had a couple of recorded video clips on my iPhone, which I transferred to a buddy’s Mac to remove unneeded bits with his video editor. Afterward, I transferred the edited files to my Mac and attempted to play them with QuickTime. However, several files failed to play and threw random errors like “cannot open mp4 on Mac.” I don’t have a backup, and I’m thinking what to do with the corrupted MP4 video files. Can someone propose a suitable solution that works without causing more damage?”

Many Mac users who incorrectly handle MP4 videos may find themselves in this position. In fact, “MP4 files not playing on Mac” is a very common error due to which Mac users may not be able to play MP4 format video files in any media player on their system. However, there’s no need to get discouraged. There’s always a good chance to repair corrupted MP4 files on Mac, as we’ll see in this post.

First things first – Why does MP4 stop playing or doesn’t play on Mac?

Before getting started with the repair options, it’s important to understand the reasons for MP4 file corruption and “cannot open mp4 on Mac” error, so that it doesn’t arise in the future.

Many video file formats that can be played flawlessly on a Mac, like MP4, F4V, MKV, M4A, and MOV. But irrespective of which media player you use, under certain circumstances, all these files have an inclination to get corrupted or damaged.

This damage could be caused by the following factors:

• Damaged or missing video header
• Low-quality compression, transmission, or conversion during video editing
• Incomplete download because of a shaky internet connection
• Problems with the video player
• Mac system failure due to a power outage

While it may be very difficult and tedious to repair MP4 files that are not playing on Mac, you can use some manual and automated tricks to repair damaged videos, as shown in the next section.

How to eliminate MP4 not playing on Mac error?

Let’s get started with the solutions to fix the “Mp4 File not playing on Mac” error:

1. Repair by converting files

Various apps can assist you in converting the file format of a video on a Mac, but unfortunately, many of them demand purchasing a license. Nonetheless, this is how you can do it for free using the VLC player.

• Launch VLC media player and go to the “File” menu.
• Select the “Streaming/Exporting Wizard” option.
• Next, select “Transcode/Save to File” from the drop-down menu.
• Click “Next” when you’re finished.

• Now select the file you want to convert. You can search your files by selecting the “Choose” button, and then click on “Next”.

• Set the codec for video and audio. You can select certain options here, such as Formats, Codec, and Bitrates, before clicking on “Next”.

• Finally, select a location to save the converted file and give it a name. By selecting the “Specify” option, you’ll be able to choose a place for the converted file. After you’ve completed all of the previous stages, click on “Next” to see a summary of the conversion, and then click on “Finish.”

2. Repair by modifying the file extension

Changing the file extension is another option for fixing a corrupted video file on a Mac with VLC. This repairs the damaged, corrupted, or inaccessible MOV, M4V, or MP4 files by converting them to a new one with specified settings.

The following is a step-by-step guide to repairing a corrupted video file.

• Make a copy of the damaged or corrupted MP4 file on your device.
• Change the MP4 file extension to .AVI. Ignore any error notification that appears. 
• Now open your VLC multimedia player and select “Tools” from the menu ribbon.
• From the Tools drop-down menu, select Preferences.

• Next, go to the Preferences menu and select “Input and Codec”. Make the necessary changes and save.
• To continue the video repair, click on the option of “Always fix”. In a matter of seconds, the corrected video file would be ready to play.

3. Repair with Stellar Repair for Video

The best way to repair corrupted MP4 files is through Stellar Repair for Video. The software is extremely easy-to-use, and it is equipped with a rich feature set to help you battle video data loss from various scenarios. It can fix video files that have become corrupted during the recording, transferring, editing, or converting.

Stellar Repair for Video can fix file formats from any camera, such as MP4, MOV, AVI, MKV, AVCHD, MJPEG, WEBM, ASF, WMV, FLV, DIVX, MPEG, MTS, M4V, 3G2, 3GP, and F4V. It supports most of the file types, regardless of the storage device you use. It provides a complete video file repair solution for Windows & Mac users. It can repair multiple videos simultaneously, and these repaired files can be downloaded at the desired locations.

Stellar Repair for Video is available as Free as well as Premium Edition. While the Free edition comes with all basic features of the product, the Premium edition includes added functionality for photo recovery and repair. The free edition is for demo purposes only and provides preview of repaired files up to 20% of total video size.

This is how you can start the video repair process: 

• Stellar Repair for Video can be downloaded from the official website and installed using the proprietary Setup Wizard.
• Once installation completes, you can launch the application to see an intuitive interface on your Mac.
• From the software’s home screen, click the “Add” button to select the video file you wish to repair. 

• Next, the repairing process starts, and the progress is indicated through a progress bar. This process may take up to several minutes to complete.

• When the files are repaired, you can preview them and select the ones you want to save. Then click on “Save Repaired Files” in the bottom-right corner.

Conclusion

When trying to watch videos on Mac, you might encounter errors like “MP4 not playing on Mac”. While this could be due to multiple reasons, the good news is that damaged or corrupted videos can be repaired through some easy manual tricks or automated solutions like Stellar Repair for Video.