How to Convert MOV to MP4 (Including iPhone Videos)

Quick answer: open the Video Converter, choose your MOV file, keep MP4 selected and click Convert. If the MOV already uses H.264, conversion takes seconds with no quality loss. If it uses HEVC (common on iPhones), it is re-encoded to H.264 so it plays everywhere.

MOV is the video format used by Apple devices and QuickTime. Most of the time it works fine, until you send a video to a Windows PC, an Android phone, a smart TV or an older editing program, and it refuses to play.

What is a MOV file?

MOV is Apple's QuickTime container format. The MP4 format was actually developed from QuickTime's file structure, which is why the two are closely related: both are containers that can hold the same kinds of video and audio streams.

The problem is rarely the MOV container itself. It is usually the codec inside it.

Why some MOV files won't play

Since iOS 11, iPhones record video in HEVC (H.265) by default when the camera is set to "High Efficiency". HEVC produces smaller files than H.264 at the same quality, but it is not supported everywhere:

Windows may need an additional HEVC codec extension from the Microsoft Store to play it.
Older Android phones, TVs and media players may not decode HEVC.
Some video editing programs and websites don't accept it.

H.264 in an MP4 file, by contrast, plays on virtually every device made in the last decade.

Two kinds of conversion

Remuxing (fast, lossless). If your MOV already contains H.264 video and AAC audio, the streams can simply be copied into an MP4 container. Nothing is re-encoded, the quality is identical, and it takes a few seconds. Our converter does this automatically when possible.

Re-encoding (slower). If the MOV contains HEVC, the video must be decoded and encoded again as H.264. This takes longer, especially on phones, but produces a file that plays everywhere. We use a high-quality setting, so the difference is usually hard to see.

Step by step

Open the Video Converter.
Click Choose file and select your MOV video.
Keep MP4 as the output format.
Click Convert video and wait. A progress bar shows how far along it is.
Click Download MP4.

On a computer, re-encoding takes roughly as long as the video's duration; phones are slower. For long videos, trim them first with Trim Video, or reduce their size with Compress Video, which also outputs MP4.

A note about HDR videos

Recent iPhones can record HDR video (Dolby Vision). When HDR video is converted to standard H.264, colors and brightness may look flatter or slightly washed out, because standard video cannot represent the same range of brightness. If you mainly share videos with non-Apple devices, you can turn off HDR recording in Settings › Camera › Record Video › HDR Video.

How to avoid the problem on iPhone

If you often share videos with people on Windows or Android, you can make your iPhone record in H.264 directly:

Settings › Camera › Formats › Most Compatible

Videos will be larger than with "High Efficiency", but they will play everywhere without conversion.

Other useful conversions

Need only the sound? Use Extract Audio to save the MOV's audio as MP3, M4A or WAV.
Want a web-friendly format for your site? Convert to WebM. Our guide MP4 vs WebM explains when it makes sense.

Frequently asked questions

Does converting MOV to MP4 reduce quality? If the video is H.264, no: the streams are copied. HEVC videos are re-encoded at a high quality setting, with a minimal visible difference.

Why is my converted file bigger than the original? HEVC is more efficient than H.264, so an HEVC video converted to H.264 can be larger at similar quality. Use Compress Video if size matters.

Is my video uploaded? No. The conversion runs in your browser, on your device.