The apps, from their Google Play listings
| App | Developer | Installs | Rating | What its listing says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MP4Fix | Smamolot | 1M+ | 3.9 from about 26,600 ratings | Needs "another valid video recorded on the same Android phone using the same app"; watch the repaired file free, save with a one-time purchase; doesn't work with videos downloaded from the internet |
| Video Fixer (VFixer) | AZ Screen Recorder | 100K+ | 3.3 from about 1,500 ratings | Repairs videos broken by shutdowns, dead batteries or full storage; preview before saving; MP4, AVI, MOV "and more" |
| Video Repair (Stream.Studio) | Stream.Studio | 1K+ | 2.9 | Repairs on the device, offline; uses a reference video from the same device and settings |
| Video Repair | Nasr for graphic (us) | 1K+ | 3.7 from 57 ratings | Repairs most videos without a reference file; check, repair and preview free; pay to save |
Installs and ratings are the figures Google Play showed in the United States on 2 November 2026, except our own rating, read on 7 November 2026. They change daily.
What decides it: the second video
A video cut off by a dead battery or a crash has its footage but not its index, the part that tells the player how to decode it. To rebuild it, an app has to know the camera's settings. Some apps always take them from a second video that plays, recorded on the same phone with the same camera app and settings. Others try to read them from the broken file first.
If you still have a working video from the same phone at the same resolution, frame rate and camera mode, any of these apps can try. If you don't, because it was the only video from that trip or you've since changed phones, pick an app that can work without one.
Where our app stands, honestly
MP4Fix has far more installs than we do and a long record. Video Repair is new: version 1.0.0 went live on 24 August 2026. What it does differently:
- No second video for most files. The phone's video stream usually repeats its own settings, and the app reads them from there. It asks for a clip only when it can't prove the sound's settings.
- It looks for the broken videos itself, so you don't hunt through folders.
- The same engine on a computer. If the video is already on your PC or Mac, the checker on this page and the Windows program repair it there.
Our test: a Samsung Galaxy A56 recording with its index removed came back with all 352 pictures and 277 sound frames identical to the original, with no second clip.
What our users wrote
"this app is getting a five star. recovered a video from a place I'll never visit again. it was 1 hour long going on to my YouTube channel." (John C., Google Play review, October 2026)
"Works great. €5 once for an unlock, with a preview first. Very happy, and it's clearly cheaper and simpler than all the other alternatives." (Google Play review in German, our translation, September 2026; prices have changed since)
And one we'd rather not hide: in October a Spanish-speaking reviewer gave one star because the app asks you to pay to keep the repaired video. Checking, repairing and watching the preview are free; saving is paid.
