First check: is it the file or the player?
An iPhone records MOV files. With the camera format set to High Efficiency it uses H.265 (HEVC), and newer iPhones record HDR video with Dolby Vision by default. A computer without an HEVC decoder can't play those files even when nothing is wrong with them.
| What you see | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| The video plays on the iPhone, not on the computer | The computer lacks an HEVC decoder. The file is fine. |
| Windows shows error 0xc00d36c4 | Often the same codec problem; the 0xc00d36c4 guide below explains it. |
| It won't play anywhere, shows 0:00 or no thumbnail | The index is most likely missing. That is what the repair rebuilds. |
| 0 bytes | The phone saved no footage. There is nothing to rebuild. |
The free check on this page tells the two apart: it reads the file and says whether it's healthy or missing its index.
Why an iPhone recording breaks
While you record, the iPhone writes the video and sound into the file. When you stop, it writes the index, the moov atom, which lists every frame and the settings the decoder needs. A battery that runs out, storage that fills up mid-recording, or a crash of the Camera app or a third-party camera app stops the recording before that last step.
An iPhone keeps its encoder settings only in that index; they aren't repeated inside the footage. So the repair needs one more thing from you: another video from the same iPhone, recorded with the same settings. It takes the settings from that video and nothing else.
What we tested it on
We took iPhone recordings, removed the index from each, and repaired them with a healthy clip recorded at the same settings. Then we compared every picture and every sound frame with the original:
| Recording | Video | Result |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone, 1080p | H.264 + AAC | 122 of 122 pictures identical, 172 of 173 sound frames |
| iPhone, 4K HDR | H.265 + AAC | 96 of 96 pictures identical, 174 of 175 sound frames |
| iPhone, 4K HDR with Dolby Vision | H.265 + AAC | 150 of 152 pictures identical |
The repair re-encodes nothing, so the picture is the iPhone's own, HDR included.
Get the file and a matching clip onto a computer
- On a Mac, open the Photos app or Image Capture and export the original file, not an edited or compressed copy. On Windows, connect the iPhone with a cable and copy the video from the DCIM folder.
- Pick a second video that plays, recorded on the same iPhone with the same camera settings: the same resolution and frame rate, the same format (High Efficiency or Most Compatible), and HDR on or off as in the broken one. A video from the same day is the safest choice. If you have none, record ten seconds with the same settings.
- Keep the original on the iPhone until you have a repaired file that plays.
Repair it in your browser
- Open the broken file in the checker on this page. Your browser reads it from your disk and never uploads it.
- The free check reads the footage and tells you whether it can rebuild the file.
- When it asks for a clip, give it the matching video from step 2.
- Watch the free 5-second preview, then download the full video with a paid plan: one video, 3 months or 1 year. If the repaired video doesn't play, you get a refund.
What it can't bring back
- A 0-byte file. The footage never reached the storage.
- A video you deleted. Look in Photos > Recently Deleted first; the repair works on files you still have.
- A video kept only in iCloud whose upload never finished. Repair works on the file itself.