Help! How to Fix My Corrupted Video Files on Mac?

macos tips
1

Hey everyone,

I’ve recently found a few video files on my Mac that seem to be corrupted, and I’m hoping someone here can help.

I heard VLC has a built-in repair feature for AVI files, but unfortunately, I don’t know how to use it. I’ve even tried converting the files to different formats, but it didn’t work either.

Has anyone here experienced something similar and found a solution? Are there any other tools or apps (preferably free) that you’d recommend for fixing corrupted video files on Mac? Or are there any tricks with built-in Mac tools I might not know about?

2

Fixing corrupted video files on a Mac can be tricky but possible using a combination of built-in tools and third-party software.

  1. You can check if the Video is partially downloaded or incomplete. Sometimes a file appears corrupted when it is not fully downloaded or copied. If the video was obtained from the internet, try downloading it again or copying it from the original source.

  2. Use QuickTime Player to open the videos. QuickTime is the default video player on a Mac and can sometimes repair slightly corrupted files.
    Right-click the video file and select Open with > QuickTime Player.
    If it can play the video, you can use File > Export As to re-save it in another format, which might fix minor corruption.

Good luck~

3

You said you don’t know how to use VLC to fix a corrupted video file on Mac. Let’s do these:

  1. Open VLC Player and choose Media > Convert.
  2. Add your corrupted video and click Convert/Save.
  3. Click Start after you find the files, then select Tools > Preferences.
  4. Under the Input/Codecs tab, look for the option Damaged or incomplete AVI file. Choose Always Fix then click Save.

But VLC always repairs the broken video files, especially in AVI format.

Or you can consider converting the corrupted files to another format in HandBrake.

4

For recommended video repair tools, you may need professional software designed specifically to repair corrupted video files on Mac:

Wondershare Repairit: Repairs videos of various formats, including MP4, MOV, and AVI.
Stellar Video Repair: It supports a wide range of video formats and can repair videos from external drives.

Download one of these programs, install it, and follow the on-screen instructions to repair the video.
Some online video repair tools can also help~

5

How about using Disk Utility to repair the potential drive issues if the corrupted files are on the drive? You can try to click First Aid to repair.

Maybe restoring a previous version of the video file before it was corrupted can help you. But it’s required that you have set Time Machine to backup all the files before, and the video files are backed up with it.

  • Finder > Applications > Utilities > Time Machine, navigate to the folder containing the video with the timeline, and click Restore to the previous version.

If none of the above methods work, re-downloading the video from its original source (if possible) may be the best option.

6

Quick Time Player seems useless for me, thanks.

7

Okay, I will try these detailed steps, love you~

8

There are too many apps I searched online, I will think twice.