Convert MOV to MP4 in your browser
iPhone, iPad and camera QuickTime files to a standard MP4 that opens on Windows, Android and the web. Repackaged in seconds when the codecs already fit, converted when they do not. Nothing is uploaded.
Processed on your device. Your video is never uploaded. How we know
Drop a MOV to convert it to MP4
Drop a video here, paste it with Ctrl+V, or choose one from your device.
ClipHeron runs in your browser. We don’t receive your videos, their names or anything in them. Ads on this page load separately and are not given your files. What happens to your video
How to convert an iPhone MOV to MP4 without uploading it
A MOV is a QuickTime file, and MP4 is its direct descendant: the two share the same box structure, and a MOV that carries H.264 video and AAC audio becomes an MP4 by rewriting the index and copying the streams across, which takes seconds and loses nothing. The trouble starts with what iPhones have put inside MOVs since 2017: HEVC video (the “High Efficiency” camera setting), which Windows, older Android phones and most web players will not decode without extra codecs. That needs a real conversion to H.264, and this page does both jobs, telling you which one it will do before you click.
Because the file is read from your device and never uploaded, a 3-minute 4K clip starts converting immediately instead of after a long upload, and family footage stays on your own computer. If you have a mix of MOV, MKV and WebM to deal with, the general converter takes them all; this page is the direct route for MOV. The iPhone HEVC guide explains the camera setting that avoids the problem next time.
- 1
Add the MOV
Drop or choose a .mov file. The file card shows the video codec (H.264 or HEVC), the audio codec, whether it is HDR or carries a rotation flag, and the path it will take.
- 2
Read the path
“No quality loss: just repackaging” means the codecs already fit MP4 and the job takes seconds. “Video converted to H.264” means HEVC, which is a real encode with a time estimate shown.
- 3
Convert and download
Press Convert to MP4. Repackaging is done almost at once; a conversion shows frames done, speed and time left. Download the MP4, or tick “Also compress” first to set a target size in the same job.
What this tool does
- Input locked to QuickTime MOV, so the page does exactly one job; any other file is handed to the general converter in memory
- H.264 MOV repackaged into MP4 in seconds with every sample byte for byte identical
- HEVC (iPhone “High Efficiency”) decoded with your device’s hardware where the browser exposes it and encoded to H.264
- Portrait clips keep their rotation, so they play upright in Windows Photos, VLC and Chrome
- HDR and Dolby Vision footage converted to standard colour so it looks right on any screen
- PCM audio from cameras converted to AAC; AAC copied unchanged
- Live Photo movies and screen recordings from an iPhone handled like any other MOV
- Output is MP4 with H.264 and AAC, fast start enabled
Four MOV files and what each one needs
| File | Inside | Path | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| iPhone 4K clip, “High Efficiency” setting, 1.4 GB | HEVC 10-bit HDR, AAC, rotation flag | Video converted, audio copied | H.264 MP4 at 2160p on a computer (1080p on a phone), standard colour, upright |
| iPhone clip, “Most Compatible” setting | H.264, AAC | Repackage | Identical samples in an MP4, done in seconds |
| Camera MOV (Canon, Sony, GoPro) | H.264, PCM audio | Video copied, audio converted | H.264 untouched, audio encoded to AAC 192 kbps once |
| Mac screen recording | H.264, AAC | Repackage | An MP4 that uploads to any site, in seconds |
The first row is the one most people arrive with. The conversion speed depends on the device: a recent laptop with hardware HEVC decoding runs at several times real time; an older machine or a phone is slower, and the time estimate says so before you commit.
Why an iPhone MOV will not play on a PC
Apple switched the default camera format to HEVC in 2017 because it stores the same picture in about half the space. Windows 10 and 11 do not ship an HEVC decoder (Microsoft sells one), most Android phones older than a few years cannot play it, and no web browser plays HEVC in a plain video tag except Safari. The MOV extension gets the blame, but the extension is fine: the codec inside is the problem, and the fix is H.264, which everything plays.
Converting to H.264 is lossy by nature, so this page encodes at the Best preset for the clip’s resolution and keeps the resolution (up to 4K on a computer, 1080p on a phone). HDR footage, which recent iPhones record by default, is tone-mapped to standard colour, because H.264 in an MP4 cannot carry HDR in a way other players agree on. The result is a file that looks right on every screen, including the HDR one it came from.
Portrait video stays portrait
iPhones record every clip as a landscape stream and store the orientation as a rotation flag in the file header. Players that honour the flag show portrait video upright; the repackaging path carries the flag into the MP4 unchanged, and the conversion path bakes the rotation into the pixels, so the result is upright in Windows Photos, VLC, Chrome and on Android, with or without flag support. If you ever meet a clip that still plays sideways somewhere, the rotate tool fixes it in a moment.
Stop making HEVC MOVs, or keep them
On the iPhone, Settings, Camera, Formats offers “Most Compatible”, which records H.264 in a MOV that any computer plays after a two-second repackage here, at the cost of larger files on the phone. Many people keep “High Efficiency” for its space saving and convert only the clips they share, which is what this page is for. Either way, keep the original: a converted H.264 file is a copy for sharing, and the HEVC original has the better quality per megabyte for archiving.
Good to know
- This page accepts MOV files only; drop an MP4, MKV or WebM and it offers to open the general converter with the file already loaded, without a reload or a re-pick.
- A MOV with ProRes video is refused by name: ProRes is a production format no browser decodes, and this engine does not ship a decoder for it. Export H.264 from the editor instead.
- Spatial video from iPhone 15 Pro and later is converted from the left eye only, with a note.
- Files purchased from iTunes (.m4v with DRM) are protected and refused.
Related tools and guides
Questions people ask
Is MOV to MP4 just a rename?
Sometimes nearly. A MOV with H.264 and AAC inside is an MP4 in all but the index, and the repackaging path rewrites that index and copies the streams in seconds. Renaming the extension alone leaves QuickTime-only boxes in place and confuses some players, so let the tool do it. A MOV with HEVC inside needs a real conversion, rename or not.
How long does an iPhone 4K video take to convert?
Roughly a third to a half of the clip’s length on a recent laptop with hardware decoding; a 3-minute clip is typically done in 1 to 2 minutes. Older machines and phones are slower, and the estimate on the file card is based on your device.
Will the MP4 look the same as the MOV?
On the repackaging path it is the same picture, sample for sample. On the HEVC conversion path it is re-encoded at the Best preset; side by side you will struggle to tell, though an HDR original will look less vivid on an HDR screen because the MP4 is standard colour.
Why did my MOV get bigger after converting?
HEVC stores a picture in roughly half the bytes of H.264 at the same quality, so converting HEVC to H.264 at a quality-preserving bitrate usually grows the file. Tick “Also compress” to set a target size in the same job if you need it smaller.
Can I convert Live Photos and Memories?
Live Photo movies are 3-second MOVs and convert like any other. Memories and other edits exported from the Photos app are MOV or MP4 depending on the settings; both work.
Does it work on an iPhone or iPad?
Yes, in Safari. Output is capped at 1080p on phones to stay within memory, and large 4K files are slower than on a computer. The file never leaves the device either way.
What if my file is not actually a MOV?
The tool reads the file’s own bytes, not its name. If a .mov is really an MP4 or an MKV, the page says so and offers to open it in the general converter with the file already loaded.
What happens to your video
Processed on your device. Your video is never uploaded. ClipHeron runs in your browser. We don’t receive your videos, their names or anything in them. Ads on this page load separately and are not given your files.
The MOV is indexed, repackaged or decoded and re-encoded in a background worker on your device. On the repackaging path nothing is decoded at all. The MP4 is assembled in the browser’s private temporary storage and handed to your download, then deleted. Nothing about the file is remembered.
The page does load advertising and analytics scripts, separate from the tool and described in our privacy policy. They are never given your files.
Sources and review
- Apple Support: Using HEIF or HEVC media on Apple devices
- Apple: QuickTime File Format specification
- ISO/IEC 14496-14: MP4 file format
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