Can't Play GoPro Videos on iPhone
Fixes to GoPro Video Playback Issue!

GoPro video playback issue commonly happens, sometimes on computer and sometimes on mobiles. Here, we give our focus on "Can't play GoPro videos on iPhone" and will figure out what causes this issue and how to fix it.

"Can't Play GoPro Videos on iPhone" - Reasons and Solutions

GoPro cameras enable users to record various clips, from 1080P HD to 4K UHD, from slow motion to time lapse and so on. You may play all video files fine but encounter a part of special videos not playing or working on iPhone:

- I recorded a 4K video with my HERO 7 Black. I tried to open the file and only the sound worked on my iPhone. I got a message about the video codec not supported.

- When I try and watch my videos on my GoPro app from my iPhone, I get an error that says "can't preview your HEVC video. Download the original to your iPhone to view it".

If you are the one who are experiencing the same issues, try our solutions.

Case 1. Can't Play GoPro 4K Videos on iPhone

There're a lot of complaints about GoPro 4K videos not playing on iPhone. It is one of the biggest playback issues. Why does 4K videos not working on iPhone? We rounds up all possible reasons and troubleshooting tips.

Reason 1. You have recorded a 4K 4:3 video.

In fact, no mobile device can play 4K 4:3 videos directly, iPhone included. Also, GoPro officially announces that "GoPro app will prevent you from manually copy 4K 4:3 to your mobile devices".

Fix: You can try to change the aspect ratio from 4:3 to 16:9 and play again.

Reason 2. Your iPhone can't support GoPro 4K video.

iPhone 8 and all models older than iPhone 7 Plus don't support GoPro 4K resolution. Although iPhone 7 Plus is the exception which accepts 4K videos natively, it may involve in the trouble to watch 4K@60fps footage, for example choppy or jerky playback. If you are trying to play 4K videos on an incompatible device, not working issue arrives.

Fix: You need to downscale 4K to 1080P or lower.

QuikStories for iOS is the helpful app which can automatically lower the resolution from 4K to 1080P in order to achieve smooth playback on any iPhone. But, your iPhone should meet the system requirements to get QuikStories worked. Well, if you don't have a powered iPhone, here's another way.

With VideoProc, you can change the aspect ratio and downscale resolution to fix above-mentioned GoPro 4K video not playing on iPhone issues.

Step 1. Launch VideoProc and click Video button.

Step 2. Click +Video button to load the video(s) you can't play on iPhone.

Step 3. On the bottom of the window, click Device tab and select iPhone H264.

Step 4. Double click the format icon to get access to setting window.

• Select the resolution as 1920x1080 or lower.

• Select the aspect ratio as 16:9.

After that, click Done.

Step 5: Click Browse button to set a new output folder if necessary. At last, Click RUN button to start GoPro 4K video processing.

Case 2. Can't Play GoPro HEVC Videos on iPhone

HERO 6 Black and newer GoPro models uses HEVC as the format for some special videos. HEVC is also the primary cause of GoPro video not playing or working on iPhone.

Reason 1.HEVC videos are on stored on SD card.

Although GoPro app delivers a convenient way to view media on GoPro cameras, it is not able to play HEVC videos on SD card with iPhone.

Fix: You should copy the HEVC video from SD card to iPhone and then view it.

Reason 2. HEVC is not compatible with your iPhone.

iOS 11 initially introduced HEVC for videos. If your iPhone doesn't run iOS 11 or newer, you can't play GoPro HEVC files. Besides iOS version, A10 or newer processor is in need to get smooth playback performance.

Fix:

1. If your iPhone features A10 or newer processor, update iOS to the latest version.

2. If you have an underpowered device, convert HEVC to H.264 which is compatible with almost all iPhone models.

>> Ultimate Guide of How to Convert GoPro HEVC to H.264

Case 3. Other GoPro videos are not playing on iPhone.

Besides 4K and HEVC files, some people meet the trouble to play general HD/H.264 videos on iPhone. There're 2 possible reasons.

Reason 1. The original file is corrupted.

Fix: The video file may be unexpectedly corrupted or damaged during recording. Make use of video repair software to restore the file or record a new one.

Reason 2. iPhone storage is full.

Fix: A GoPro video commonly has a big size. It's better to have twice free space on iPhone the video size. If your iPhone storage is almost full, delete redundant videos, photos or apps to free up space.

Conclusion

GoPro video not playing on iPhone issue is usually caused by the video file, for example, unsupported resolution, frame rate or format. To compress or convert GoPro (4K/HEVC) videos can probably deal with the trouble.

VideoProc is our recommendation to process GoPro videos. It features powerful ability to transcode, compress and edit videos. It also delivers perfect performance offering an ultrafast processing speed (thanks to GPU acceleration) and perfect quality of the resulting files.

Try VideoProc to Process Your GoPro (4K/HEVC) Footage Now!