Skip to Content

3 Best Ways to Fix Unsupported Audio-Video Codec on Android

3 Best Ways to Fix Unsupported Audio-Video Codec on Android

Unsupported audio/video codec is an error that pops up when the video player can’t play the audio or video of a file on Android.

If the issue is with the audio, you get an audio error, and with video, you get a video error. If that’s what you are facing, here are 3 fixes for this unsupported codec issue.

Quick solution

Fix Unsupported Audio and Video Codec on Android
Fix Unsupported Audio and Video Codec on Android

The quickest way to fix not supported audio or video codec errors on Android and One UI Samsung devices is by using VLC Media Player.

VLC supports codecs such as MKV, MOV, and WMV to play most videos. However, other ways exist to play the video in the native Android player.

What is a codec

To understand why you get an unsupported audio/video codec error, you must understand what a codec is. According to Wikipedia, a codec is a program that encodes and decodes a digital data stream.

You might have seen the extensions like MP3, WMA, etc., at the end of an audio file name and MP4, MKV, WMV, etc., on a video file name. These extensions are called containers, and these contain codecs.

The video and audio files take up considerable space, so developers use codecs to compress the file into a transferable source.

Each video player app comes with the ability to support (installed) specific codecs. If a codec is not supported, your video player won’t play the audio or the video.

The default Android video player supports limited codecs, so users get this warning while playing an unsupported file, even on Samsung devices.

Fix unsupported video-audio error on Android

Using VLC Media Player

Using VLC Media Player to fix the codec issue

The goal is to play the video, and the solution is installing VLC Media Player: a free and open-source media player.

VLC Media Player has many codecs installed, making it more powerful than the default video player.

Other than VLC, there is MX Player, which also supports most formats, but in the test of VLC and MX Player, VLC won by playing ten out of ten videos.

Converting on Android

Video Converter Android
Video Converter

It is easiest to convert if you want to play the video in the default player app. I have tested multiple apps, including Converter by Inverse.AI.

You can use this app to convert small to large videos easily. There should also be an option to choose Android as the source.

Be careful using another app because some apps do not convert the audio file. In that case, the audio may not work.

You should check out my best video converters for Android article to see the best converters.

Converting on PC

Converting on Android will fix the issue, but the converter may not be enough if the video file is large or corrupted. In this case, the VLC Media player desktop can help.

VLC can convert videos to playable formats. However, if the file is corrupt, VLC may be unable to convert. In this case, you can try file-repairing tools, but those are also not 100% successful.

Follow the tutorial to learn to convert using VLC Media Player.

Step 01:

Open VLC Media Player once downloaded and installed.

Step 02:

Convert or Save Option in VLC
Convert or Save Option in VLC

Go to Media on the top right, then click Save/Convert.

Step 03:

Converting Process in VLC
Converting Process in VLC

Add the video by clicking on the add button. You can add multiple videos by adding them to the video list.

You can also add a subtitle file to add to the converted file. Once all options look good, click on the Save/Convert button.

Step 04:

Android Profile in VLC Software
Android Profile in VLC Software

We need to select the profile for the video. New Android devices support full HD resolution easily, so we have plenty of options.

Even though we have plenty of options, we also have a separate option for Android devices. If the video is already HD quality (720p or 1080p), you can select the “Android HD” quality.

The Next button is greyed out until you do not choose the destination for the video. Click on Browse and choose a destination, and then click on Start.

Step 05:

VLC Conversion Progress Bar
VLC Conversion Progress Bar

Wait for the progress bar to reach the other side. Depending on the video, it will take time.

Summary

We expect everything to be okay with great phones and apps, but it’s not the case. I hope you found the solution to your issue. Please feel free to ask any questions in the comments down below.

Gerd

Monday 29th of May 2023

This sounds promising - I already have VLC on my PC.

(As an aside: It is somewhat disturbing if you transfer your videos from your old Note8, where they ran fine, to a new A54, where about half of them have no audio ... and there may even be a few where the video will also fail. This gives a new meaning to the term "upgrade".)

Thanks for your support!

david

Monday 27th of February 2023

mp4 file cannot play under vlc using Samsung A52, but Samsung tablet 5e is ok.

Charles Robbins

Saturday 10th of September 2022

I have a Samsung Galaxy A11. The built-in camera app played videos that it created just fine. I did a factory reset, now it won't. Gets error: "Can't play videos. Video codec not supported". Is there a fix?

Mark

Saturday 26th of March 2022

I found a micro SD card that I believe was used in my security camera. I inserted it in my Samsung cell phone. It shows there are a lot of videos recorded but whe I try to open one. I get the error code " can't play video, Video codes not supported " Help me please

Madhsudhan

Saturday 26th of March 2022

Install VLC and play files in VLC. That's the quickest option.

Domi

Saturday 5th of March 2022

My audio files from vidmate will play on my PC but once I copy them into my flash to play then on a woofer they ain't playing what's up?, anybody to help