MP4 to WAV converter
Extract WAV audio from MP4 video in seconds, free. No upload, no sign-up, no size limit: it runs in your browser.
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Quick answer: To extract WAV audio from MP4 video, add the MP4 file to the iHateFiles MP4 to WAV converter and press Convert. The conversion runs in your browser, so the file is never uploaded, and it is free with no sign-up, watermark or size limit. Lifts the soundtrack out of the video and saves it as WAV. The picture is discarded; nothing is re-recorded.
Audio for editing or transcription
WAV is uncompressed, so it is what audio editors and most transcription tools prefer. Taking the sound from a video this way adds no second round of lossy compression, at about 10 MB a minute.
If you only want to listen to it, MP3 is the better choice at around a tenth of the size.
Should you convert MP4 to WAV?
Worth doing when you want the soundtrack of an MP4 on its own: a podcast, an interview, a piece of music from a video. Choose a higher bitrate than you think you need, because the WAV is encoded from the video's audio rather than from a master.
Taking the sound out of MP4
An MP4 file holds H.264 or H.265 video with AAC sound. This keeps the sound, discards the picture, and writes the result as WAV (uncompressed PCM). The MP4 original is not altered.
WAV keeps the soundtrack exactly
WAV is lossless, so the sound is written out without a second round of compression. Expect about 10 MB per minute. That is the right choice if you are going to edit the audio, and the wrong one for a podcast you only want to listen to.
MP4 and WAV side by side
| MP4 | WAV | |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the file | H.264 or H.265 video with AAC sound | uncompressed PCM |
| Compression | Lossy | Lossless |
| Carries sound | Yes | Yes |
| Plays on | every phone, laptop, TV, browser and messaging app | every editor, DAW and operating system |
| Here | Read and write | Read and write |
What usually goes wrong
About the MP4. Two MP4 files can behave completely differently depending on the codecs inside. A file that will not play is usually an unusual codec in an ordinary container, not a broken file.
About the WAV. Converting an MP3 to WAV makes the file ten times larger without recovering anything. The detail the MP3 discarded is gone.
How to convert MP4 to WAV
- Add your MP4 file. It is read from your disk and stays there.
- Check the settings. The output format is already set to WAV.
- Press convert and the WAV file is saved back to your device.
WAV converter: everything that converts to WAV
Questions
How do I convert MP4 to WAV?
Open this page, add your MP4 file, and press convert. The file is decoded and re-encoded by your own browser and saved back to your device. Nothing is uploaded.
Is this MP4 to WAV converter free?
Yes, completely. There is no account, no sign-in, no watermark and no daily limit, because there is no server doing the work. Your own device does it.
Are my files uploaded anywhere?
No. There is no upload endpoint. The conversion runs inside this browser tab, so your file never leaves your device. You can open your browser's network panel and watch: nothing carrying your file is sent.
Is there a file size limit?
No fixed limit. Because the work happens on your machine there is no server quota. The only ceiling is your own device's memory, which for video means very large files may be slow.
Does extracting audio reduce the quality?
The soundtrack is re-encoded to WAV, so there is one generation of loss at the bitrate you choose. Pick a higher bitrate, or a lossless target like WAV or FLAC, to avoid it.
Can I convert several MP4 files at once?
Yes. Add as many as you like and they are converted one after another, then offered as a single ZIP.