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.M4A File Extension

  • Developer by: Apple
  • Category: Audio Files
  • Format: Binary

What is an .M4A file?

.M4A file extension is created by Apple. .M4A has been classified as Audio Files. The format of .M4A file is Binary.

.M4A is MPEG-4 Audio File

An M4A file is an audio file created in the MPEG-4 format, a multimedia container format used to store compressed audio and video data. It contains audio encoded with either the Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) codec or the Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC).

M4A files are similar to .MP4 video files since both file types use the MPEG-4 container format. However, M4A files only contain audio data. The use of the ".m4a" extension arose due to the confusion between MPEG-4 video files and MPEG-4 audio-only files.

The iTunes Store provides songs in the M4A format. These songs are encoded using AAC compression, which significantly reduces the size of each file. Songs that include copyright protection have an .M4P extension.

NOTE: Windows Media Player 11 requires the K-Lite Codec Pack in order to play M4A files. Windows Media Player 12 (included with Windows 7) provides native support for the M4A format.

List of all softwares that can open the MPEG-4 Audio File
Windows
File Viewer Plus
Apple iTunes
Microsoft Windows Media Player
Nullsoft Winamp
Media Player Classic
VideoLAN VLC media player
Mac
Apple iTunes
Apple QuickTime Player
VideoLAN VLC media player
Eltima Elmedia Player
Linux
VideoLAN VLC media player
iOS
VideoLAN VLC for iOS 2
Android
File Viewer for Android
Videolabs VLC for Android

How to Open .M4A file on different platforms

Open .M4A File on Windows

  • Right-click a .M4A
  • Left-click "Open With" > "Choose another app"
  • Select the program that opens .M4A file and Select check box "Always use this app to open .M4A files" Press "Ok"

Open .M4A File on Mac

  • Right-click (or Ctrl + Left-click) the .M4A file
  • Click "Open With" > "Other.."
  • Then choose another program from the app list and press "Open"
  • Select check box "Turn on" for "Always open in app"

Open .M4A File on Linux

Right click on the .M4A file, choose "Open with" and select a program from the list above

Open .M4A File on iPhone

Select a file. If you don't see an application to open the .M4A file, tap "Share" and choose the right app.
Method 2
Save the file. Then open the app «Files». Touch and hold the file, then release your finger. You will see a black menu bar. After that tap "Share" and select an application.

Open .M4A File on Android

Tap the Settings icon on an Android smartphone, then select «Applications». Click the Settings icon in the upper right corner of the screen, to change the default apps.
If you want to open, edit, save or even convert .M4A files on Android, then your best bet is to download one of the dedicated apps available on Google Play.

How to fix problems with .M4A files

  1. You need to update the application that you normally use to open .M4A files. Only the latest version of the software supports the current .M4A file format
  2. You need to check the .M4A file for viruses. To do this, you need to scan it with a popular antivirus (Norton, Nod32, Kaspersky, Dr.Web, etc.)
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