Convert 3GP to MP4 Online
Convert 3GP mobile videos to MP4 — rescue recordings from Nokia, Samsung, and Motorola RAZR phones
.3gp, .3g2 · up to 100 MB
Free conversion
Rescue your old mobile phone videos
Total privacy
3GP files are converted with FFmpeg.wasm in your browser. Nothing leaves your device.
Quality preserved
All available quality from the original 3GP is extracted into the resulting MP4.
Universal compatibility
The resulting MP4 works on any modern device, app, and social network.
No installation
No need to install VLC, Handbrake, or any software. Works in the browser.
How it works
Three steps, no hassle
Upload your 3GP file
Select or drag your 3GP file from an old phone. FFmpeg.wasm processes it entirely in your browser, sending nothing to servers.
Automatic conversion settings
The converter detects internal codecs (H.263, MPEG-4 Part 2, AMR) and automatically applies optimal settings to preserve available quality.
Download the compatible MP4
Get an MP4 with H.264 and AAC, playable on any current device, platform, or social network.
FAQ
Got questions?
The 3GP format was the video standard for virtually all mobile phones between approximately 2003 and 2012. The most representative devices include: Nokia Series 40 and Series 60 (Nokia 3650, 6600, N70, N95), Samsung E and D series phones (Samsung D500, E700), Motorola RAZR V3 and V6, Sony Ericsson K750i, W810i and Cybershot K800i, LG Chocolate and Shine, and virtually all Java ME phones of that period. Typical resolution was 176x144 pixels (QCIF) or 320x240 pixels (QVGA) at 10-15 frames per second. Some high-end models like the Nokia N95 could record at 640x480 (VGA). The first iPhones (iPhone 2G and 3G) also supported 3GP playback, though they recorded in MOV format.
Android can play 3GP natively through the system MediaPlayer, as Android's multimedia framework includes H.263 and AMR decoders from its earliest versions. However, many modern apps (WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok) don't accept 3GP for video uploads. iOS (iPhone) accepts 3GP for playback but not for direct editing or sharing. Most desktop players like VLC support 3GP without issues. The real problem is compatibility with cloud services (Google Photos, iCloud) and social networks, where MP4 is the universal standard.
Converting to MP4 cannot add information that doesn't exist in the original — the resolution and quality of the original 3GP is the absolute limit. However, real improvements are possible: (1) Upscaling: increasing resolution from 176x144 to 480x360 or 720x576 with high-quality interpolation algorithms (Lanczos, bicubic) makes video look better on modern screens. (2) Audio improvement: AMR-NB audio (8 kHz, mono, ~5-12 kbps) sounds very poor; re-encoding to AAC 128 kbps stereo doesn't add absent quality, but does eliminate conversion artifacts. (3) Stabilization: FFmpeg has video stabilization filters (vidstab) that can reduce the shake common in old mobile phone videos.
3GP (3GPP) was developed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project consortium for GSM/WCDMA networks (European standard). 3G2 was developed by 3GPP2, the equivalent consortium for CDMA2000 networks (American standard, used by Verizon and Sprint). Technically, 3G2 is nearly identical to 3GP but with some differences: 3G2 allows higher bitrates, supports additional video codecs (EVRC, VMR-WB), and has a slightly different header structure. In practice, both formats are functionally interchangeable for most content, and FFmpeg converts both transparently with the same process.
Exactly. The MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) standard, defined by the Open Mobile Alliance in 2001, specified 3GP as the standard video format for multimedia messages between phones. MMS limitations imposed additional restrictions: maximum message size between 100KB and 600KB depending on the carrier, meaning videos of barely 10-20 seconds at QCIF resolution. These restrictions explain why so many 3GP videos from the 2004-2010 era are so short and low resolution. Videos received via MMS were saved directly as 3GP files in the phone's memory or microSD card.
A 3GP file can contain several codecs depending on the standard version and the device that generated it. For video: H.263 (most common in 2003-2007 phones), MPEG-4 Part 2 (AVC precursor, used in mid-to-high range from 2005), H.264/AVC (in 3GPP Release 6 and later, high-end phones 2007+). For audio: AMR-NB (Adaptive Multi-Rate Narrowband, 8 kHz, mono, most common), AMR-WB (Wideband, 16 kHz, higher quality, high-end phones), AAC-LC (in modern models supporting 3GPP R6). FFmpeg automatically detects the internal codec and applies the correct decoding without the user needing to configure anything.
3GP and 3GPP: history of mobile video 2003-2012, H.263/AMR codecs, and legacy file recovery
The 3GP format emerged from the work of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) consortium, founded in 1998 as a collaboration between telecommunications standardization bodies from Europe (ETSI), Japan (ARIB, TTC), Korea (TTAS), China (CWTS), and the United States (ATIS and TIA). The primary goal of 3GPP was to define technical standards for third-generation networks (3G/UMTS/WCDMA). The 3GP file format was specified in 3GPP Release 4 (2001) as the video standard for mobile multimedia services, based on the MPEG-4 Part 12 container (ISO Base Media File Format). The first commercial phones with 3GP video recording support appeared in 2003: the Nokia 3650 and Sony Ericsson P800 were pioneers. The Nokia 3650 had a 0.3-megapixel (VGA) camera and recorded video at 176x144 pixels (QCIF) with H.263 codec at approximately 10 fps and AMR audio at 8 kHz. To put the technological limitation in perspective: a 30-second video at that resolution and quality occupied approximately 300-500 KB, when typical phones had 1-4 MB of total internal memory. The arrival of Nokia N-Series phones (N70, N73, N95) between 2005 and 2007 elevated 3GP video capabilities to VGA resolution (640x480) with H.264, marking the gradual twilight of 3GP as the maximum quality format before modern smartphones replaced it.
The internal codecs of the 3GP format reflect the technological evolution of mobile video compression systems. H.263, the most common codec in first-era 3GPs (2003-2007), was developed by ITU-T as an optimized version for transmission over low-bandwidth channels. Originally designed for videoconferencing (H.320), H.263 was adapted for mobile video with sub-QCIF (128x96) and QCIF (176x144) resolutions. MPEG-4 Part 2 (also known as MPEG-4 ASP, Advanced Simple Profile) was the transitional codec used in mid-to-high range phones between 2005 and 2008: implementations like DivX 4.x and Xvid are variants of MPEG-4 Part 2. Finally, H.264/AVC was introduced in 3GPP Release 6 and represented an enormous qualitative leap: Nokia N-Series and Sony Ericsson Cybershot K850i recorded 3GP with H.264 Baseline Profile at 30fps at VGA resolution. For audio, AMR-NB (Adaptive Multi-Rate Narrowband) was the universal codec: operating at 8 kHz sampling rate (telephone quality), 8 bits per sample, with variable bitrates between 4.75 and 12.2 kbps. AMR-NB was explicitly designed for GSM networks and its low bitrate made it ideal for MMS. In higher-quality 3GP files you find AMR-WB (16 kHz, comparable to AM radio) or directly AAC-LC for advanced phones.
Converting 3GP to MP4 with FFmpeg is generally straightforward, though there are special cases requiring attention. The basic command is: ffmpeg -i input.3gp -c:v libx264 -crf 23 -c:a aac -b:a 128k output.mp4. If the 3GP contains H.264 internally (3GPP Release 6+), you can do stream copy: ffmpeg -i input.3gp -c:v copy -c:a aac output.mp4. For upscaling with high-quality Lanczos filter: ffmpeg -i input.3gp -vf scale=640:480:flags=lanczos -c:v libx264 -crf 20 -c:a aac -b:a 128k output.mp4. To batch convert 3GP files: for f in *.3gp; do ffmpeg -i "$f" -c:v libx264 -crf 23 -c:a aac -b:a 128k "${f%.3gp}.mp4"; done. A frequent problem with very old 3GP files is incorrect or missing duration metadata; FFmpeg handles this automatically. If you encounter a 3GP that FFmpeg cannot read directly (common with proprietary Nokia implementations), adding the flag -analyzeduration 100M -probesize 100M usually resolves the issue by giving the stream detector more time. To recover audio from 3GP when video is corrupted: ffmpeg -i input.3gp -vn -c:a aac output.aac. The best upscaling results are obtained by combining Lanczos scaling with FFmpeg's unsharp filter to recover sharpness: -vf scale=640:480:flags=lanczos,unsharp=3:3:0.5.