Free video repair tools and when to use them.
Start with a free tool that matches the damage: FFmpeg or MP4Box for readable streams and containers, untrunc for a damaged recording with a matching healthy reference, or VLC for certain AVI index problems. In our testing on real-world corrupted videos, the measured tools had meaningfully different full, partial, and failed outcomes.
Repair a fileWhat the test found
| Approach | Full repair | Partial repair | Failed repair |
|---|---|---|---|
| FileFix | over half | almost none | about a third |
| FFmpeg remux | almost none | about a third | over half |
| FFmpeg re-encode | just under half | fewer than 1 in 10 | just under half |
| MP4Box remux | fewer than 1 in 10 | about a third | over half |
Source: our test of real corrupted videos, Jul 29, 2026. Each cell is the share of test files fully repaired, partially repaired, or not repaired, rounded into plain words.
Try the free tools first
ffmpeg -i broken.mp4 -c copy repaired.mp4ffmpeg -i broken.mp4 -c:v libx264 -c:a aac repaired.mp4MP4Box -add broken.mp4 -new repaired.mp4When the free tool is the right answer
Try the free option when
- Use FFmpeg when it can read or decode the damaged input.
- Use MP4Box when readable tracks need a new MP4 container.
- Use untrunc when you have a healthy reference recorded by the same device with matching settings.
- Use VLC's built-in AVI repair for an AVI file with a damaged or missing index.
Try FileFix when
- Try FileFix when those local tools do not produce a usable result or when you prefer to judge a free watermarked preview before paying.
No repair tool can recreate footage that is absent from the file.
Repair guides
Questions
untrunc uses a healthy reference video from the same device and matching recording settings to help reconstruct a damaged recording.
VLC can rebuild a damaged or missing AVI index for playback. It is aimed at that AVI indexing case, not every kind of video damage.
See what's recoverable.
Preview the repaired video before you decide.