How to Convert iPhone MOV Videos (HEVC) to MP4

If you shot a video on your iPhone and it doesn't play right — or gets rejected outright — when you send it to a PC, upload it to a website, or open it on Android, the culprit is almost always the MOV format or the HEVC codec inside it. PullVid's MOV to MP4 converter fixes it directly in your browser, without uploading the file to any server.

Why your iPhone records in MOV (and sometimes HEVC)

Since the iPhone 7, Apple records by default with the HEVC (H.265) codec, an option the phone itself labels 'High Efficiency' (Settings > Camera > Formats). It compresses 40-50% better than classic H.264, so it takes up less space at the same quality. The problem is that, while most recent phones and browsers support it fine today, a lot of Windows PCs without an extra codec, older Android phones, video editors, and upload forms only accept H.264 inside MP4.

What the conversion does depending on how you recorded

If your iPhone has 'Most Compatible' enabled instead of 'High Efficiency,' the video is already H.264/AAC: the conversion is an instant remux that copies the data untouched, in seconds and with zero loss. If you recorded with the default setting ('High Efficiency,' HEVC), the converter automatically re-encodes the video to H.264 — the AAC audio is copied as-is, without re-encoding — so the resulting MP4 plays on any PC, Android device, or program, no matter how old. This second case takes longer, roughly in proportion to the video's length.

Steps to convert your MOV to MP4

1. Open the MOV to MP4 converter and choose the video recorded on your iPhone.
2. Tap 'Convert'. The first time, your browser downloads the conversion engine (a few MB).
3. Wait for the bar to reach 100%: it'll be nearly instant if the video was already H.264, or a bit slower if it's being re-encoded from HEVC.
4. Download the resulting MP4 with the 'Download result' button.

Videos shot in Cinematic mode or ProRes

Videos recorded in normal mode (H.264 or HEVC) convert without any issue, with or without re-encoding as needed. Files exported in ProRes (available on Pro models) are much heavier and take noticeably longer to process in your browser, precisely because they require re-encoding a very large file; be patient, or try it on a computer if your phone is short on memory.

Honest limits to know about

The whole process runs on your own device, so the real limit is its memory and processing power, not an artificial cap on our end. Long 4K videos that need re-encoding from HEVC can take several minutes, and it's worth doing on a computer instead of a phone, especially an older one; the converter handles one file at a time on a single thread.

If your video comes from somewhere else

The same kind of conversion (remux or re-encode depending on the codec) also works for converting an MKV to MP4. If you want to compare formats before deciding, check the best video formats and quality; and if you don't have the video yet, grab it with our YouTube video downloader.