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What is a 3GP file?
A lightweight format designed for early mobile phones. Still useful for feature phones and very low-bandwidth sharing.
Pros
- Tiny file sizes
- Plays on basic and feature phones
Cons
- Low quality by design
- Rarely needed on modern smartphones
How to open 3GP files
VLC Media Player (free, Windows/macOS/Linux/Android/iOS) opens 3GP files with almost any codec. If a specific app won't open it, convert it to MP4.
Is 3GP lossy or lossless?
3GP is a container, not a codec — whether it is lossy depends on the streams inside (H.264 or H.263 video with AAC or AMR audio). In practice almost all 3GP files use lossy compression.
When should you convert 3GP?
Still useful for feature phones and very low-bandwidth sharing. If the app or device you need doesn't accept 3GP, convert it to MP4 — the most widely supported alternative.
Convert 3GP to…
3GP at a glance
- Full name
- 3rd Generation Partnership Project
- Developed by
- 3GPP
- Introduced
- 2003
- Contains
- H.264 or H.263 video with AAC or AMR audio
- MIME type
- video/3gpp
- Best for
- feature phones, very small files