How do I convert a MOV file to WAV?

On a Mac or PC, load the page in Chrome, Edge or Firefox and hand it the QuickTime file. WAV is preselected, so you only decide on a sample rate (44.1, 48 or 16 kHz) and stereo or mono. Extract audio then builds the WAV locally and offers it as a download.

Can I convert an iPhone video to WAV on the iPhone itself?

Not from a .mov with this converter. All iPhone and iPad browsers run on Safari's engine, and that engine fails on QuickTime sound in web pages. Two ways around it: move the clip to a Mac or PC, or save it as MP4 in a video app and open the MP4 to WAV Converter instead.

Does an HEVC (High Efficiency) video convert to WAV?

Usually. The picture codec is not decoded for a WAV, only the AAC sound, and Chrome and Firefox on a Mac handle that. A Windows machine lacking HEVC support is the weak spot: the clip's length can stay blank and the conversion can fail. Re-export with H.264 picture from QuickTime Player on a Mac if that happens.

How big is the WAV from a MOV video?

It depends only on length and settings, not on the video. At 44.1 kHz stereo a WAV is about 10.1 MB a minute, so 15 minutes is about 151.4 MB and 30 minutes about 302.8 MB. At 16 kHz mono, 30 minutes is about 54.9 MB.

Is the WAV better quality than the sound in the MOV?

No. Phone clips carry AAC, a lossy format. Decoding to WAV freezes that sound as plain samples, so later edits and exports cost no further quality, yet nothing AAC threw away comes back.

Is my MOV file uploaded?

No, it stays on your machine. Decoding and WAV writing run inside the browser tab, so the footage is never sent anywhere. Site analytics see only plain events (a conversion began, which sample rate), not the clip, its sound or what it is called.

MOV to WAV Converter

This free MOV to WAV converter takes the sound out of a QuickTime video from an iPhone, a Mac or a camera and saves it as an uncompressed 16-bit WAV for an editor, a DAW or a transcription tool. The .mov is read on your computer and is not uploaded. One condition: run it on a Mac or PC in Chrome, Edge or Firefox, because Safari and iPhone browsers fail to decode QuickTime sound for this kind of page.

Drop your MOV here or click to browse

MOV from an iPhone, Mac or camera, up to 500 MB and 30 minutes. Not in Safari or on iPhone or iPad: use Chrome, Edge or Firefox on a computer.

The video is converted in your browser and is not uploaded.

How to convert MOV to WAV

WAV is already selected when the page opens.

1
Open the .mov on a computer
Pick the video in Chrome, Edge or Firefox on a Mac or PC. If the clip still lives on your phone, move it across before you start: AirDrop, a USB cable and iCloud Photos all do the job.
2
Set the sample rate and channels
Leave 44.1 kHz for general use, pick 48 kHz if the WAV goes into a video project, or 16 kHz with Mono on for speech tools. The page shows the size of the WAV before it starts.
3
Extract and save the WAV
Extract audio starts the work: decoding first, then writing the WAV, both locally. A player appears so you can listen before saving. The download is named after the clip, ending in .wav.

Only need something small to send? The MOV to MP3 Converter makes an MP3 from the same video.

What kind of MOV do you have?

MOV is Apple's QuickTime container. What is inside depends on what made the file, and the sound track is what matters here.

iPhone and iPad videos
The camera saves .mov files with HEVC or H.264 picture and AAC sound. The converter reads only the sound track, so the picture's resolution, 4K or 720p, makes no difference to the WAV.
Mac screen recordings
QuickTime Player and the Mac's screenshot toolbar save screen recordings as .mov. If no microphone was chosen when recording, the file has no sound track and there is nothing to extract.
Camera footage
Many cameras write .mov files with uncompressed PCM sound next to the picture. A browser does not always decode that kind of sound track. If the converter reports that it cannot read the file, export the audio from your editing program instead.
ProRes and other editing exports
An editor's master file in ProRes is still a .mov. The picture codec does not matter for the sound, but these files are large: the limit here is 500 MB and 30 minutes, so cut a long export into parts first.

WAV file size by length

A 16-bit WAV at 44.1 kHz stereo takes 176,400 bytes for every second, whatever the video looked like. That is about 10.1 MB a minute. The converter's default setting is the highlighted row.

WAV setting	1 minute	5 minutes	15 minutes	30 minutes
48 kHz stereo	11.0 MB	54.9 MB	164.8 MB	329.6 MB
44.1 kHz stereo	10.1 MB	50.5 MB	151.4 MB	302.8 MB
44.1 kHz mono	5.0 MB	25.2 MB	75.7 MB	151.4 MB
16 kHz mono	1.8 MB	9.2 MB	27.5 MB	54.9 MB

Size = sample rate × 2 bytes × channels × seconds, plus a 44-byte header. One MB here is 1,048,576 bytes.

Settings for editors, DAWs and transcription tools

The WAV is always 16-bit. You choose the sample rate and one or two channels.

Back into a video edit: 48 kHz stereo
Video projects usually run at 48 kHz. Matching it saves the editor a conversion when you bring cleaned-up sound back to the picture. A 15-minute clip is about 164.8 MB.
Music and podcast work: 44.1 kHz stereo
The default, and a common rate for music and podcast sessions in a DAW. A 15-minute clip is about 151.4 MB.
Speech tools: 16 kHz mono
Transcription and speech research tools that ask for WAV often want 16 kHz and one channel. Thirty minutes is about 54.9 MB instead of 302.8 MB.
A 24-bit camera track becomes 16-bit
The converter writes 16-bit samples. That is enough for spoken word and for most editing; if you need the camera's original 24-bit sound untouched, export it from an editing program.

Already have a stereo WAV and need one channel? Use Stereo to Mono.

Why it does not work in Safari or on an iPhone

The converter uses the audio decoder built into the browser. Safari, and every browser on iPhone and iPad, cannot extract the audio from .mov files. In the Video to Audio Converter's format test of 30 September 2026, Safari could not read the sound of any .mov tried, while Chrome and Firefox read the same files. The file is fine: Safari plays it, it only cannot decode it for a page like this one.

On a Mac, open this page in Chrome, Edge or Firefox. On an iPhone or iPad every browser uses Safari's engine, so send the video to a computer, or export it as MP4 in a video app and use the MP4 to WAV Converter, which works in Safari too.

When a MOV will not convert

No sound track: a screen recording made without a microphone, or a time-lapse, has nothing to extract. Play the file first and check that you hear something.

HEVC on a Windows PC: the converter does not decode the picture, but it reads the video's length with the browser's video player. MDN's codec guide notes that Chrome on Windows decodes HEVC only with hardware support and that Edge needs Microsoft's HEVC Video Extensions. Without them the length may not show and the file may not convert. Apple's fix is to export the video in QuickTime Player on a Mac with File > Export As, switching to Greater Compatibility (H.264).

Sound the browser cannot decode: camera and editor files with PCM or other less common sound tracks may fail. QuickTime Player on a Mac can save the sound on its own with File > Export As > Audio Only, which gives an M4A file that the M4A to WAV Converter on this site turns into a WAV.

Sources

Is the WAV on its way to a transcript?

If you filmed a meeting or an interview on your phone only to get the words later, ParrotNotes can save you the detour: it records the sound on the phone and gives you a transcript and a summary, free for 100 minutes of recording a month.

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MOV to WAV Converter

How to convert MOV to WAV

Open the .mov on a computer

Set the sample rate and channels

Extract and save the WAV

What kind of MOV do you have?

iPhone and iPad videos

Mac screen recordings

Camera footage

ProRes and other editing exports

WAV file size by length

Settings for editors, DAWs and transcription tools

Back into a video edit: 48 kHz stereo

Music and podcast work: 44.1 kHz stereo

Speech tools: 16 kHz mono

A 24-bit camera track becomes 16-bit

Why it does not work in Safari or on an iPhone

When a MOV will not convert

Is the WAV on its way to a transcript?

Related tools

MOV to WAV FAQ