GoPro video files often get corrupted due to various reasons. Many people think that once their GoPro video is corrupted, there is no way to repair it without creating a big hole in their pockets. But we have come up with some solutions that don’t require you to spend a lot of money and still recover your damaged files.
First, let’s look at some of the main reasons why GoPro videos get damaged:
- Memory Card Failure
GoPro video files are quite complex. They record high-resolution videos along with a low-resolution preview. This leads to the generation of large quantities of data streams of both video and audio. This is the reason why GoPro videos should only be stored in memory cards that are qualified to handle such data streams.
Cases of SD cards corrupting video files are not uncommon. In fact, in most cases of GoPro videos getting corrupted, the reason is that the person was using a memory card that couldn’t handle the data streams because of low storage capacity. If you use such a memory card, your video will not be recorded properly, and you won’t be able to play it on your device.
This is a highly avoidable mistake yet an aspect people often overlook. You must always use the memory cards that have been approved by the GoPro forum. This will prevent your files from getting corrupted while being recorded.
If you have used an improper memory card to store your video and it is now corrupted, you can read about how to uncorrupt an SD card and repair GoPro videos damaged by memory cards.
- Sudden Camera Shut Down
To understand why a sudden camera shut down while recording can cast a negative impact on your videos, you must first understand the logic behind it. When you are recording a video, the GoPro camera stores the file temporarily. Only after you finish recording the video, the camera saves the file in the MP4 format.
Exactly why it is important to check your GoPro battery before shooting any kind of file. A low battery can interrupt the procedure and it might happen that until shut down only the video and audio streams are saved. But the metadata, that is required to play the video in a media player won’t be saved and you will have a GoPro mp4 file at your hand that is corrupt. To play these files, you need to look for credible GoPro mp4 repairs.
You must also take care of your camera while recording because if it’s damaged while recording, you might be able to salvage the video but it won’t play as there will be no metadata.
- Deleted GoPro Video Files
Many times, while deleting videos from your GoPro memory card, you might end up deleting files that you need as well. It is a quite common occurrence. You will surely feel frustrated at yourself for deleting important video files and think that there is no way to recover them. But don’t worry. There is still a way to salvage the video files.
Once you realize your mistake, make an image of the entire SD card. Make sure that you don’t record a new file on the memory card otherwise you won’t be able to salvage the deleted files. You can take the help of video repair software to recover the video files from the image of the SD card. We have discussed more about using a video repair software as a GoPro corrupt file fix later in the article.
How to fix your GoPro corrupt files
Now that we’ve discussed about the problems that can lead to the corruption of your GoPro files, here are some ways in which you can repair GoPro video files for free:
Use the GoPro “SOS” Feature
The main reason for GoPro video files getting corrupted is because of a problem in storing the metadata of the files. Thankfully, GoPro cameras have an inbuilt tool to deal with this problem. The tool, named ‘SOS’ can help restore metadata of your video files and thus uncorrupt your GoPro video files. It is one of the best ways to repair your corrupted GoPro files without spending a lot of money.
All you have to do is insert your SD card that has the corrupt GoPro mp4 file stored in it. Give the camera a few minutes to scan the drive. Once the scan is complete, the camera will display a bicycle icon which indicates that the camera has found the corrupted video files. You can proceed by clicking any button and the repair will be initiated.
Use a video repair software
While using the GoPro camera inbuilt feature, SOS, is a great way to fix corrupted GoPro files for free, it might not always do the trick. Sometimes the files are so severely corrupted that the camera isn’t able to detect the corrupted file, much less repair it. In such a situation, your best bet is to use a reliable, free video repairing tool like Wondershare. It is the best solution on how to uncorrupt a video file and is a sureshot way to recover your corrupted GoPro videos.
Fixing your corrupted GoPro videos for a low cost does not require technical knowledge. However, you must still be careful while handling your video files to prevent them from getting corrupted.
