What is a .m4a file?
A .m4a file is an MPEG-4 audio. Its registered MIME type is audio/mp4, which places it in the audio family of formats.
M4A is a binary format: the contents are not readable text, so opening it in a text editor shows scrambled characters.
The same format is also saved with the extensions .f4a, .m4b, .mp4a.
M4A file format details
| Extension | .m4a |
|---|---|
| Format | MPEG-4 audio |
| MIME type | audio/mp4, audio/x-m4a, audio/m4a |
| Category | Audio |
| Text or binary | Binary |
| File signature | None fixed |
| Registered with IANA | Yes |
| Other extensions | .f4a, .m4b, .mp4a |
How to open M4A files
| Windows | VLC media player is free and plays almost every audio and video format, M4A included in most cases. Media Player and Films and TV handle the common ones. |
|---|---|
| Mac | QuickTime Player plays formats Apple supports. VLC or IINA play most others. |
| iPhone and iPad | The Files app plays formats Apple supports. VLC for iOS plays most others. |
| Android | Most gallery and music apps play common formats; VLC for Android plays almost everything. |
Convert M4A files
TapToConvert converts M4A files in your browser, without uploading them. Open the M4A converter, or go straight to a conversion:
M4A file FAQ
What is a .m4a file?
A .m4a file is an MPEG-4 audio, with the MIME type audio/mp4.
How do I open a .m4a file?
VLC media player plays most audio and video formats on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android.
Is a .m4a file safe to open?
M4A files hold data rather than programs, but any file from an unknown source can be crafted to exploit the software that opens it. Keep that software up to date. The viewer on this page only reads the bytes and never runs anything.
What is the MIME type of .m4a?
audio/mp4, and it is also seen as audio/x-m4a or audio/m4a. Web servers send this type so browsers know how to handle the file.
Is M4A a text or binary format?
Binary. Its contents are not readable as text.
File type facts come from the IANA media type registry, the mime-db project and the freedesktop.org shared MIME database.