# What video files can Android play? — Adinand Auto File Sorter

Last reviewed: October 22, 2026. HTML version: https://adinandsorter.com/answers/what-video-formats-does-android-play

**Android's platform list covers MPEG-4 (`.mp4`), Matroska (`.mkv`), WebM (`.webm`), 3GPP (`.3gp`) and MPEG-TS (`.ts`) files, holding video in H.264, H.265, VP8, VP9, AV1 and a few other codecs.** That list is a floor, not a ceiling: Google says a phone may play more. And the ending of the file name is only half the answer, because the same `.mkv` can hold a codec your phone has and another it lacks.

## Two layers: the box and what is in it <p>A video file is a container (the box, named by the extension) with a video stream and usually an audio stream inside, each encoded by a codec. Google's table is laid out that way, with a codec in each row and the containers it can arrive in beside it ([*Supported media formats*, Android Developers](https://developer.android.com/media/platform/supported-formats?hl=en), read 22 October 2026). A file plays only when the phone can open the box and decode everything inside it.</p>

## The platform list, codec by codec <p>From the same table, with the Android version each one starts at where Google gives one:</p> <ul> <li>**H.264 AVC**, in `.3gp`, `.mp4`, `.mkv`, and `.ts` with the note "AAC audio only, not seekable".</li> <li>**H.265 HEVC**, decoding from Android 5.0, in `.mp4` and `.mkv`.</li> <li>**VP8** and **VP9**, in `.webm` and `.mkv`; VP9 also in `.mp4`.</li> <li>**AV1**, decoding from Android 10, in `.mp4` and `.mkv`; "Encoder and decoder are mandatory beginning with Android 14."</li> <li>**APV**, from Android 16, in `.mp4`.</li> <li>**H.263** and **MPEG-4 SP**, older codecs; the table says "Support for H.263 is optional in Android 7.0+".</li> </ul> <p>Google's note on the whole table: "a particular mobile device might support additional formats or file types that are not listed in these tables" (same page). It also says that on devices other than phones and tablets, "media format support may vary".</p>

## What is not on the list <p>Two common endings are absent from the table: `.avi` and `.mov`. Google's page does not mention either; on them it is silent, which tells you only that Android does not promise them, not that your phone cannot play them. Google Photos, for one, lists both among the video types it can back up: ".mpg, .mod, .mmv, .tod, .wmv, .asf, .avi, .divx, .mov, .m4v, .3gp, .3g2, .mp4, .m2t, .m2ts, .mts, and .mkv files" ([*Back up photos & videos*, Google Photos Help](https://support.google.com/photos/answer/6193313?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid), read 22 October 2026). Backing a file up and playing it are different things, and that page does not claim the second.</p>

## When a video will not play <ol> <li>Read the full file name in a file manager. An ending outside the list above is the first suspect.</li> <li>If the ending is on the list, the codec may not be. Samsung's camera guide flags this for its own recordings: "High efficiency videos: Save videos in HEVC (high efficiency video coding) format. Some apps may not support HEVC format" ([*The best camera features on your Galaxy S23*, Samsung US](https://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS10003680/), read 22 October 2026).</li> <li>Our suggestion: try a different player app. The table describes what Android itself provides, and Google's note about additional formats leaves room for more on a given phone.</li> <li>Do not rename the file to `.mp4` to make it play. The extension is a label; changing it does not change the codec inside.</li> </ol>

## How Adinand Auto File Sorter files videos <p>Its Videos category is four extensions: `.mp4`, `.mkv`, `.avi` and `.webm`. A `.mov`, `.3gp` or `.ts` file in a folder it watches goes to Others instead. It decides by the extension alone and never looks inside the file, so it cannot tell you whether a video will play; a Pro custom rule can give `mov` or any other ending its own folder.</p>

Related: [Common file types and extensions](https://adinandsorter.com/answers/common-file-types-and-extensions) · [Where downloaded videos are stored](https://adinandsorter.com/answers/where-are-downloaded-videos-stored) · [What format does Android use?](https://adinandsorter.com/answers/what-format-does-android-use) · [Changing a file extension on Android](https://adinandsorter.com/answers/change-a-file-extension-on-android)