5 Handy Troubleshootings on How to Play MOV on Windows PC

by Helen

Updated on Feb 17, 2023

I recently received feedback that some friends and users are suffering from the Windows Media Player MOV files not playing issue, and I also see that people are discussing similar problems in the Microsoft community. So how to play MOV files on Windows easily? This tutorial will show you the related quick solutions to play .mov on Windows 11/10/8/7.
Instead of wasting time to find the right MOV player, you can directly download a handy MOV converter to fix the Windows MOV issue, as MOV not playing on Windows is commonly caused by an unsupported video codec.

Q1: I transferred some .mov files from my iPhone to my laptop. However, when I open the MOV videos on my Windows 7 laptop, some files work but some .mov files only have audio but no video. Any solutions? – From VideoHelp

Q2: I have some .mov videos recorded by my iPad. I managed to transfer the videos to my hard drive. Now I can’t seem to play it with Windows Media Player and when I use other programs to open it the quality is terrible. I would like to play it with Windows Media Player because I want to burn the video to DVD and sharer it with my friends. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks. – From Tech Advisor

MOV format is created by Apple devices and it’s an MPEG-4 video container file that is similar to MP4, MKV, WMV and more. And you can play .mov videos on Windows and Linux as well. Pay attention that related codecs or correct media players are required when playing .mov on Windows. Otherwise, you will meet the above problems and receive messages like “Error: Windows can’t play this file” or “required video codec is not installed”. So for those who are facing the above similar problems, here I will show you 5 quick solutions on how to play MOV files on Windows computers.

See also on: The Best Way to Solve Windows Media Player Not Playing DVD Problem

To fix how to play MOV on Windows, you can use Free HD Video Converter Factory to transcode MOV to AVI, WMV, ASF, MPG, MPEG and more which are natively supported by Windows Media Player.

Free downloadFree download this versatile program here to fix the how to open MOV files on Windows issue by following the three steps to convert MOV to MPEG or other formats supported by Windows:

Step 1: Open Converter and load your MOV files by clicking “Add Files” or dragging to the interface directly.

Step 2: Head to Output Format and choose the target format that is compatible with Windows Media Player under the Video tab.

Step 3: Press the “RUN” button to start to convert QuickTime to Windows Media Player.

After done, you can play MOV on Windows 11/10/8/7 without any hassle.

Related Sources: Convert MKV to MOV | Change WMV to MOV | DVD to MOV

Tips: Not only can convert MOV to Windows-compatible formats, but Free HD Video Converter Factory can also help you solve other audio and video not playing issues. Users can also use it to edit videos, compress video size, download online video and music, customize video parameters, and more. It is really worth a try. DownloadDownload it now! .

One possible reason that you can’t play MOV on Windows is caused by the outdated Windows Media Player. You need to have a check on the player version and update it to Windows Media Player 12 for smooth MOV files playback.

It’s clear that MOV is compatible with Windows Media Player 12 from the Microsoft official page: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/316992/file-types-supported-by-windows-media-player

If you are using Windows 10 or later versions, you can directly play MOV files on windows without downloading other third-party players. Windows 10 has a built-in program called Photos that can help you play .mov files without issue. It can also be used to play other mainstream video files. You can even use it to make videos from photos and edit videos by trimming, splitting, etc.

To play MOV files with Photos, you only need to find the .mov video on your Windows PC and right-click on it. Then navigate to “Open with” and select “Photos”. Now you can enjoy your MOV video on Windows via Photos.

Some users also report that MOV files can’t be played on Windows even they have updated Windows Media Player. As I have mentioned above, missing required codec will result in the problem that MOV is not recognized by Windows Media Player. Generally speaking, installing a 3rd party codec package can fix this issue.

For instance, 3vix MPEG-4: [http://www.free-codecs.com/download/3ivx.htm], this one is compatible with Windows Media Player or QuickTime Player and other media players. Moreover, this decoder can be helpful when playing MOV, M4A, AVI, etc.

And K-Lite Codec Pack: [https://filehippo.com/download_klite_codec_pack/]. This one is updating regularly and is capable of playing all audio and video files, of course, including MOV files.

Hot Search: Solve AE Problems of Adobe Media Encoder l Install VirtualDub FFmpeg Input Plugin to Open MP4

Another method to fix windows media player QuickTime playback matter is to download other media players that support QuickTime .mov file playback.

Luckily, Apple also developed the QuickTime for Windows computer and you can install it here: [https://support.apple.com/kb/DL837?locale=en_US].

Also, you can use VLC to play MOV files on Windows. Download VLC Media Player here: [https://www.videolan.org/]. This is a powerful media player and you can take VLC to play DVDs and ISO Images as well.

And MPC-HC: [https://mpc-hc.org/]. This one is warmly favored by many users.

These players can directly open and play .mov on Windows PC at one go.

To sum up, with the above 5 free methods: updating Window Media Player, installing .mov codec for windows media player, converting MOV to Windows supported formats, and using the suitable media players can easily resolve how to play MOV on windows issue. Feel free to share with more friends to help them get rid of the “Can’t Play MOV Files on Windows” problem.

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