Convert 3GP to MP4
3GP files were the video format early smartphones and feature phones used for recording and MMS video messages - anything shot on a Nokia, BlackBerry, or early Android phone before about 2012 is probably 3GP. Modern devices refuse to play them because the compression formats inside (H.263 video, AMR audio) are ancient and browsers and mobile OSes never shipped decoders for them inside MP4. Wave decodes those old codecs and re-encodes to modern H.264 video and AAC audio - so your old phone footage becomes an MP4 that plays on any current device.
What actually changes
3GP was defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project to standardise multimedia messages on Nokia, Motorola, and early smartphone hardware. Its container is a subset of MP4 - same box structure, just with limits on which codecs and bitrates are allowed.
The container swap itself would be trivial, but the codecs inside are the problem. H.263 and MPEG-4 Part 2 are legal inside MP4 on paper but no consumer browser or mobile player ships a decoder for either; AMR narrow-band audio is legal too but plays inconsistently in desktop players. So Wave decodes the source with the on-device ffmpeg engine, re-encodes video to H.264 via your browser's WebCodecs encoder, and re-encodes audio to AAC at 192 kbps. Everything runs locally.
Between 2003 and roughly 2010, 3GP was the format on which the entire early-smartphone camera experience ran. Nokia N-series, Motorola RAZR, early Sony Ericsson, and the first generations of Android and iOS phones all recorded video into .3gp files with H.263 or MPEG-4 Part 2 video and AMR audio, at resolutions like 176x144 (QCIF) and 320x240 (QVGA). The bitrate caps existed because 3GPP had to guarantee playback on hardware with 200 MHz single-core CPUs and 32 MB of RAM.
Preserving those files is more common than you would expect - many of them are the only remaining record of moments from that decade, and iOS 17's Files app will play a properly-labelled .mp4 but not a .3gp. Wave's conversion keeps every frame the source captured and hands you an H.264 MP4 that plays natively on modern iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and every browser.
Three steps.
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Step 1
Drop the 3GP file onto the card.
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Step 2
Wave shows Re-encode needed - 3GP's codecs need converting for modern playback.
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Step 3
Convert and save the MP4.
Answers, specifically.
Why do my 3GP files look so blurry?
They were captured on phone cameras with 176×144 or 320×240 sensors, at bitrates designed for MMS. Wave targets a high-quality H.264 re-encode, so the output preserves what detail the source has - but the resolution and bitrate ceiling are the source's, not the container's.
What's the difference between 3GP and 3G2?
3GP was for GSM networks; 3G2 was for CDMA (older Verizon, Sprint). File-format-wise they're near-identical and Wave handles both.
The audio sounds tinny - can Wave fix it?
No. AMR audio was designed for voice calls, not music. The audio survives, encoded to AAC, but the source bandwidth is what it is.
My phone recorded landscape but it plays portrait - will that carry over?
Rotation metadata copies. If your source has a rotation flag, the MP4 will too, and modern players will honour it.
Are 3GP files still worth keeping?
For archival memory purposes, yes - many are the only remaining copies of moments from 2003-2010. Converting to MP4 is a good preservation move.
Are the resulting MP4s much bigger than the 3GP source?
Slightly, but not dramatically. Wave targets a modest H.264 bitrate on the re-encode because the source resolution is small and there is no point spending bits on detail that was never captured. A typical 3-minute QVGA 3GP becomes an MP4 in the 8-15 MB range.
Does Wave upscale the video during conversion?
No. The output resolution matches the source. Upscaling small 3GP content to 720p or 1080p would add artefacts without adding real detail. If you want to upscale for a specific device, use a purpose-built upscaler (Topaz Video AI, HandBrake with libplacebo) after the conversion.
Can iPhone play my 3GP directly?
Technically yes - iOS lists .3gp as a supported extension - but many .3gp files fail to open because their codecs (H.263 particularly) fall outside what modern iOS players decode. Converting to H.264 in MP4 is more reliable than hoping the iPhone accepts the source.