HEVC to 3GP Converter

HEVC to 3GP Converter

This conversion goes backwards through twenty years of video engineering on purpose. HEVC — ITU-T Recommendation H.265, "High efficiency video coding", first approved in April 2013 — is a modern codec built to carry HD and 4K in small files. 3GP is the 3GPP file format, standardised for GSM-era handsets with tiny screens and slow radios, and it cannot hold HEVC video at all. So this is always a full re-encode into an older codec, usually at a much smaller frame size. Do it when a specific device or piece of software demands .3gp; if you just want a smaller or more portable file for anything made in the last decade, HEVC to MP4 is the better conversion.

What a .hevc File Actually Is

The extension is ambiguous, and it changes whether your output will have sound. A .hevc file is often a raw HEVC elementary stream — nothing but coded video, with no container, no audio track and no timing metadata. But the extension is also used for container files that simply happen to be named after their video codec; the .hevc files this site produces, for example, are Matroska containers with the audio track preserved inside. If your upload carries an audio track, it is re-encoded into the 3GP. If it is a bare elementary stream, there is nothing to encode and the 3GP comes out silent. Either way the video itself is re-encoded, because 3GP has no way to store HEVC.

HEVC and 3GP Side by Side

How to Convert HEVC to 3GP

1. Upload Your HEVC File: Drag and drop your .hevc file onto the page, or click "+ Add Files" to browse. You can queue several clips and convert them all with the same settings.
2. Pick the Video and Audio Codecs: Open Advanced Options. "Video Codec" starts on H.264 and also offers H.263, MPEG-4 and Xvid; "Audio Codec" starts on AMR Narrow Band and also offers AMR Wide Band and AAC. For the oldest handsets, pair H.263 with AMR Narrow Band.
3. Set the Resolution and Trim (Optional): Under "Video resolution", the Preset Resolutions dropdown sets a target height such as 240p or 144p, while "Width x Height" lets you type an exact classic size such as 176x144. Under "Trim", switch from "Unchanged" to "Time Range" to export only part of the clip.
4. Convert and Download: Click "Convert" and download your 3GP. Files are uploaded over an encrypted connection, converted on our servers, and deleted automatically after a few hours. No sign-up, no watermark.

Codec Pairings for 3GP

AMR Narrow Band is a speech codec sampled at 8 kHz. It is exactly right for voice and exactly wrong for music, which comes out dull and watery — that is a property of the codec, not of the conversion. If the clip has music in it and the target can handle it, choose AAC.

Getting the Resolution Right

Resolution is the single biggest lever on both file size and whether an old device will play the file at all. The frame sizes people mean when they say "3GP" are older than the presets on this page, so you often want the "Width x Height" fields rather than the dropdown.

Leaving the resolution on "Keep original" while converting a 1080p source to 3GP produces a technically valid file that most legacy hardware will refuse. Pick a small frame size deliberately.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will converting HEVC to 3GP reduce the video quality?

Yes, substantially, and that is the point of the exercise. HEVC holds HD detail in a small file; 3GP pairs an older, much less efficient codec with a frame size built for a two-inch screen. Re-encoding means the picture is compressed a second time with weaker tools, and downscaling throws away resolution outright. If quality matters more than legacy compatibility, convert to HEVC to MP4 instead, or simply compress the HEVC to shrink it without changing format.

Which codecs can I actually choose on this page?

We checked the options this page ships with: the Video Codec list for a 3GP target is H.263, H.264, MPEG-4 and Xvid, with H.264 pre-selected, and the Audio Codec list is AAC, AMR Narrow Band and AMR Wide Band, defaulting to AMR Narrow Band. That matches what 3GPP TS 26.244 permits inside a 3GP container — H.263, MPEG-4 Part 2 and H.264 for video, AMR and AAC families for audio. HEVC itself is not among them, which is why a re-encode is unavoidable.

My HEVC file has no audio — will the 3GP be silent?

If the source is a raw HEVC elementary stream, yes. A bare .hevc stream is video only: there is no container to hold an audio track, so nothing can be carried into the 3GP no matter which audio codec you pick. If you need the sound, go back to the original recording — the .mov or .mp4 your camera or phone produced — which holds both streams. Files that use the .hevc extension but are really containers do carry their audio across.

Is this a remux, or is my video genuinely re-encoded?

Genuinely re-encoded, every time. 3GP cannot store an HEVC video stream, so there is no possibility of copying the existing frames into a new wrapper; the video is decoded and re-compressed with whichever codec you select. That is also why the conversion takes real time on a long clip, and why quality settings actually matter here rather than being cosmetic.

Why won't the 3GP play on my current phone?

Because most phones sold in the last decade dropped 3GP handling and standardised on MP4 with H.264 or HEVC. 3GP is a legacy target: it is the right output only when a specific old device, kiosk, or piece of embedded software documents .3gp as what it wants. For a modern handset, HEVC to MP4 is what you actually want.

What is the difference between 3GP and 3G2?

They are siblings from the same era, split along network lines. 3GP was defined for GSM-based systems, 3G2 for CDMA2000 handsets. 3G2 supports some codecs 3GP does not, such as EVRC and SMV, and omits others including AMR-WB+ and HE-AAC v2. Both are built on the same ISO base media file format as MP4. If your target device came from a CDMA carrier, HEVC to 3G2 is the closer match.

How small will the 3GP actually be?

That depends almost entirely on the resolution and length you choose rather than on the codec. Dropping a 1080p source to 176x144 removes roughly 98% of the pixels before compression even starts, which is why the resolution control does most of the work. If you have a hard limit to hit, switch the compression mode from "Quality Preset" to "Specific file size" and enter the number directly, then check the result — an aggressive target on a long clip will look rough.

Is my file kept private while it converts?

Yes. It is uploaded over an encrypted connection, processed on our servers, and deleted automatically after a few hours — no sign-up, no watermark, and nothing is shared or made public. If you later want a .3gp back on a modern device, 3GP to MP4 re-encodes it, though nothing can restore the detail that was discarded on the way down.