You pick a video in WhatsApp and it refuses: the file is too large, the video is too long, or it simply never finishes sending. Or it does send, and the person on the other end gets a soft, blurry version of something that looked sharp on your phone. Both problems have the same cause, and in most cases the same fix.
WhatsApp has two ways of sending a video. Picked from the gallery or camera, it goes as media, which has a fairly small size cap and is compressed on the way. Picked through the Document option, it goes as a file, with a much larger cap and no compression. Most people never touch the second route, so most people hit the first route's limits.
Why WhatsApp says the file is too large
When you send a video as media, WhatsApp's own help centre gives a default size limit of 100 MB at 720p resolution for people on a faster connection, and 64 MB at 480p for people on a slower one. Its troubleshooting page for long videos also lists 64 MB as the maximum on all platforms, so if you want a figure that works everywhere, plan around the smaller one. WhatsApp calls these defaults, and they have changed over the years.
Phones now record at high resolution, so a clip of a minute or two can easily pass those numbers. That is why WhatsApp says the maximum video duration varies with the quality of your phone's camera: the cap is about size, not seconds.
Media is also compressed. WhatsApp states plainly that media uploaded to it might be lower quality than the original because files are usually compressed when shared. That is the blurry video. Nothing went wrong, it is how the media route works.
The Document route is different. A video sent as a Document can be up to 2 GB, on Android, iPhone and WhatsApp on a computer, and it travels as the original file. The trade-off is how it arrives: a file with a name and a size in the chat, which the other person taps to download and open, rather than a video bubble that plays inline.
- Sent as a photo or video: default limit 100 MB at 720p on a faster connection, 64 MB at 480p on a slower one, compressed
- Sent as a Document: up to 2 GB, original file, no compression
- Status video: a maximum of 90 seconds, and HD is not available for Status
- Supported video formats: 3GP, AVI, FLV, MKV, MOV and MP4
Send a video as a Document on Android
This works for photos too, if you want to send a photo without it being squashed.
- Open the individual or group chat.
- Tap the paperclip icon (Attach) in the message bar.
- Tap "Document".
- Find the video. If it is not in the list WhatsApp shows, browse your phone's storage and open the camera folder, usually DCIM, then Camera.
- Tap the file, then tap the send icon if WhatsApp asks you to confirm.
- If the Document picker cannot see your videos at all, go to your phone's "Settings" > "Apps" > "WhatsApp" > "Permissions" and set "Photos and videos" and "Files" to "Allow". The names vary by Android version and brand, and you might see "Files and media" or "Storage" instead.
Send a video as a Document on iPhone
On iPhone, WhatsApp's Document option takes files from iCloud Drive and other sources connected to the Files app, such as a Google account or Dropbox. A video that only exists in the Photos app may not show up there, which trips a lot of people up.
- Open the individual or group chat.
- Tap the plus icon (Attach) to the left of the message field.
- Tap "Document".
- Choose the video and tap "Send".
- If the video is not in the list, open the Photos app, select the video, tap the Share button, choose "Save to Files", then go back to WhatsApp and pick it from the Files location you saved it to.
- If WhatsApp cannot reach your photos, check that it has access in iPhone "Settings" > "Privacy & Security" ("Privacy" on older iOS) > "Photos".
On a computer: WhatsApp Web and Desktop
If the video is already on your laptop, for example exported from an editor or copied off a camera, sending from WhatsApp Web or the desktop app is often the easiest route. The same 2 GB Document limit applies.
Open the chat, click the attach icon, click "Document" and choose the file. You can also drag the file straight into the message box. Picking "Photos & Videos" instead sends it as media, with the smaller limit and the compression, so choose "Document" when quality or size is the issue.
What the HD button does, and what it does not
When you attach a photo or video, an HD Media icon appears at the top of the editor: the letters HD in a small box with a gear in the corner. Tap it and choose "Standard quality" or "HD quality" before you send. WhatsApp says HD photos and videos are clearer than Standard, but use more data and take longer to send. On mobile data you may see a "Continue without WiFi?" prompt; tap "Continue" if you want to send it anyway.
To make HD the default, open WhatsApp "Settings", then "Storage and data" > "Media upload quality", and select "HD quality". You can still switch individual items back to Standard as you send them.
Two limits worth knowing. HD is not available for Status updates or profile pictures. And you cannot upgrade something you already sent: send it again in HD.
HD is better media, not the original file. It is still a media send, and WhatsApp notes that the internet connection affects the quality of media sent and received even when HD is selected. If a client, an editor or a printer needs the exact file, HD is the wrong tool. Use Document.
When even 2 GB is not enough
Long recordings, screen captures and 4K footage can pass the Document limit. There is no setting that raises it, so the file has to get smaller or travel some other way. Roughly in order of effort:
- Trim it. In WhatsApp's editor, drag the slider at the top of the video to cut it down, then preview the result before sending. If most of the length is padding at the start and end, this is the quickest fix.
- Split it. Use your phone's video editor to cut the recording into parts that each fit, then send each part as a Document. Name them Part 1, Part 2 and so on so they arrive in order.
- Export it at a lower resolution. WhatsApp's own suggestion for long videos is to record at a lower resolution outside WhatsApp. If it is already recorded, most editors can export at 1080p instead of 4K, which makes the file much smaller while still looking sharp on a phone.
- Do not bother zipping it. Video files are already compressed, so putting one in a zip archive barely changes its size.
- Send a link instead of the file. Upload the video to Google Drive, iCloud Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox, set the share option so anyone with the link can view it, and paste the link into the chat. The recipient gets the original file. Check the sharing setting before you send, because a link that is still private only produces an access request.
- Use a short-lived transfer link. OneSol Send (onesol.io/send) takes up to 5 GB, so even a video over the 2 GB Document limit fits, and you paste one link into the chat; the link and files are deleted after 24 hours, and the person receiving needs no account (you need a free OneSol account to send). Useful when you would rather not leave a copy sitting in a group chat or a shared drive.
When size is not actually the problem
If a small file still will not send, or the Document route fails too, the cause is usually elsewhere. WhatsApp says the most common reason media will not send is a weak internet connection. Work through these:
- Switch connections: try mobile data if you are on Wi-Fi, or Wi-Fi if you are on mobile data. Large uploads stall on a weak signal long before they hit any limit.
- Update WhatsApp and your phone's software, then restart the phone. If you see "This file format is not supported", updating WhatsApp is the first thing WhatsApp itself recommends.
- Check the format. WhatsApp lists 3GP, AVI, FLV, MKV, MOV and MP4 as supported video formats, and notes that footage with a high audio sample rate or from professional cameras may be unsupported. Converting to MP4 is the usual fix.
- On Android, check WhatsApp's storage and media permissions as described above. If they are already on, turn them off and on again, then clear the cache in "Settings" > "Apps" > "WhatsApp" > "Storage" > "Clear cache".
- Posting to Status? The limit there is length, not size: a Status video can be at most 90 seconds, so trim it or post it in parts.
- Passing on a video someone sent you? Use Forward on the message instead of saving and re-uploading it. WhatsApp suggests this for videos you have previously received.