What is a .amr file? (AMR)

AMR is a speech-optimised audio format used by mobile phones for voice recordings and voicemail. It compresses the human voice heavily, giving tiny files that sound fine for speech but poor for music.

What is a .amr file used for?

An .amr file starts with the header #!AMR and is tuned for the frequency range of speech, which is why voice memos and voicemail on older phones use it. Narrowband AMR is the common variant; AMR-WB is wideband.

Because it is optimised for voice, music in AMR sounds thin. Convert to MP3 or WAV if you need general playback or editing.

How to open a .amr file

The .amr format opens in the following apps, grouped by operating system. If one app does not work, try another from the same list. For a step-by-step walkthrough, see how to open a .amr file.

Windows

VLC
foobar2000

macOS

VLC
QuickTime

Linux

VLC
ffmpeg

How to convert a .amr file

You can convert a .amr file to mp3, wav, aac using a conversion tool or the export menu of an app that opens it.

.amr file signature (magic bytes)

Programs recognise a .amr file by the bytes at the start of the file, not by its name. These are the signatures for AMR. For a full breakdown, see the AMR file signature page.

Hex signature	Offset	Note
23 21 41 4D 52	0	'#!AMR'

See the full magic-numbers reference for every format.

Frequently asked questions

What is a .amr file?

How do I open an AMR file?

Play it in VLC, which handles AMR directly. To edit or use it elsewhere, convert it to MP3 or WAV.

Why does music sound bad in AMR?

AMR is tuned for the narrow frequency range of the human voice, so it discards the detail that music needs. It is meant for speech, not songs.

How do I convert AMR to MP3?

Use VLC's convert feature or ffmpeg (ffmpeg -i voice.amr voice.mp3).

Related formats

Sources

Details on this page were checked against authoritative references:

Wikipedia: Adaptive Multi-Rate audio codec