What is a .wma file?
Windows Media Audio · Audio · Microsoft · 1999
WMA is Microsoft's audio format from the early streaming era, the audio cousin of WMV. It is now largely legacy, and files are usually converted to MP3 or AAC for use outside Windows.
What is a .wma file used for?
WMA packs audio in Microsoft's ASF container, the same one WMV video uses. In its day it was valued for compressing music small enough to stream over slow connections.
Support outside Windows has always been patchy, and modern codecs beat it on quality per megabyte, so it has faded from use.
Some older WMA files were wrapped in DRM that ties them to a specific account or device, which can stop them playing elsewhere.
You mostly meet WMA in old music libraries. Converting to MP3 or AAC makes the files play everywhere.
What opens a .wma file?
The .wma format opens in the following apps, grouped by operating system. If one app does not work, try another from the same list.
Windows
- Media Player
- VLC
macOS
- VLC
Linux
- VLC
- mpv
Web
- Not natively, convert first
Open a .wma file step by step
- Confirm the file really is a .wma. Drop it into the WhatFileType identifier, which reads its signature in your browser without uploading anything.
- On Windows, open it with Media Player or VLC.
- On Mac, use VLC.
- On Linux, try VLC or mpv.
- Still stuck? Convert the .wma to MP3, which opens more widely.
Why can't I open my .wma file?
Almost always because no installed app understands WMA. Install one of the apps above, or convert the file to a format your existing software already reads. If double-clicking opens the wrong program instead of nothing at all, the file association is set to the wrong app rather than the file being broken.
The other possibility is that the file is not really a .wma at all. Drop it into the file identifier to check it by its bytes instead of its name. Nothing is uploaded.
How to convert a .wma file
You can convert a .wma file to MP3, AAC, WAV using a conversion tool or the export menu of an app that opens it.
What is the .wma file signature (magic bytes)?
A .wma file starts with the hex bytes 30 26 B2 75 8E 66 CF 11, which read as 0&.u.f.. in ASCII. Programs identify WMA by those bytes, not by the filename, so a renamed file still gives itself away.
These are the documented signatures for WMA. For a full breakdown, see the ASF (WMV / WMA) file signature page.
| Hex signature | Offset | ASCII | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 26 B2 75 8E 66 CF 11 | 0 | 0&.u.f.. | ASF header (shared with WMV) |
See the full magic-numbers reference for every format.
Frequently asked questions
What is a .wma file?
WMA is Microsoft's audio format from the early streaming era, the audio cousin of WMV. It is now largely legacy, and files are usually converted to MP3 or AAC for use outside Windows.
How do I play a WMA file on a Mac or iPhone?
Use VLC on a Mac. Apple's own players do not support WMA, and there is no native option on iPhone, so the reliable fix is to convert the file to MP3 or AAC.
Why won't my WMA file play?
Either your player lacks WMA support (VLC solves that) or the file carries DRM that ties it to another account or device, which no ordinary player can bypass.
Related formats
Sources
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