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.
How to open 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
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.
.wma file signature (magic bytes)
Programs recognise a .wma file by the bytes at the start of the file, not by its name. These are the signatures for WMA. For a full breakdown, see the WMA file signature page.
| Hex signature | Offset | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 30 26 B2 75 8E 66 CF 11 | 0 | 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
Details on this page were checked against authoritative references: