Solved - Can Audacity Open M4A? How to Open M4A in Audacity?

M4A is a commonly used audio format. Can Audacity open M4A audio files? How to import M4A audio files into Audacity? In this post, you will learn two different ways of how to play M4A audio files in Audacity for free.

Can Audacity Open M4A?

Can Audacity open M4A? You can’t import M4A directly into Audacity on Windows. But Mac users can directly open M4A in Audacity.

How to Import M4A into Audacity

So how to open M4A in Audacity? Here are two methods for you. One is installing an M4A plugin for Audacity and the other is converting M4A to the most popular audio format – MP3.

Install Audacity M4A Plugin

To open M4A in Audacity on Windows, you need to download and install the optional FFmpeg library. Otherwise, you’ll encounter the error “Audacity cannot open this type of file”. With the FFmpeg library, Audacity will support more audio formats such as M4A, AC3, AMR, etc.

Here’s how to install the FFmpeg library in Audacity.

Step 1. Download the FFmpeg library for Audacity and install it.

Step 2. Open Audacity and go to Edit > Preferences > Library.

Step 3. Click the Locate button next to FFmpeg Library. Click No > OK.

open the Preferences window

Step 4. Then import your M4A audio file into Audacity and edit it as needed.

Convert M4A to MP3

If the installing process of the FFmpeg library bothers you, you can use an audio converter that helps you convert M4A to MP3. MiniTool Video Converter is a powerful converter for both video and audio conversions. It supports MP3, WAV, M4A, WMA, AAC, AC3, AIFF, OGG and enables you to convert audio to any popular format.

Take the following steps to convert M4A to MP3.

Step 1. Download and install MiniTool Video Converter. Then run it immediately.

MiniTool Video ConverterClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Step 2. Click Add Files in the top left corner of your screen and import the M4A audio file to MiniTool Video Converter.

Step 3. Click this icon to open the output window, tap on Audio and select the output format MP3 and the desired output quality.

convert M4A to MP3

Step 4. Find the Output folder at the bottom of your screen. Click on it and choose Browse to select a new save folder as needed.

Step 5. Press the Convert button to start converting M4A to MP3.

Step 6. Once the conversion is done, you can find the converted audio file in the Converted section. Click Show in folder to locate the file and see if it can be opened successfully in Audacity.

If you want to convert M4A to MP3 or other formats online, here’s a choice for you – using Online Audio Converter by 123Apps. Online Audio Converter is free and web-based. It not only supports importing audio from your computer but also supports loading audio from cloud storage services including Google Drive, Dropbox, and URL.

You can use it to convert M4A to the most popular formats such as MP3, WAV, M4A, FLAC, OGG, MP2, AMR, adjust the audio quality, edit the track info, reverse audio, etc.

Conclusion

Audacity for Windows can’t open M4A files. This post offers you two solutions to make your M4A file compatible with Audacity. Hope this post is helpful for you!

About The Author

Zoe

Position: Columnist

Zoe works as editor at MiniTool for many years, writing articles about video editing skills. She has published hundreds of articles about video editing, video conversion, video downloading, audio editing and photo editing. She also writes some articles about YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. During her spare time, Zoe loves reading, traveling, skating, watching movies, musicals and plays. Her favorite musicals include The Phantom of the Opera, Hamilton and Le Rouge et le Noir.