Audio · .wma
What Is a WMA File?
A .wma file is a compressed audio format created by Microsoft.
- Extension
- .wma
- Full name
- Windows Media Audio
- Type
- Audio
- MIME type
- audio/x-ms-wma
- Developed by
- Microsoft (1999)
About WMA Files
WMA was Microsoft's competitor to MP3 and was the default format when ripping CDs in Windows Media Player for many years. It includes lossy, lossless and voice variants, and old music stores used it with DRM. Windows plays WMA natively, but macOS, iOS, Android browsers and many apps don't, so old WMA music collections are usually converted to MP3 or AAC. Files with DRM can only be played on the computer that was licensed.
How to Open a WMA File
- Windows
- Double-click to play it in Media Player.
- Mac
- Use VLC; Apple apps don't play WMA.
- iPhone & Android
- Use VLC, or convert the file to MP3.
WMA File Questions
Can a Mac play WMA files?
Not with Apple's own apps. VLC plays them for free.
How do I convert WMA to MP3?
Windows Media Player can't convert directly, but VLC, Audacity or iTunes for Windows can. Browsers can't decode WMA, so in-browser converters don't support it.