Aerial drones are more popular among photographers and videographers in 2026, delivering high-resolution 2K,4K, and 6K footage, but sometimes these high-quality videos can become corrupt/unplayable or may have audio video sync issues because of interrupted recording. These interruptions in a drone camera usually occur due to an OS error, dead battery, corrupt SD card, recording in excessive hot or cold environments, accidental damages due to crash, collision with an object and water damage.
An interruption while recording aerial shots can ruin all your hard work and time. However, there’s not much to worry because with the right tools and techniques, it is possible to fix corrupted drone videos. This article will help you repair your drone video footage and aerial shots by employing the best techniques and professional tools.
Why Drone Camera Videos Get Damaged or Corrupt?
Let’s understand the core concept, the camera’s OS saves the video data directly to storage, but it keeps extra information (called metadata) in its internal memory. When recording of a video clip finishes, the camera adds this metadata to the end of the video file. However, if something interrupts the recording before everything is saved properly, the metadata in memory is lost and video becomes corrupt.
While flying your drone, if it runs out of power mid-flight, losses connectivity, or crashes with an object, or due to other reasons if the recording gets interrupted. Because of the above phenomenon the video file does not get saved properly and the file becomes unplayable.
In Which File Format are Drone Videos Saved?
Many drone cameras offer you with the choice of MP4(H.264 or H.265 codecs) and MOV recording formats. Both offer high quality video output and suitable for editing tools. A drone user can select any of the two based on your video editing requirement and playback preference.
Although MP4 is the most universally complicated video format and is widely supported across various devices and software. Whereas, MOV offers the best support for Apple devices and editing on Mac computers.
Run these Quick Checks to Fix Unplayable/ Corrupt Drone Videos
Before trying more complex solutions to fix a broken DJI drone video, try these quick checks:
Switch to a different media player like VLC. Sometimes, the default player in your computer or device might not support the file format or can’t handle minor errors in the video.
First eject the memory card from your computer and insert it back to resolve any connection issue. You can also try the card on another device to see if the card is problematic.
Malware or viruses on your computer can interfere with your videos. Running a quick scan with trusted antivirus software can help find and eliminate any harmful programs.
For smooth playback of your video file, ensure your drone’s firmware, your graphics card drivers, and your video player are all up to date. Old and outdated software or drivers can cause various issues, so updating them might fix the problem. This is helpful if your video file is corrupt or damaged, such as having green lines.
Sometimes these simple steps can often fix small problems that stop your video from playing normally.
Repair Unplayable/Corrupt Drone Videos with Online Tool
If the above-mentioned fixes don’t work in your favor, there’s one more way to repair your videos. Go to Stellar Online Video Repair website on your computer. Then hit the upload button to upload the damaged or corrupt video file. You also need to upload the sample video file or reference file from that device, basically it's a playable video file.
Once the sample file is uploaded, hit the Repair button. Once it's done, you can preview the file and then download and save it. This online video repair tool is free for first time users and supports almost all video file formats.
The online tool is generally useful for users who need a quick repair solution and have files less than or up to 5GB in size. But for a larger file size, you can download and install the Stellar Repair for Video tool on your Windows or Mac computer, then select your corrupt files, add a sample file and hit repair, once the damaged video file is repaired, you can preview the file and then save it to a desired location.
Whether your drone video file is corrupt, damaged or totally unplayable, you can download the Stellar Repair for Video tool, fix your videos, and preview it all for free. For first-time users, the software only needs a paid subscription when you are satisfied with the result and want to save the repaired drone video file.
End Notes
Due to interruptions in recording, drone videos can get corrupt or damaged such as black screen, green lines, choppy playback, have audio video sync issues or become totally unplayable. Minor issues can be fixed by applying some basic troubleshooting techniques provided in this article, however, major file corruption issue needs a professional repair. With Stellar Repair for Video, you get more power to fix high-resolution 4K and 6K drone footage within a few minutes. Give it a try when you ever land into such issues.
A tech enthusiast cum writer, transforming complex tech challenges into accessible guides for everyday users.
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