M4A to WAV
Convert M4A to WAV from Voice Memos, GarageBand or a recorder. Free, unlimited, no sign-up, and the audio is decoded on your device, never uploaded.
Your file is converted in your browser and never uploaded to our servers.
How to convert M4A to WAV
- 1
Pick the M4A
Drop it on the box or tap to browse. Voice Memos shares, GarageBand and Apple Music exports and recorder files all work, and the picker also takes .m4b audiobooks.
- 2
Leave WAV selected
WAV is the default output on this page and has no bitrate to choose. MP3 and M4A are in the same menu if you change your mind.
- 3
Convert and download
The first run fetches the converter once, about 9 MB. The name carries over, so New Recording 12.m4a downloads as New Recording 12.wav.
Why use this M4A to WAV converter
Nothing leaves your device
FFmpeg runs inside the browser tab as WebAssembly and reads the M4A locally. Interviews, lessons and private notes are never sent to a server, unlike many online converters.
A WAV spec you can rely on
Output is always 16-bit PCM. The sample rate and channel count are copied from the source, so a mono 48 kHz memo stays mono at 48 kHz. Our test AAC M4A files all came out as valid WAVs.
Free with no daily cap
No account, email, watermark or queue. Convert one file, then the next, as often as you need.
Ready after the first load
Your browser caches the converter it downloads from the jsDelivr CDN, so later files skip that step.
Other outputs when WAV is too big
Need something to email instead of edit? Switch to MP3 or M4A at 128, 192 or 320 kbps without leaving the page.
Ways to convert M4A to WAV, side by side
Three common routes for an M4A file headed to an editor. Pick by privacy, volume and how much control you need.
| This browser tool | Upload converter sites | Desktop apps (Apple Music, Audacity, VLC) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where the file goes | Stays on your device | Sent to their servers | Stays on your computer |
| Cost and limits | Free, unlimited | Often a daily cap or size limit before a paid plan | Free apps exist |
| Install needed | No | No | Yes, or a built-in app |
| Many files at once | No, one at a time | Often yes | Yes in most apps |
| Sample rate and bit depth | Rate kept, always 16-bit | Usually adjustable | Fully adjustable |
| Works on a phone | Yes, in the browser | Yes | Mostly desktop only |
Who needs M4A to WAV conversion
Musicians moving ideas into a DAW
A riff hummed into Voice Memos or a GarageBand sketch becomes a WAV that drops onto a track in any DAW without a format prompt.
Podcast and video editors
Editors handle WAV smoothly. Converting first means the only lossy step left is your final export.
Transcription and speech recognition
Speech-to-text tools and research pipelines often ask for WAV. Feed them the interview you recorded on your phone.
Samplers and hardware players
Grooveboxes, hardware samplers and some playout systems read WAV and nothing else. Check whether yours wants a specific rate.
Language and music lessons
Teachers who record lessons on an iPhone can hand students a WAV that opens in any analysis or practice app.
Field and meeting recordings
Recorder apps that save M4A can feed a WAV-only archive or a noise reduction plugin, with the original rate preserved.
Is M4A to WAV lossless? What the conversion does
Most M4A files hold AAC, a lossy codec. Converting decodes that AAC and writes the result as uncompressed 16-bit PCM inside a WAV file. The step adds no new loss, but it cannot bring back detail AAC removed when the file was made. The WAV sounds the same as the M4A; it is simply easier to edit, because every cut and effect works on raw samples and only your final export gets compressed again.
The price is size. By our own arithmetic, not a measurement, 16-bit stereo at 44.1 kHz is about 10.6 MB per minute, mono about 5.3 MB, and stereo at 48 kHz about 11.5 MB. A 256 kbps M4A is about 1.9 MB per minute, a 128 kbps one about 1 MB, so expect roughly 5 to 10 times the original size.
Before you convert .m4a to WAV
- Start from the original export, not a copy that a messaging app has already recompressed.
- Check the sample rate your editor or speech tool expects, since this converter keeps the rate of the source.
- Make sure you have room: a one-hour stereo recording at 44.1 kHz becomes a WAV of roughly 640 MB.
- Use a desktop browser for long recordings, because phones with little memory can fail on very large files.
- If the M4A is Apple Lossless at 24-bit, know that the WAV will come out at 16-bit.
- Rename the file before converting if you want a clear name, since the WAV keeps the M4A's name.
Privacy, price and limits
Your recording is never uploaded
The audio is read and decoded in your browser. The only download is the open-source converter itself, served by the jsDelivr CDN.
Free, unlimited, no watermark
There is no account, no email and no quota. Nothing is added to the audio.
What it does not do
One file at a time, no trimming, no resampling and no 24-bit output. We have not measured a maximum file size, so very long recordings are safest on a desktop.