How to send large recordings on whatsapp

WhatsApp lets you send files larger than 16MB limit as well, here's how it works

Home How To WhatsApp lets you send files larger than 16MB limit as well, here's how it works

The trick to sending large files on WhatsApp lies in uploading these files on Google Drive and then sharing that link with the receiver on WhatsApp.

WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps in the world. It is easy to use. It is loaded with features that enable users to share creative messages with their friends and family. And best of all, it allows users to share media files and documents, including PDF files and Excel sheets, with other users.

But even this feature has some limitations.

WhatsApp allows users to share files that are up to 100MB in size. For videos recorded using WhatsApp, this limit is 16MB. If a user tries to send a file that is bigger than this limit, the Facebook-owned messaging app will show an error message to the user. But thankfully there is a workaround that enables users to share files that are much larger than 100MB using WhatsApp. Enter: Google Drive.

The trick to sending large files on WhatsApp lies in uploading these files on Google Drive and then sharing that link with the receiver on WhatsApp.

ALSO READ: Explained: This is WhatsApp's biggest feature of the year

Here's a step-by-step account of how users can share large files using WhatsApp:

Step 1: Open Google Drive.

Step 2: Tap on the Plus icon on the bottom right corner of the screen.

Step 3: Tap on Upload File > Tap on the Open option.

Step 4: Once the file has been uploaded you will see the file on the top in the Google Drive app.

Step 5: Tap on the three dots on the top right corner of the file.

Step 6: Tap on Copy Link option. Doing so will save a copy of the file's shareable link on your phone's Clipboard.

Step 7: Open WhatsApp > tap on the name of the contact with whom you want to share the link.

Step 8: Long press and then tap on the Paste option.

Step 9: You will see a shareable link of the Google Drive file in the message box. Tap on Send!

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First Published Date: 28 Jul, 19:05 IST

Tags: whatsapp

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How to send large files on WhatsApp

In the past, if you wanted to send someone a large file attachment, the only viable method was email. But these days, messaging platforms have become so fast and advanced that you can easily use them to transfer files to your contacts. But these platforms naturally have file size limitations, so what do you do when you need to send large files on WhatsApp? It’s time to get creative, of course.

Read more: How to use WhatsApp — a step-by-step beginner’s guide

QUICK ANSWER

The best way to send large files on WhatsApp is to use cloud storage links. On Android, the best method is Google Drive, and on iPhone, you can either use Google Drive or iCloud. But really, any cloud storage service is good enough. Once uploaded, copy and paste the download links into WhatsApp.

JUMP TO KEY SECTIONS

How to adjust photo upload quality on WhatsApp (Android and iPhone)
How to send large photos, videos, and documents on WhatsApp (Android and iPhone)
Other file transfer methods to consider

How to adjust photo upload quality on WhatsApp (Android and iPhone)

Before going into more drawn-out time-consuming options, it’s always worth looking at the obvious first.

Images are the easiest thing to send — you can compress them with a zip program and reduce the picture quality slightly to drop the file size even more. WhatsApp has a built-in function where you can specify that it should send images at a lower quality.

On Android and iPhone, go to Settings >Storage and Data >Media Upload Quality. The option is at the bottom of the page.

Now select the quality of the media to be uploaded. Data Saver will likely give you the biggest savings.

How to send large photos, videos, and documents on WhatsApp (Android and iPhone)

Once you’ve got the file size down as far as it’ll go, the best file sending option on WhatsApp for Android is Google Drive, and either iCloud or Google Drive for the iPhone.

Google Drive (Android)

If you have a big video, a folder of files, or any other large attachment, the best bet is to upload it to Google Drive first, assuming you have the necessary space. If not, you will need to upgrade your storage limit or clean out first.

First, go into Google Files (which should be already installed on your device), and locate the file you want to send. In this case, it’s a video.

Long-press on the file, and a menu will pop up. Select Back up to Google Drive. You’ll be asked to confirm the Drive account and the destination folder. Then tap to send the file.

When you receive a notification that the file has been successfully uploaded to Google Drive, head over to the Drive app and locate the file. Tap the three vertical dots next to it for sharing options.

You need to make sure the person to whom you’re sending the file has the necessary file access permissions. Tap on Manage people and links.

Under Link settings, ensure the link is set to Anyone with the link. If not, or you want to change it for tighter control, tap Change to amend the link settings. Once it’s the way you want it, tap the chain icon to the right of Link settings to copy the download link to your clipboard.

Now paste the link into the WhatsApp window and send.

iCloud

You can also use the above Google Drive method on an iPhone, but you may also prefer to use iCloud since it’s baked into iOS. Plus, the iCloud method is much easier and faster.

Go to the location of the file (in this case, the same video in my Camera Roll) and select it. Now tap the sharing menu and choose Copy iCloud Link.

This creates a temporary unique download link to the video on iCloud. Wait ten seconds or so for the link to be generated. When the Preparing iCloud Link box disappears, the link is copied and ready to be pasted.

In this case, we want to send the link by WhatsApp, so head over to the app and paste the link into the message box. The download link is valid for one month.

If you send the file to someone with an iPhone, it will open in their default iOS app (the camera roll for images and videos, for instance). Android recipients will be redirected to iCloud.com, where they can download or view the file online.

Other file transfer methods to consider

If iCloud or Google Drive are not possible for some reason to send your files on WhatsApp, other possibilities include —

Dropbox or OneDrive links.
Videos uploaded to YouTube as unlisted or private.
A file transfer service such as WeTransfer.
Uploading to your own domain.

You can then paste the resulting links from any of these methods into a WhatsApp message to your contact.

Read more: WhatsApp not working? Here are some fixes you can try

FAQs

If you want to upload the file to WhatsApp and send it through their servers, the size needs to be under 100MB. Videos cannot be more than three minutes in length. Anything larger than that, you will need to use one of the suggested workarounds above.

How to send a large video to WhatsApp on Android

Due to the lack of adequate analogues - hello Telegram - WhatsApp is the most popular instant messenger in our country and one of the best platforms for sharing media files. People use WhatsApp not only for messaging, but also for sending files to their friends, family, and others. These files can be both photos and audio, and video. However, there is one unpleasant feature in the popular messenger - the limit on the size of the sent file. True, this trouble can be easily bypassed, and we will tell you how to do it in this article. nine0003

WhatsApp video file size limit

Although WhatsApp has a wide variety of handy features, they can still be limited by the size of the file you can send. In this regard, it will be better if you know the available file sizes and supported formats.

WhatsApp maximum video size

The maximum video size you can share on WhatsApp is 16 Mm. The WhatsApp video size limit is not that big, but on most phones, the limit is usually between 90 seconds to 3 minutes depending on video quality. The same criterion applies to all media files, including documents.

Supported video formats in WhatsApp

In addition to the limit on the maximum video size, WhatsApp also has a limit on the file format. The various video formats that are supported by WhatsApp include MP4, MKV, AVI, 3GP, and MOV. Support for video and audio codecs also affects support for video files. Your video must be saved using h364 video codec and AAC audio codec in order to be sent to WhatsApp. nine0003

How to send a large video on WhatsApp

You may not know, but you can send a video to WhatsApp not only by clicking on the photo icon, but also on the send files icon. In this case, you will have to perform a little more steps, but it's still not at all difficult.

Open a chat with the person(s) you want to send a large video (or other media file or document) to.
In the message box, click on the icon for sending a file with a paperclip image and select "Document" from the menu that appears. nine0028
Select the required video from the list of your media files and click on it.

In the confirmation window that appears, click "Submit" and then your video will be sent, but this will take some time, depending on the file size.

This method still has a limitation. It allows you to send a file larger than 16 MB, but, unfortunately, not more than 100 MB. To learn how to send files larger than 100 megabytes, read on. nine0003

How to send a large video to WhatsApp

In addition to the above method, there is also an alternative method, and it consists in sending a link to a video that has been previously uploaded to the cloud. Using Google Drive is the best thing you can think of in such a situation, since many people keep backup copies of their files (including videos) in this cloud. What you need to do to send a large file using Google Drive:

Upload files to Google Drive by tapping the "+" icon on the main screen. nine0028
Once the file is uploaded to Google Drive, press and hold on it for 1-2 seconds until several options appear on the screen for further actions. From these options, select the "Copy Link" option.
Now start WhatsApp and open a chat with the person you want to send the video to. In the text field, press and hold your finger until the options appear, from which you need to select "Paste". The link will allow those you sent it to both watch the video and save it to their device. nine0028

Instead of the Google Drive cloud, you can use any similar application that you use yourself. The essence does not change regardless of the application and for sending any large file via WhatsApp, the steps described above will be approximately the same.

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How to send lossless photos via WhatsApp

When it comes to sending a video file recorded on your Android phone via WhatsApp, it becomes a headache. You should be aware that WhatsApp has a 16MB file size limit for videos, music, and pictures. However, there is still a solution for this. This guide will tell you how to send large video files to WhatsApp (iPhone and Android) and how to send large audio files to WhatsApp and images

Media file is too big

Part 1: How to send large files on WhatsApp (including video and audio)
Part 2: Advice on how to transfer WhatsApp between iPhone and Android without restrictions

Part 1: How to send large files on WhatsApp (including video and audio)

When recording video or audio, we don't really care about the size, since external storage is not a big problem for most smartphones. And recording HD video on Android or iPhone at the highest possible settings will mean that even a 30-second video will be between 15 and 20MB in size. nine0003

Method 1: How to send long WhatsApp videos from Dropbox

To transfer or share these files, you can upload your files to any cloud service you prefer and copy the download link. One of the well-known cloud services is Dropbox, which can be downloaded on Android, iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry, PC and other devices. You can use free cloud services and their apps to share and manage files. nine0003

If you haven't installed Dropbox, please download Dropbox for your Android/iPhone from the link below or from Google Play/App Store.

Download Dropbox for iPhone
Download Dropbox for Android phone

Then do the following:

Method 2: How to send a large WhatsApp video via Google Drive

If you can't send a big video on WhatsApp, it's time to use Google Drive. Google Drive is a cloud-based server that can save any type of file, such as large video files, audio files, and more. With it, you can easily send large video and audio files. Below are the steps:

Method 3: How to send a file larger than 20 MB via WhatsApp

You may know that WhatsApp can't send file larger than 16MB, if you don't want to use the methods we provided above, you can try video converters.

Since there are many online converters that can help reduce video size, you can simply search on Google or try these sites we have listed below:

Clideo compresses video.
The online converter compresses the video.
Youcompress compresses video, audio and more.

Part 2: Advice on how to transfer WhatsApp between iPhone and Android without restrictions

Sometimes when you get a new iPhone or Android device, you may need to transfer your WhatsApp data from the old device to the new one. However, this is not easy when you have two devices with different systems, which we will talk about below. nine0003

iCareFone Transfer - Transfer, Backup & Restore iOS WhatsApp is a great file management tool, you can easily manage your iOS files.