WMA to MP3 Converter
Convert Windows Media Audio files into MP3s that Apple devices, phones and car stereos will play, with title, artist and album tags carried over. Tracks bought from old subscription stores or ripped with copy protection turned on are encrypted and cannot be converted.
Download Started!
How would you rate your experience with MiConvert?
Why WMA Files Need Converting
WMA is Microsoft's audio format from the Windows Media Player era. Windows Media Player ripped CDs to it by default, and it was the format of the music stores and portable players built around Microsoft's PlaysForSure DRM. The family has four codecs: WMA Standard, WMA Pro for multichannel and high-resolution audio, WMA Lossless and WMA Voice. Outside Windows, support is thin: Apple's Music app, iPhones and plenty of portable players and car stereos won't play WMA, while MP3 plays nearly everywhere.
MiConvert decodes the WMA on its servers with FFmpeg, which includes decoders for all four WMA codecs, and encodes the result with LAME as a constant 192 kbps MP3. Text tags such as title, artist, album and track number are copied into the MP3's ID3 tag. Embedded album art is not carried over, because the converter drops picture streams to produce a clean audio-only file.
Both formats are lossy, so this is a re-encode, not a repackaging. 192 kbps is higher than common WMA rip settings such as 64, 96 or 128 kbps, which gives the MP3 encoder headroom, but it can't bring back detail the WMA encoder removed, and the MP3 may be larger than a low-bitrate WMA. WMA Lossless files become lossy MP3; to keep them bit-perfect, use WMA to FLAC instead. Multichannel WMA Pro is mixed down to stereo, and sample rates above 48 kHz are lowered to 48 kHz, the highest MP3 supports.
Most people here are moving an old music library onto an iPhone, a Mac or a newer car. The main obstacle is DRM: protected WMA is the most common reason a conversion fails on this page. When most of a WMA can't be decoded, MiConvert stops with a DRM-protected message instead of handing back a few seconds of silence.
How to Convert WMA to MP3
- Collect the WMA files, usually from your Music folder or an old Windows Media Player library. Tracks from a subscription service, or ripped with 'Copy protect music' switched on, will not convert, so set those aside.
- Upload up to 10 files per batch, or 25 on Plus and 50 on Pro. A four-minute WMA at 128 kbps is under 4 MB, far below the 50 MB guest limit.
- Click Convert. Each track usually takes only a few seconds.
- Download the MP3s and check the tags in your player. Add cover art there if you want it, since embedded artwork is not copied.
- Import the files into Apple Music, copy them to your phone, or put them on a USB stick for the car.
WMA to MP3 Converter Features
- Decodes WMA Standard, Pro, Lossless and Voice with FFmpeg
- Constant 192 kbps MP3 encoded with LAME
- Title, artist, album and track tags copied to ID3
- Multichannel WMA Pro mixed down to stereo
- Clear message for DRM-protected or unreadable files
- Batches of 10 files at a time, more on paid plans
Video Tutorial
Watch this step-by-step tutorial to learn how to convert WMA files to MP3 format online for free using MiConvert.com. No software installation required.
WMA to MP3 Questions
Why does it say my WMA file is DRM-protected?
The audio is encrypted with Windows Media DRM, which subscription stores such as Napster and MSN Music used, and which Windows Media Player applied when 'Copy protect music' was enabled during ripping. Without the license the audio cannot be decoded. Re-rip the original CD with copy protection off, or get an unprotected copy from the seller.
Will converting WMA to MP3 lose quality?
In theory a little, because a lossy file is being encoded again. At 192 kbps the MP3 has more bitrate than typical WMA rips, so the difference is hard to hear, but the MP3 can never sound better than the WMA it came from.
Are song titles and artist names kept?
Yes. Text tags from the WMA, including title, artist, album and track number, are written into the MP3's ID3 tag. Embedded cover images are not copied.
Can I convert WMA Lossless without losing anything?
Not to MP3, which is always lossy. Choose WMA to FLAC or WMA to WAV to keep the audio lossless, and make MP3 copies from those later if you need them.
Why did my WMA fail with 'Invalid data found'?
Parts of the file are damaged, so the decoder cannot read them. If most of a WMA is unreadable you may instead see the DRM-protected message, because to the decoder a badly damaged file and an encrypted one look alike. Copy the track again from its original source; files recovered from old drives or memory cards are the usual culprits.
Can I convert WMA to MP3 on a Mac or iPhone?
Yes. The conversion runs on MiConvert's servers, so any current browser on macOS, iOS, Android or Linux can upload the WMA and download the MP3.
What happens to my music files after conversion?
Each uploaded WMA is deleted from the server once it has been converted. The MP3s remain downloadable for roughly four hours, and then an automatic cleanup removes them.