Free online 3GA to AU converter

Source format: 3GA

3GA is a mobile audio container associated with 3GPP multimedia files. It is commonly used for voice recordings, short audio clips, and audio captured by older mobile phones and telecom devices. In practice, 3GA files often contain compressed speech or audio streams such as AMR or AAC, and they are mainly encountered in mobile messaging, call recordings, and legacy handset storage.

Target format: AU

AU is an older Sun/NeXT audio format that stores audio data in a simple container. It is widely recognized by Unix-like systems and some audio tools, and it is useful for basic compatibility, archival of simple audio clips, and workflows that need a straightforward, uncompressed or lightly compressed audio container. AU is not as common as modern formats, but it remains supported by many editors and converters.

How to perform the conversion

The most reliable way to convert 3GA to AU is with FFmpeg, because it supports both the source container and the target format and can preserve audio quality as much as the target format allows.

1. Install FFmpeg on your computer if it is not already available.
2. Open a terminal or command prompt.
3. Run a command like ffmpeg -i input.3ga output.au.
4. If the 3GA file contains a codec that needs re-encoding, FFmpeg will automatically convert it to a compatible audio stream for AU.
5. Check the resulting output.au file in an audio player or editor that supports AU.

If you prefer a graphical workflow, you can open the file in a desktop audio editor that supports both formats, then use File → Export or File → Save as and choose AU as the output format. Some editors may first require importing the 3GA file and then exporting it to AU.

You can also convert the file on 101convert.com for free, without installing any software.

Notes on quality and compatibility

3GA files are often already compressed, so converting them to AU usually does not improve audio quality. If the AU file is saved as uncompressed audio, the file size may become much larger than the original 3GA file.

Compatibility depends on the exact codec inside the 3GA container. Some older or less common 3GA variants may not open in every editor, but FFmpeg usually handles them well. Also, because AU is an older format, some modern players may support it only partially, while Unix and technical audio tools tend to handle it better.

If the source is a voice recording, expect the output to remain mono and speech-oriented unless you intentionally transcode it to a different channel layout or sample rate.