Free online H265 to 3GPP converter

What the H265 format is

H.265, also called HEVC, is a video compression standard designed to deliver similar quality to H.264 at substantially lower bitrates. Cameras, smartphones, screen-recording applications, Blu-ray workflows, and modern editing software commonly create HEVC video.

H.265 video is usually stored in .mp4, .mov, or .mkv files; a raw HEVC stream may use .h265 or .hevc. The filename extension identifies the container or stream packaging, not necessarily the codec inside it.

What the 3GPP format is

3GPP is a multimedia container associated with third-generation mobile networks and commonly identified by the .3gp extension. It was designed for mobile phones with limited storage, processing power, display resolution, and network bandwidth.

3GP files may contain MPEG-4 Part 2, H.263, or H.264 video and AAC or AMR audio. Older devices generally have the widest compatibility with low-resolution MPEG-4 Part 2 video and mono AMR-NB audio; newer devices may support H.264 and AAC inside 3GP.

How to convert H265 to 3GPP

Using FFmpeg

FFmpeg provides predictable control over codecs, resolution, bitrate, and frame rate. To create a broadly compatible 3GP file using MPEG-4 Part 2 video and AAC audio, run:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v mpeg4 -b:v 500k -vf "scale=176:144:force_original_aspect_ratio=decrease,pad=176:144:(ow-iw)/2:(oh-ih)/2" -r 15 -c:a aac -b:a 32k -ar 8000 -ac 1 -f 3gp output.3gp

Replace input.mp4 with the source filename; FFmpeg also accepts .mkv, .mov, and raw .h265 input when the stream is valid. The command creates a QCIF 176×144 file at 15 frames per second, settings suitable for many legacy phones.

For a newer 3GP device that explicitly supports H.264, use a baseline encode instead of MPEG-4 Part 2:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libx264 -profile:v baseline -level 3.0 -pix_fmt yuv420p -b:v 700k -vf "scale=320:240:force_original_aspect_ratio=decrease,pad=320:240:(ow-iw)/2:(oh-ih)/2" -r 15 -c:a aac -b:a 48k -ar 8000 -ac 1 -f 3gp output.3gp

If the target phone requires AMR-NB audio and the installed FFmpeg build provides that encoder, replace the audio options with -c:a libopencore_amrnb -b:a 12.2k -ar 8000 -ac 1.

Using the online converter

You can convert the file for free on 101convert.com without installing software. Upload the HEVC video, select 3GPP or .3gp as the output, start the conversion, and download the resulting file.

Quality, compatibility, and limitations

H.265 must normally be decoded and re-encoded because older 3GP devices do not support HEVC. Re-encoding reduces quality, and lowering the resolution and bitrate reduces file size but also removes detail.

Choose the device’s documented video and audio codecs before converting. A file with a .3gp extension is not automatically compatible: container support, codec support, maximum resolution, frame rate, bitrate, audio sample rate, and audio channel count all vary by device.

Keep the original HEVC file as the archival copy. Use ffprobe output.3gp to verify the generated container, codecs, dimensions, frame rate, and audio parameters before transferring it to the target device.