Open MP3 files

Full name

Compressed Audio And Music File, Mp3 Songs Or Ringtones
Developer

Moving Picture Experts Group
Popularity

Have you encountered a problem with a MP3 file? Don’t you know which program opens a file with this extension? You will find all the information you need about working with a MP3 file here. In the further part of this page we have added a list of programs that should open your MP3 file. It is enough you choose a proper application for your operating system, download and install it.

What is MP3 file?

An MP3 file is an audio file that has been compressed using the Mpeg I Audio Layer 3 method. MP3 is today the most widely used format for audio files. MP3 is characterized by the small file size. The high compression is achieved by a lossy method in which only the audio signals that are consciously audible for the human being are stored according to a psychoacoustic model.

More info

An MP3 can now be played on many devices. Thus, in addition to the PC, portable audio players and DVD players and many car radios, TVs, mobile phones or game consoles such as the Playstation 3 MP3 files play.

In addition to the audio data, an MP3 file can also contain meta tags or metadata. These data summarized under the term ID3 tag may contain, among other things, album, artist, genre as well as the lyrics or images. These data can be displayed with the appropriate support, for example, from the audio player.

In addition to the losses due to compression, MP3 has the drawback of a sampling rate of 96KHz, especially for audiophiles. However, most people can not hear the compression loss with appropriate quality settings. Therefore, it is advisable to pay attention to at least 192KBit when creating or even when buying.

MP3 can be played by any newer operating system through its standard built-in programs. There is also a whole range of playback programs that offer not only additional management functions, but also the creation of MP3s. (e.g., dbPoweramp, iTunes, LAME)

Programs which can open a MP3 file

Windows

Linux

Mac OS

How to open file with MP3 extension?

In order to open a file with MP3 extension one of the following programs must be installed on user’s system. If a problem with opening MP3 file occurred, it is highly possible that none of the listed programs is present on user’s system. Even if one or more said programs are installed, there may be issues related with given programs. In order to solve a problem with MP3 files, follow the instructions below.

Install iTunes or other program from the list

Most often resolving problems with opening MP3 files is very simple. Just install an appropriate program that supports such files. All of the listed programs support MP3 files, but may vary in offered function and purpose. Some programs may be capable only of viewing contents of MP3 files or offer file conversion options, but may not be capable of editing such files.

Set iTunes as the default program for opening MP3 files

It is possible that although a compatible program has been installed on user’s system, it is not used by the system to open it. This may happen because no default application was associated with this type of files. To associate MP3 files with given application, select "Open with" from drop-down menu (accessed by right-clicking on the file). Then select from the list the program or application you want to be used to open this type of file. If the iTunes applications is not on the list, select "Browse" option in order to manually locate the directory where iTunes has been installed.

Check the section that lists most common problems with MP3 files

Sometimes problems with opening MP3 files may not lie with the application itself, but can arise due to other causes, such as:

File data is corrupted
MP3 files has been not been completely download from the internet (only a part of the data has been downloaded)
Currently used user account hasn’t been granted necessary privileges to open MP3 files (should that be the case, please contact your system administrator or IT specialist)
MP3 file was being copied from a corrupted storage device and is incomplete or data is corrupted. (Copying files from unknown or untrusted sources should be conducted with great care as such files may contain malicious software, which can damage your system)