.AMR Adaptive Multi-Rate Audio
.amr

Adaptive Multi-Rate Audio

Convert AMR voice recordings to MP3 or WAV directly in your browser — no upload, no server, full privacy. FileDex uses FFmpeg WebAssembly to decode the mobile speech codec and re-encode it locally on your device.

بنية الصيغة
Header format info
Meta tags · codec
Samples audio data
Speech Codecمع فقدان3GPP / ETSIMobile Voice8 kHz NB20 ms Frames
بواسطة FileDex

ملفاتك لا تغادر جهازك

أسئلة شائعة

How do I convert AMR to MP3 in my browser?

Drop your AMR file into FileDex above. Select MP3 as the output format and click Convert. FileDex decodes the AMR speech codec and re-encodes to MP3 entirely in your browser using FFmpeg WebAssembly — no file is uploaded to any server.

Why does my AMR file sound so low quality?

AMR-NB samples audio at only 8 kHz with a maximum bitrate of 12.2 kbps — designed for phone-quality speech, not music. Converting to MP3 will not improve the audio quality since the high-frequency data was never captured. AMR-WB (HD Voice) at 16 kHz sounds noticeably better.

What programs can open AMR files?

VLC Media Player plays AMR natively on all platforms. Android devices have built-in AMR support. On Windows, AMR Player is a lightweight free option. For conversion, FFmpeg handles both AMR-NB and AMR-WB via the opencore-amr library.

Is AMR still used in modern phones?

AMR-WB remains active for VoLTE (HD Voice) calls on 4G networks. For voice recordings, most modern phones now default to AAC or Opus instead of AMR. The EVS codec is replacing AMR-WB in 5G networks.

ما يميز .AMR

What is an AMR file?

AMR (Adaptive Multi-Rate) is an audio compression format optimized specifically for speech coding on mobile networks. Developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) and standardized by 3GPP, AMR became the mandatory speech codec for GSM networks and is widely used in 3G (UMTS) networks. The format earned its "Adaptive Multi-Rate" name because it dynamically switches between eight different bitrates (4.75 to 12.2 kbps for AMR-NB) based on network conditions and available bandwidth.

اكتشف التفاصيل التقنية

AMR prioritizes small file sizes and intelligibility of human speech — qualities that make it ideal for voice calls and recordings on older mobile hardware, but unsuitable for music where audio fidelity matters.

How to open AMR files

  • VLC Media Player (Windows, macOS, Linux) — Free, plays AMR natively
  • QuickTime Player (macOS) — Built-in support on Mac
  • AMR Player (Windows) — Lightweight free player dedicated to AMR
  • FFmpeg — Command-line tool for playback and conversion
  • Android — Native support in the built-in voice recorder and media player

Technical specifications

Property Value
Variants AMR-NB (Narrowband, 8 kHz), AMR-WB (Wideband, 16 kHz)
Sample rate 8,000 Hz (NB) / 16,000 Hz (WB)
Bitrates AMR-NB: 4.75–12.2 kbps; AMR-WB: 6.6–23.85 kbps
Channels Mono only
Frame size 20 ms per frame
Standard 3GPP TS 26.071 (NB), TS 26.171 (WB)
Magic bytes 23 21 41 4D 52 (#!AMR in ASCII)

AMR-NB vs AMR-WB

Variant Sample rate Quality Use
AMR-NB (Narrowband) 8 kHz Phone-quality speech 2G/3G calls, basic voice memos
AMR-WB (Wideband) 16 kHz HD Voice quality VoLTE, modern VoIP, better intelligibility

AMR-WB (also called G.722.2) is significantly better quality — voices sound more natural and are easier to understand at the same bitrate. It is the codec behind "HD Voice" calls on modern carriers.

Common use cases

  • Mobile voice recordings: Android's built-in voice recorder often saves in AMR format by default on older devices
  • MMS messages: Audio clips sent in multimedia messages use AMR for compact file size
  • VoIP and cellular calls: The AMR codec runs in real-time on baseband processors during actual phone calls
  • Voicemail storage: Mobile carriers and voicemail systems store messages as AMR files

Converting AMR to MP3 or WAV

AMR files are not widely supported outside mobile devices. Convert to MP3 or WAV for compatibility with all players:

Using FFmpeg:

# AMR to MP3
ffmpeg -i recording.amr recording.mp3

# AMR to WAV
ffmpeg -i recording.amr recording.wav

# AMR-WB (higher quality) to MP3 at 128kbps
ffmpeg -i recording.amr -b:a 128k output.mp3

Online tools: CloudConvert, Zamzar, and similar services convert AMR files in the browser without software installation.

Audio quality limitations

AMR was optimized for speech, not music. The 8 kHz sample rate of AMR-NB limits audio to frequencies below 4 kHz — music sounds "tinny" and lacks bass. If you receive an AMR file containing music, converting it to MP3 will not recover lost quality; the high-frequency information was never captured. AMR recordings are perfectly clear for speech but will never approach music quality regardless of conversion format.

المرجع التقني

نوع MIME
audio/amr
Magic Bytes
23 21 41 4D 52 #!AMR text signature.
المطوّر
European Telecommunications Standards Institute
سنة التقديم
1999
معيار مفتوح
نعم
000000002321414D52 #!AMR

#!AMR text signature.

البنية الثنائية

AMR files have a minimal structure. The file begins with a 6-byte magic number: 23 21 41 4D 52 0A (#!AMR followed by newline) for AMR-NB, or 23 21 41 4D 52 2D 57 42 0A (#!AMR-WB followed by newline) for AMR-WB. After the magic header, the file contains a sequence of consecutive codec frames with no index, no seeking table, and no metadata. Each AMR-NB frame starts with a 1-byte header containing a 4-bit frame type index (FT) that determines the bitrate mode (0-7 for speech, 8 for comfort noise, 15 for no data) and the frame payload size. AMR-NB frames are 20 ms each at 8 kHz sampling. There is no container structure, no timestamp index, and no random-access capability — playback requires sequential decoding from the start.

OffsetLengthFieldExampleDescription
0x00 6 bytes Magic Number 23 21 41 4D 52 0A (#!AMR\n) File signature identifying AMR-NB format. AMR-WB uses 9-byte signature: #!AMR-WB\n.
0x06 1 byte Frame Header 3C Bits 7-4: frame type index (FT), determines codec mode and frame size. Bits 3-0: quality indicator.
0x07 variable Frame Payload varies Encoded speech data. Size depends on FT: mode 0 = 12 bytes, mode 7 = 31 bytes (AMR-NB). No padding.
1999ETSI/3GPP standardizes AMR-NB (TS 26.071) as the mandatory speech codec for GSM and UMTS networks20013GPP adopts AMR-WB (TS 26.171) for wideband speech, later standardized as ITU-T G.722.22005AMR becomes the default voice recording format on early Android and Symbian smartphones2012VoLTE (Voice over LTE) deployments adopt AMR-WB for HD Voice calls on 4G networks2018EVS (Enhanced Voice Services) codec begins replacing AMR-WB in 5G networks with superior quality
Convert AMR to MP3 at 128 kbps ffmpeg
ffmpeg -i recording.amr -c:a libmp3lame -b:a 128k output.mp3

-c:a libmp3lame selects the LAME MP3 encoder. -b:a 128k sets constant bitrate at 128 kbps — more than sufficient for AMR's narrow-band speech source material.

Convert AMR to WAV for audio editing ffmpeg
ffmpeg -i recording.amr -c:a pcm_s16le -ar 16000 output.wav

-c:a pcm_s16le writes uncompressed 16-bit PCM. -ar 16000 preserves the maximum AMR-WB sample rate. Use -ar 8000 for AMR-NB to avoid upsampling artifacts.

Batch convert all AMR files to MP3 ffmpeg
for f in *.amr; do ffmpeg -i "$f" -c:a libmp3lame -b:a 128k "${f%.amr}.mp3"; done

Bash loop iterates every .amr file and transcodes each to MP3. The ${f%.amr}.mp3 substitution replaces the extension while preserving the original filename.

AMR MP3 transcode lossy MP3 is universally playable on all devices and platforms. Converting AMR to MP3 makes mobile voice recordings compatible with desktop players, web browsers, and media libraries that do not support AMR natively.
AMR WAV transcode lossless WAV provides uncompressed PCM output suitable for audio editing in Audacity, Pro Tools, or any DAW. The decoded AMR audio is preserved at maximum fidelity with no further compression artifacts.
منخفض

نقاط الضعف

  • Malformed frame header with invalid frame type index can cause out-of-bounds read in decoders that use the FT field as a direct array index for frame size lookup
  • AMR files embedded in 3GP containers inherit the 3GP container's attack surface, including malformed atom parsing vulnerabilities

الحماية: FileDex processes AMR files locally using FFmpeg WASM in a sandboxed browser environment. No data is sent to external servers.

FFmpeg أداة
Primary tool for AMR decoding and conversion, supports both AMR-NB and AMR-WB
VLC Media Player أداة
Cross-platform media player with native AMR playback support
opencore-amr مكتبة
Open-source AMR-NB and AMR-WB codec library extracted from Android
Audacity أداة
Free audio editor that imports AMR via FFmpeg library integration
3GPP TS 26.071 مواصفات
Official AMR-NB codec specification from the 3GPP standards body