“Unsupported video” message when trying to edit video on my iPad shot with my iPhone

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“Unsupported video” message when trying to edit video on my iPad shot with my iPhone

When I try to edit a video in Photos on my iPad (iOS 16) that was shot with my iPhone 13 (iOS 16), I get an “Unsupported media” message. My iPhone shoots in HVEC at 1080p/30 fps.

The Photos app on my iPad CAN edit video shot with the iPad camera in the same format and quality settings. My iPad can also edit mp4 videos shot with an earlier iPhone. So I feel it has something to do with iCloud and the optimized version of the HVEC video that is synched with my iPad.

How do I enable Photos on my iPad to edit HVEC video shot with my iPhone and synched to iCloud?

iPad

Posted on Mar 11, 2023 07:13 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

sbuchtel Author

Level 1

6 points

Mar 14, 2023 06:42 AM in response to WinsC1

Just to tie up this thread:

Apple Support phone call was lengthy (70 minutes) but support folks were pleasant and helpful. The issue is that my iPhone 13 can shoot video in High Dynamic Range (HDR). The 9th Generation iPad, iOS 16.3.1 can not edit these videos. The last tech I spoke too identified this, and suspects it’s the 9th gen’s chip.

I can, however, save HDR videos to iCloud Files, and share them back into Photos, and they will edit! But not really: the iPad saves a 720p version of the video to Files, not the full rez HDR video. I thought iMovie, Clips, and Canva on my iPad could open the iPhone 13’s videos, but now I bet those apps are doing the same thing, opening a lower rez non-HDR video.

Turning off HDR in the iPhone 13’s Camera settings resolves this; videos edit just fine on iPad. Ya, is a little frustrating. But I feel like I have closure. Maybe there will be some kind of code fix, but if it’s a chip problem prolly not.

Moving on. Thanks again for the responses

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Answer 2

bruno75

Community Specialist

Mar 13, 2023 04:20 PM in response to sbuchtel

Hey there sbuchtel,

Let's start with confirming more details to better understand what's happening, along with ruling out some possible causes:

When did this start to occur?
Are you able to edit videos on your iPhone that were recorded with your iPad, along with videos recorded on the iPhone itself?
Any issues playing the same iPhone-recorded videos from your iPad?
Sometimes unexpected behavior can be resolved with a restart: Restart your iPhone and Restart your iPad
You mentioned both devices have iOS/iPadOS 16, but the latest version would be 16.3.1. You can verify this within each device under Settings > General > About. In case you needed it, this link shows how to first back up, then Update your iPhone or iPad.

Cheers!

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Answer 3

sbuchtel Author

Level 1

6 points

Mar 13, 2023 05:59 PM in response to bruno75

Thanks for the reply, bruno75.

With use of new iPhone 13 in December.
Yes to both. Also, on my iPad I can edit videos shot with my iPhone IF I use my iPad to save the video to iCloud Files and open it from there (offers some basic trim tools). I can also edit iPhone videos in iMovie and Canva on my iPad. Just not within Photos.
No issues, playback is fine
Restart did not fix it
My iPhone was 16.2, so I updated it and shot a short video. Video settings are high efficiency, 1080p/30fps on both devices. On my iPad, trying to edit it generated the same “Unable to Edit Video/Unsupported video” message.

Thanks again for helping me to troubleshoot this.

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