Why wont my Samsung Music player play WMA files?

ByJael Lawler

Samsung music players, including smartphones, tablets, and devices like the Galaxy Player, have been popular portable media players for listening to digital music files over the years. According to Portable Media Player Market, Samsung has a significant share in the portable media player market along with brands like Apple and Creative Technology (https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/portable-media-player-market-105004).

These devices support common music file formats like MP3, AAC, FLAC and others. However, they may or may not support playback of WMA (Windows Media Audio) files. This article explores potential reasons why Samsung players can’t open WMA files, and provides solutions like format conversion or using alternative apps.

What is a WMA File?

WMA (Windows Media Audio) is an audio file format developed by Microsoft for its Windows Media framework. The file extension for WMA files is .wma.

WMA was designed to compete with popular audio formats like MP3 and RealAudio. It compresses audio data to reduce file size while attempting to preserve sound quality. According to The Library of Congress, WMA consists of four distinct codecs that encode and compress the audio using lossy compression algorithms.

Over time, Microsoft has released updated versions of the WMA format. WMA files may contain different types of audio content, including music, speech, ringtones and more. The format can support DRM copy protection as well.

WMA Compatibility with Samsung Players

According to a Samsung Community post, Galaxy phones used to support WMA file playback in the past. However, newer Samsung phones and Galaxy models like the S21 do not have native support to play WMA files.

Many Samsung music players and audio devices also lack support for WMA files. Some models that do not support playback of WMA files include:

  • Galaxy S21 smartphone line
  • Galaxy wearables like the Gear smartwatches
  • Older flagship models like the Galaxy S9 and S10 series
  • Various Samsung midrange smartphones

This lack of WMA support poses an issue for those who have large WMA libraries that they wish to play on their Samsung devices. Users may have no option but to convert their files to a supported format to enable playback.

Possible Reasons for Incompatibility

There are a few key reasons why Samsung music players may not support playing WMA files:

Technical Limitations

Many Samsung devices run the Android operating system, which does not natively support the WMA format due to technical constraints. As noted in this Quora post, the WMA codec contains proprietary technologies owned by Microsoft which are not licensed for use in Android.

Licensing Issues

Android’s open source nature means device manufacturers would potentially have to pay licensing fees to Microsoft to enable WMA playback. As explained in this XDA thread, Samsung may have chosen not to pay for these licenses in order to reduce costs.

So in summary, Android’s lack of native WMA support combined with licensing costs contribute to the inability to play WMA files on many Samsung devices.

Workarounds

One potential workaround for getting your WMA files to play on a Samsung music player is to convert the WMA files to a more compatible format like MP3. Most Samsung music players support common audio formats like MP3, but may have issues with less common formats like WMA.

There are a few options for converting WMA to MP3:

  • Use an online audio converter tool – There are many free online converter tools like https://www.media.io/convert/wma-to-mp3.html that allow you to upload your WMA files and convert them to MP3 format.
  • Download a desktop WMA to MP3 converter app – Apps like FreeMake Video Converter can batch convert WMA files to MP3 quickly.
  • Use audio editing software – Software like Audacity allows you to open WMA files, edit them, and export them as MP3 files.

Once your WMA files have been converted to the more compatible MP3 format, you should be able to add them to your Samsung music player and listen without issues.

Using Alternative Players

Samsung devices including Galaxy S series don’t have native support for playing WMA files. However, there are a few software options available for playing WMA files:

One option is to use Rocket Music Player, which is a music player app that supports various audio formats including WMA. It can be installed on Samsung devices from the Google Play app store and has features like equalizers and playlists to enhance the listening experience.

VLC media player is another good alternative for playing WMA files on Samsung devices. As stated in this article, VLC has broad format support including WMA and can be downloaded for free from the Play store.

Using these alternative players can allow you to play WMA files as a workaround to Samsung Music’s lack of WMA support on devices like the Galaxy S22.

Contacting Samsung Support

Samsung offers several options to contact their support team if you need help troubleshooting issues with your Samsung music player not being able to play WMA files:

You can contact Samsung support by phone at 1-800-SAMSUNG as stated on their Customer and Community Response page. When you call, you’ll be able to speak to a Samsung support representative who can help troubleshoot your issue.

Additionally, Samsung offers customer support through online chat on their Support Home page. Here you can chat with an expert who can provide guidance on getting your Samsung music player to play WMA files.

If you would prefer to email Samsung support, you can fill out a contact form on their Contact Us page and a representative will respond to assist you.

Make sure to reach out to Samsung support with your product details and information about the issues you are experiencing. Their team can then best assist you in finding a resolution.

Providing Feedback to Samsung

There are various official channels where Samsung users can provide feedback and request official support for WMA playback on Samsung devices:

  • The Samsung Community allows users to submit feature requests and ideas which may be reviewed by Samsung product teams.
  • The Galaxy S22 section of the Community has specific areas to request features related to Samsung mobile applications like the default music player.
  • Users in Europe can post WMA support requests in the Samsung Music Player Feature Request section of the European Community forums.

By utilizing these official feedback channels and clearly describing the desired WMA playback support, Samsung device owners have the best chance of potentially influencing future software updates to enable this media format.

Summary

To recap, WMA is an audio file format developed by Microsoft. Samsung music players generally do not support WMA files natively. There are a few possible reasons for this incompatibility, including Samsung’s use of its own audio codecs and DRM standards, as well as the proprietary nature of WMA files.

Workarounds include:

  • Converting your WMA files to a more standard format like MP3.
  • Using a different player on your mobile device or PC that supports WMA.
  • Contacting Samsung support to see if there is a software/firmware update that could enable better compatibility.

Further Resources

If you need additional troubleshooting help or information on getting WMA files to play on your Samsung device, check out these helpful resources:

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