If you’re sending long videos on WhatsApp, a problem you will get is that the messenger won’t allow you to send full videos. What is happening? Keep reading.
Why are you unable to send full video on WhatsApp?
WhatsApp doesn’t allow users to send videos larger than 16 MB in size. In case the video you want to send is in your phone’s gallery, WhatsApp automatically opens it in the built-in trimmer at the time of uploading and chooses the first couple of frames up to the point where the media size reaches the given threshold (16 MB). At this stage, you can use the trimming handles at either side of the clip to select the portion of interest that you want to send.
Likewise, if the large video is on your PC and you try to send it using WhatsApp for Desktop or WhatsApp for Web, you get a message stating that WhatsApp cannot follow your request due to file size restrictions.
Nevertheless, you can use some workarounds to bypass this limitation. With that said, here, you will learn how to send a large video on WhatsApp for iPhone and Android.
How to Send Long Videos on WhatsApp
As mentioned earlier, a couple of workarounds are there to help you if you’re unable to send a full video on WhatsApp. Some most convenient and quick ones are as below:
1. Compress the Video
This method needs a third-party tool to reduce video resolution which further decreases the overall file size. Although you can use any paid/free computer or mobile app, Video Compressor &Video Cutter for Android is used here for illustrations.
- Launch the video editor app.
- Import the target video.
- Tap the video thumbnail from the workspace.
- Tap COMPRESS VIDEO.
- Tap the option representing the compression ratio and the output file size (which should be less than 16 MB).
- Once the video is compressed, tap the Share icon from the top-right corner.
- Tap WhatsApp from the Share box.
- On the Send to screen, tap the contact you want to share the video with.
- Tap the Next icon from the bottom-right corner.
- Tap Send from the bottom-right corner of the next screen that appears.
2. Send the Video as a Document
Sending a large video as a document is another simple form of transferring. When you do this, technically you’re fooling WhatsApp and making it assume that you’re transferring some large document file. Because the processes of how to send a large video on WhatsApp as a document on Android and iPhone vary, for your convenience, the procedures for both are explained below:
On Android
- Launch WhatsApp on your Android smartphone.
- Tap to open the chat box of the person you want to send the large video to.
- Tap the Attachment icon from the bottom.
- Tap Document from the available options.
- Locate and tap to select the video that you want to send.
- Tap the Send button and wait while the video is sent.
On iPhone
Although the process of sending a long video via WhatsApp on iPhone is similar to that for Android, the only difference is that on the former, you must save the video in the ‘Files’ app before you can attach it as a document. Hold on the long video you want to send on WhatsApp, click the “Share” button, and then click Save to Files. After that, follow the process below.
- Launch WhatsApp.
- Tap to open the chat box of the contact that you want to send the video to.
- Tap the + icon from the left side of the message input field at the bottom.
- Tap Document from the menu.
- Use the navigation options at the top of the screen to locate and select the large video you want to send.
- Tap Send from the top-right corner to send the clip.
Note: Because a large file is being transferred, more Internet data will be consumed in the process.
3. Use Google Drive
When you use this method, you are not interacting directly with WhatsApp to send large video files. Instead, you are sharing a link that allows the receiver to download and view the video on their smartphone. The procedure is given below:
Note: You must have Google Drive installed on your smartphone and you must be signed in to it with your Google account for this solution to work. Once everything is in place, you’re good to go.
- Go to your phone’s gallery.
- Tap to select/open the video you want to send via WhatsApp.
- Tap the Share icon from the bottom.
- Tap Drive.
- On the Save to Drive screen, ensure that the Document title and Account fields are populated with the correct information.
- Choose your preferred folder on the Drive from the Folder drop-down list.
- Tap Save.
- Wait while the video is uploaded to Google Drive.
- Once done, open Google Drive on your phone.
- Go to the Files category from the bottom.
- Locate the video you uploaded in the previous step.
- Tap the More/Options icon (with three vertical dots) from the bottom-right corner of the video thumbnail.
- Tap Copy link from the menu.
- Open WhatsApp and go to the receiver’s chat box.
- Paste the link in the text input field at the bottom.
- Tap the Send icon to share the link with the receiver.
Note: Even this method consumes a significant amount of Internet bandwidth, depending on the size of the video file that you upload to Google Drive.
4. Use OneDrive
When you’re in the process of understanding how to send long videos on WhatsApp, apart from the regular methods, another Cloud service called OneDrive by Microsoft helps you get the job done as well. In most Android phones, OneDrive is pre-installed and if it’s not in yours, it can be obtained from the Play Store. Similarly, the app is also available on Apple App Store and you can download it on your iPhone/iPad.
Once on your phone, all you need to do is, sign in to OneDrive with your Microsoft account, and follow the steps given below to send a large media clip via WhatsApp:
- Open your phone’s gallery.
- Locate and long-tap to select the large video that you want to send.
- Tap the Share icon from the bottom.
- Tap OneDrive from the available options on the Share popup box.
- On the next screen, tap the OK (Tick Mark) icon from the top-right area to upload the video to OneDrive.
- Next, launch the OneDrive app.
- Tap Files from the bottom of the screen.
- Locate the video that you uploaded and tap the More icon (with the three vertical dots) from its right.
- Tap Share from the menu that appears.
- Tap Copy link from the options that pop up at the bottom.
- Close OneDrive and open WhatsApp.
- Go to the receiver’s chat box.
- Paste the link that you copied.
- Tap Send to share the link via WhatsApp.
Note: This approach also consumes a huge amount of Internet data while uploading the file to OneDrive.
5. Use Dropbox
As with the previous two solutions, even this one involves uploading a large video to the Cloud and sharing its link via WhatsApp. About Dropbox, its app is available for both desktop computers and smartphones. Also, while signing up, you can use your Google account or any other trusted email service provider of your choice, after which you get 2GB of storage for free. Of course, you can upgrade to a paid subscription if you wish to buy more space.
Assuming that you have already downloaded and installed Dropbox on your smartphone and have signed in to your account, you can learn how to send a large video on WhatsApp with this service by following the instructions given below:
- Use the method explained earlier to select the large video file and initiate the sharing process.
- Tap Add to Dropbox when the Share screen appears.
- On the next window, tap Upload here from the bottom-right corner.
Note: Alternatively, you can tap the Folder icon from the top-right corner to create a new folder to save your file into it.
- Tap Allow on the confirmation boxes to grant Dropbox permission to access your phone’s files and folders.
- Once the upload is complete, launch Dropbox.
- Tap Files from the bottom of the screen.
- Tap the More icon next to the video that you uploaded.
- Tap Copy link from the box that pops up.
- Close Dropbox.
- Launch WhatsApp and use the method explained earlier to paste and share the copied link with the receiving party.
Note: Additional Internet bandwidth will be consumed while uploading the video to Dropbox.
Conclusion
Understanding how to send long videos on WhatsApp is conceptually easy. However, the processes to follow the suggested workarounds vary, depending on their nature and the third-party app you wish to use to get the job done. Nevertheless, apart from compressing the video or sending it as a document, the other methods involve the identical principle of uploading the file to a Cloud and sharing its link via WhatsApp.
