Repair · iPhone · HEVC · MOV
Repair broken iPhone footage.
iPhone videos are HEVC in a MOV container — sensitive to interrupted iCloud downloads, full storage and AirDrop crashes. Haven repairs ProRes, Cinematic and standard videos from the iPhone 12 through 16 Pro Max.
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Supported
- · iPhone 16 Pro
- · iPhone 15 Pro
- · iPhone 14 Pro
- · iPhone 13 Pro
- · iPhone 12 Pro
- · ProRes
- · Cinematic Mode
- · 4K60
Recognize your problem?
Common damage patterns with iPhone
iCloud video will not download fully
The photo thumbnail is there in the app, but on playback you get "Unable to load video". A classic case: iCloud sync was interrupted, so locally there is only a preview, no original file.
AirDrop transfer cut off
An AirDrop transfer was interrupted while sending. On the receiving end you get a .mov file that looks too big but will not open — the container is truncated.
Storage full during recording
The iPhone writes 4K60p HEVC at about 30 Mbit/s. When storage fills up mid-recording, the camera shuts off abruptly — the file is not finalised.
ProRes recording to an external SSD cuts off
iPhone 15/16 Pro recording ProRes to an external SSD. On a slow SSD or a loose USB-C connection you end up with broken MOV files.
Why does this happen?
The most common causes
01
"Optimise storage" in iCloud + never downloaded
With "Optimise iPhone Storage", the iPhone only keeps previews locally. The original MOV lives only in the cloud. If the sync never completed or the iCloud account is gone, locally there is only a broken fragment.
02
Storage full during 4K60 or ProRes
Apple only shows the storage warning right before it runs out. A ProRes recording on the iPhone 15 Pro eats 6 GB per minute — if 5 GB were free, the file is broken after less than a minute.
03
AirDrop or mail send cut off
If iOS collapses during a send or the connection drops, the transferred file is not written completely. The recipient gets a container with no end.
04
iMessage compression
Videos sent over iMessage may be transcoded — on a transfer error the result can be a corrupt HEVC that will not play.
How to do it
Repair in four steps
- 01
Get the original file, not the thumbnail
From the Photos app: copy to the Mac via AirDrop, mail or cable. Note: iOS sometimes hands over a converted H.264 version instead of the original HEVC file. In Settings → Photos → "Transfer to Mac or PC", set "Keep Originals".
- 02
If the iCloud original is missing: check the Photos library
On the Mac, local copies live inside the Photos library (~/Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary/originals/). Sometimes there is an older intact version of the same clip there — which can serve as the reference.
- 03
Drop into Haven, HEVC detection
Haven recognises iPhone HEVC by its hvcC header and SPS profile. In Cinematic Mode (Dolby Vision) the HDR metadata is taken from the reference as well.
- 04
Preview, then back into the Photos app
Save the repaired MOV and send it back to the iPhone via AirDrop or cable — it imports into the Photos app. The original capture date is kept if the EXIF metadata was still intact.
Engineering detail
iPhone HEVC and Dolby Vision Profile 8.4
From the 12 Pro on, iPhones record Cinematic Mode and Dolby Vision in HEVC Profile 8.4 (with static metadata + dynamic metadata in their own NAL units). When the DV metadata streams are damaged, the video only shows as an SDR fallback — i.e. flat. Haven reads the DV RPU data from the reference and restores the HDR mapping.
For CLI nerds — fallback without Haven
ffmpeg -err_detect ignore_err -i kaputt.mov -c copy -tag:v hvc1 neu.movWith an intact container but an HEVC tag problem (hev1 vs hvc1), a simple re-tag can make the file open in QuickTime again. When the moov is missing this does not help.
FAQ · iPhone
Common questions
What if the iPhone shows the video as "Optimised" but will not load it?
Get online and check the iCloud status: is there enough cloud storage? Was the account signed out? Sometimes leaving the iPhone on Wi-Fi for a few hours helps — the sync catches up in the background. If the original file is truly lost, Haven can do nothing more.
Does this work with ProRes recordings from an external SSD?
Yes. ProRes on the iPhone is ProRes 422 in a MOV container. When the SSD recording cuts off, usually only the container at the end is missing — directly repairable with a reference clip.
Is the capture date / geolocation kept?
The EXIF/QuickTime metadata atom is carried over when it is intact. On badly damaged files the original capture time can be lost. Apple Photos re-reads the EXIF after import.
Does it also help with iPhone screen recordings?
Yes. Screen recordings are HEVC in MOV — the same container as normal videos. For an interrupted screen recording, another screen recording often works as the reference.
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