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Topic: Corrupt m4a files from Automatic Call Recorder (Read 3574 times) previous topic - next topic
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Corrupt m4a files from Automatic Call Recorder

This is my first post to Hydrogen and please forgive if in wrong place and please help if there's a more effective way to get help. I'm in a bit of trouble...

I am having a problem with files created by the Android app Automatic Call Recorder, made by the Cypriot software maker Appliqato. It has a 4.3 rating with 1,575,604 total downloads.

I recently had to change phones from one Samsung Galaxy S8 to another. I brought over my Micro SD card which had the recordings from Automatic Call Recorder on it.

The files are in this location on my SD card: Computer\Galaxy S8 active\Card\Android\data\com.appstar.callrecorderpro\files\CallRecordings.

Whether I try to play the files directly from the mobile device, or I copy the files to my PC, they are all corrupted (will not play). They show a typically expected file size. They have a time signature. No Codec information shows up when analyzing via VLC. No identifiable wave forms appear when viewed (even as imported) in Audacity.

Though I have the app installed on my new device, I cannot "point" it to the location on my SD card where the files are (to see if the files will play "through" the app). The app doesn't allow the user to select the exact "save" destination.

The files won't play with VLC player, Google Play, or any other program, on the PC or on the mobile device (when I find them manually and try various ways of playing them), and they won't play even when imported into (vs. opened with) Audacity on my PC.

The error message on the phone says Corrupt or Unsupported file format.

I'm thinking the app may encrypt or otherwise protect these files en masse. I'm hoping there may be some batch transformation that can be done with these files to get them to play again. Or even to try to open the files inside of the app.

One thing to note: The file format for the saved and unplayable files is .m4a but the only available formats that the app allows users to save in does not include that filetype. It includes .amr and .wav (along w .mp4 and .aac) but not the one that the files are in!

tl;dr: My problem is that I have files that were stored on a Micro SD card transferred from one equally configured Galaxy S8 Active using Automatic Call Recorder that now are seemingly corrupted.

https://www.appliqato.com/
support@appliqato.com

Appliqato Software Ltd.
Jacovides Tower 1st floor 81-83 Grivas Digenis Avenue, 1090 Nicosia, Cyprus, Telephone: +35722503000

Re: Corrupt m4a files from Automatic Call Recorder

Reply #1
It sounds as if the application encrypts the files, and encrypts them for the specific device they were recorded on.