Play, convert WhatsApp voice notes, audio messages in OPUS format for Android

In a recent update, WhatsApp for Android has replaced .AAC file format with .OPUS, a not so commonly used audio format in our life. This may cause us problems when we want to play the WhatsApp voice notes, audio messages, voice recordings using a third party audio or media player, transfer or export the WhatsApp voice messages, notes or recordings from phone to computer. However once you upgrade to the latest version of WhatsApp, you have no way to roll back as WhatsApp will stop supporting the old version. Users have to get used to this new audio message, voice notes file format .OPUS.

Today, we will show you how to export WhatsApp voice notes, audio messages from Android mobile to PC or Mac. Then use a third party media player to play them. Optionally you can also convert the WhatsApp OPUS audio or voice messages, notes to other formats, like MP3, AAC, WAV, WMA, OGG, so you can open or play them on any devices, including your smart phone, tablets, PC, Mac, a Bluetooth device, media players, etc.

Export WhatsApp voice notes, audio messages to computer

Almost any Android phones come with a file manager which you can use to access WhatsApp media files. For example, I can find all the WhatsApp voice recordings, audio messages from my Samsung Galaxy phone > My Files > Local storage > Device Storage > WhatsApp > Media > WhatsApp Audio and WhatsApp Voice Notes. There are different ways you can transfer the WhatsApp audio files from Android to computer, Bluetooth share, Email, a third party chat app, a third party file manager, etc. Load them off via USB connection is the most intuitive way. To do that, simply attach your Android phone to computer using its USB data cord, then browse to the above mentioned WhatsApp media folder through the File Manager on Windows PC or Finder on Mac, copy and paste them from the phone to your desktop or laptop computer hard drive.

Email is also a good option. It might not be good for bulk file transfer. But if you simply want to transfer couple of WhatsApp audio messages, WhatsApp voice notes, voice recordings from Android device to computer, Email transfer is a very convenient solution. Simply find the audio file in WhatsApp conversation, long press on it to show the Share icon, then choose Mail as the way to share the WhatsApp media file, then send it to yourself through email. Finally access this email account on your computer and download it from email to your PC or Mac.

Play WhatsApp audio messages, voice notes on computer

The stock Media Player in Windows 11 is able to play OPUS audio files on PC. You don’t need to use a third party media player to open the WhatsApp OPUS audio files.

Other than that, you can also use third-party media player, notably VLC media player, to open and play OPUS files on computer.

Convert OPUS audio on PC

If you need to convert them to other common audio formats such as MP3, WMA, WAV, M4A, AAC, you can use either VLC media player or Audacity. Both of them can help us easily convert OPUS to MP3 or other audio files.

Here we will use Audacity for Windows in this demo to show you how to convert OPUS to MP3 or other audios.

Download and install this free program onto your PC. Launch it and click Open from the top menu bar to select and open the .opus file in Audacity. Then click File > Export, choose output format you like, such as MP3, WAV, OGG or else, then select a file name, location and save it to your computer. This is probably the easiest way to convert opus audio to a different format or codec.

audacity for windows to export audio to computer