Does AnkiDroid support audio in the Opus format?

AnkiDroid (Android) Help
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I created some notes using audio in the Opus format, but my AnkiDroid doesn’t play the audio. My phone is a bit old and runs Android 6.0 (I plan to replace it next year).

I did some research on the “Opus” format and found out that it isn’t compatible with older phones. But what about AnkiDroid—doesn’t it support this type of audio? If it does, shouldn’t it play Opus audio even if my phone itself doesn’t support the format?

I ask this because, even though my phone doesn’t support Opus natively, I installed an app called VLC and it plays Opus audio files on my phone without any problem. So shouldn’t AnkiDroid be able to do the same?

So my question is: is the problem my phone or AnkiDroid? Did AnkiDroid ever actually support the Opus format? If it did, why was support removed? Was it because hardly anyone uses it or because it’s not very common?

Opus is a very good format and saves a lot of space. Now I’m worried about converting my MP3 audios to Opus and running into problems in the future, even with a newer phone. I mean… what if someday it stops working? What if they remove support because nobody uses it or because it doesn’t work on every phone?

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They work on my Android 13 phone.

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EDIT: For avoidance of doubt: on a modern Android device (Android 10+), you are very unlikely to experience an issue, but it’s manufacturer dependent.

My phone is a bit old and runs Android 6.0 (I plan to replace it next year).

Just to note: AnkiDroid is longer updated on Android 6.0 (SDK 23) [2015]. AnkiDroid 2.20 and later will not be available

Deprecated in: minSdk 24 by mikehardy · Pull Request #17364 · ankidroid/Anki-Android · GitHub

So shouldn’t AnkiDroid be able to do the same?

We use EDIT: Android’s native player (AUDIO_SERVICE)* for media playback. Relying on custom codecs in-app would bloat the app size, increase our attack surface, and raises the chance of incompatibility with other Anki clients.

I did some research on the “Opus” format and found out that it isn’t compatible with older phones. But what about AnkiDroid—doesn’t it support this type of audio? If it does, shouldn’t it play Opus audio even if my phone itself doesn’t support the format?

Just to confirm:

  • Have you tried a test file?
  • Have you updated Android System WebView to the latest version?

What if they remove support because nobody uses it or because it doesn’t work on every phone?

Don’t worry about this. It’s extremely unlikely that Android/Google will deprecate Opus support.

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This Opus format is problematic and does not work on all Android devices. It doesn’t work on every computer either. It doesn’t even work properly on iPhones.

On Android phones, people said it was supported starting from Android 5, but that’s not true—it didn’t work. There was a trick to make it work on some devices. Basically, you had to change the file extension from “.opus” to “.ogg”, and on a few phones it might work, but on most it didn’t.

On iPhones, it’s only possible to play Opus files using third-party apps like VLC.

On computers, you also need apps like VLC or even have to install additional codecs.

If you use AnkiDroid, keep in mind that AnkiDroid does not have its own audio player—it uses the phone’s system player to play audio. That means: if your phone can play Opus, Anki can play it; if your phone cannot play Opus, Anki cannot either.

It is not safe to convert your MP3 files to Opus, because when syncing Anki, it may fail to recognize the files, cause errors, and you could even lose some of your notes.

People say Opus improved a bit starting with Android 10, but it’s still not reliable. It fails, doesn’t work everywhere, and requires external tools to play. Google may not abandon Opus, but apps (like Anki) may remove support for it in the future because of these complications.

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You talked directly about the operating systems Android, iOS, and PC.

Now, speaking specifically about Anki on these platforms:

AnkiDroid does not support the Opus format. The version that supports audio and video formats is Anki Desktop. It works reasonably well, but you can never be completely sure, since this format is complicated.

On AnkiMobile (iOS):

Support exists, but it is limited and full of restrictions. Sometimes it only works in certain “containers”.

In summary:

You can use Opus on older Android devices, on iPhones, and on computers if you install an app like VLC—that usually solves the problem. However, if you plan to use it in apps that do not support Opus, such as Anki, or on systems like iOS or even Android, where support is inconsistent and unclear, it is not a good idea.

All that’s left is to wait and see how Anki and other apps will react to this format in the future.

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AnkiDroid does not support the Opus format.

It is not safe to convert your MP3 files to Opus, because when syncing Anki, it may fail to recognize the files, cause errors, and you could even lose some of your notes.

Google may not abandon Opus, but apps (like Anki) may remove support for it in the future because of these complications.

What’s going on with the replies here? An Opus file won’t cause data loss. AnkiDroid has zero intention of removing support.

Historically, Android has had patchy opus support. As far as my (limited) understanding goes, this isn’t a practical issue on Android 10 or later (2020). The AnkiDroid setting: Advanced - Allow all files in media imports may help on earlier versions.

You can quickly verify whether a standard file opus works:

  • Download ehren-paper_lights-96.opus from: Examples – Opus Codec
  • ‘Add audio clip’ on the first emulator I had API 33 [Android 13] and it plays:

Screenshot 2026-01-30 at 08.09.38
Screenshot 2026-01-30 at 08.09.382430×1468 164 KB

Don't ask why AnkiDroid is green 😅
Don't ask why AnkiDroid is green 😅2432×992 144 KB

If there’s practical issues, please post the problematic file

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Both of these are new accounts. Look like spam

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I’m just following a comment that the guy who made the post wrote in an Android group about Opus.

Now, wait a moment — let’s take this slowly. When it’s said that AnkiDroid does not support Opus, it doesn’t mean that it can’t play the audio. AnkiDroid does support Opus, but only in the sense that it allows the audio to play as long as the Android operating system itself supports it. AnkiDroid doesn’t have its own built-in audio player for this; it simply uses the Android system player. That’s what Opus support in AnkiDroid actually means.

Unlike AnkiDroid, Anki Desktop supports Opus in the sense that it has its own audio player, which is why it may work better there.

However, it is true what people say about this format being problematic. It didn’t work properly before — you often had to change the file extension from “.opus” to “.ogg”, and even then it didn’t work on all phones. It only improved somewhat starting with Android 10, but it’s still not reliable.

An Opus file does not cause data loss, as Davi said. The problem is that Anki sometimes does not recognize it. Sometimes it doesn’t recognize the “.opus” extension and you have to change it to “.ogg”. Otherwise, the audio file is there but it doesn’t play — there’s no sound.

Even today, if you search on Google for “Opus audio problems”, you’ll find many people saying they have issues with it on Android, computers, and iPhones. People report that “.opus” is not recognized and that they have to rename it to “.ogg”. There are even posts on the Anki forums from users who have problems with this.

Opus was developed mainly for internet streaming, and with other apps it can still cause issues.

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You’re all the same guy though, aren’t you? Or at least you know each other.

@rodrigo18 – I’m marking this thread as solved with David’s answer and silencing your sock-puppet accounts. You can have legitimate questions about this filetype, but faking support/attention on your issue is a huge waste of everyone’s time.

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Hello everyone

I’d like to ask a serious and detailed question about using Opus in Anki, because I’ve researched this quite a bit and I’m still confused.

First, I need to clarify something: previously I posted with more than one account because I wanted to see different reactions from Anki users. That was a mistake on my part, and I apologize — I didn’t intend to mislead anyone.

My original goal was simple: I wanted to use Opus to save space while keeping good audio quality in my Anki cards. However, when I started digging deeper into this, I found many reports of problems. When I searched Google for “Opus audio problems,” I saw people saying that:

sometimes the format isn’t recognized,

sometimes you have to rename .opus to .ogg,

in some apps the audio just won’t play,

Older versions of Android have issues, and even newer versions aren’t reliable.,

and iPhones can also be problematic.

Because of this, I became afraid of converting my MP3 files to Opus. I kept reading that I might need to install extra codecs, change file extensions, or deal with compatibility issues — and honestly, I didn’t really understand most of that. I just wanted to hear from someone who truly knows what they’re talking about.

Even after reading many discussions, I still don’t fully understand how this works in practice, especially inside Anki. So I would really appreciate clear answers to these points:

Does AnkiDroid really have no support for Opus, or does it just depend on the audio support already built into Android? In other words, does AnkiDroid support Opus only in the sense that it allows Opus to play if Android allows it? That is, the actual support comes from Android, not from AnkiDroid — AnkiDroid simply doesn’t block it. So, if Android were to drop Opus support, would it stop working in AnkiDroid? Or if AnkiDroid itself stopped supporting Opus, would I still be able to use it inside Anki because Android is the one that actually handles it?

Is this how it works for all apps and operating systems when it comes to Opus?If one or the other gives up on Opus, it won’t interfere with anything.

Why do some people say that Anki “doesn’t recognize” .opus but does recognize .ogg? Is this an Anki issue or a system issue?

If I put an Opus file inside an .ogg container, would Anki handle it better — or would the risk remain just because it’s still Opus?

Regarding synchronization vs playback:

If the file appears in Anki’s media folder but doesn’t play when I open the card, is this:

a synchronization problem in Anki,

a playback problem with Opus on my device, or

a playback problem specifically in Anki because it’s Opus?

On modern phones today, does it still make sense to rename .opus to .ogg, or is that outdated?

On iPhones and computers, does Opus really cause more problems than MP3? I’ve seen people saying it can be unstable on these systems — is that still true?

Considering all of this, is it safe for me to convert my MP3 files to Opus to use across multiple devices in Anki, or would you recommend sticking with MP3 to avoid headaches?

**“In short, I didn’t want to annoy anyone — I just wanted to explore all the possible problems that could exist with the Opus format. I even developed different approaches to investigate it more deeply, but I still didn’t get clear, exact answers to each of my questions.

And now, even with everything you all have said, I still don’t understand it. If you could explain everything that was discussed there in a clear way — for example: what is this thing about changing Opus to .ogg? That Anki won’t recognize it or won’t play it? That AnkiDroid ‘has no support’ but the desktop Anki does? What is this idea that it doesn’t work properly on iPhone and computers? What does it mean that it doesn’t work everywhere, that it’s complicated to play, or that it might disappear in some apps? And whether even I, with a newer phone, still risk having problems if I convert my MP3 files to Opus — all those same questions.

I’m really sorry for everything. I just want to make a safe decision before converting everything, so I don’t end up with broken audio later. Thank you very much for your patience

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Honestly I like that you sent your post via email XD - I’ll help you out despite the what I assume are 90% AI research you’ve done.

Anyway, you should be fine, you can make it .oga cause it’s audio only. I’ve never seen a .opus file in the wild, thats a weird file extension. If your only phone right now for the next 12 months is your Android 6 phone, I still want to say go for it. Opus support was added in Android 5. I think it’ll work out.

Because I see that you are capable of making notes with audio. Make 3 notes, each one .opus .ogg .oga See if any work.

First, I need to clarify something: previously I posted with more than one account because I wanted to see different reactions from Anki users. That was a mistake on my part, and I apologize — I didn’t intend to mislead anyone.

It’s like saying I ate some chocolate, but I didn’t mean to eat anything unhealthy.
I mean i believe you, I believe you didn’t mean to eat anything unhealthy - but you still ate the chocolate. You still are misleading people. I know you had no intentions, but you still misled people. The effort you put into making more accounts and act as people, I feel like you’ve done this before or will do it again. And I just wanna say, if you don’t intend to eat anything unhealthy, then don’t eat the chocolate.

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Okay — but sorry, I still don’t understand. Should I rename the file from .opus to .ogg? Was that actually something people used to do in the past, and is it still necessary today?
Also, about Opus being supported since Android 5 — I know the Android website says that, but in practice it isn’t true. I’m on Android 6 and it doesn’t work (even if I change .opus to .ogg). It only works with external apps like VLC, and Anki doesn’t use those.
By the way, I asked several questions — could you please answer all of them, with all the details from the conversation?”**

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