We all know that feeling: you record a video on your iPhone in portrait mode, and then try to watch it in landscape and everything is sideways. Luckily, you can correct a video’s rotation in just a few simple steps.
Option One: Use iMovie
Apple’s iMovie has this ability built in, and it’s free for all iPhones purchased after September 1, 2013. If you’re running a pre-5c iPhone and don’t want to pay $4.99 for iMovie, then check out the app we recommend in the second section below.
Otherwise, head over to the App Store and download it.
Once iMovie is installed, open it and tap “Video” and then choose the video you want to fix.
At the bottom of the screen, tap the share button.
On the resulting screen, choose “Create Video”.
Now, take your thumb and forefinger and turn the video so it is rotated correctly.
Now your portrait video will be in landscape mode.
Once again, tap the Share icon and then “Save Video”.
Save the video in the resolution that matches your original video’s quality, which will be the highest quality available, in this case “HD – 1080p”. Note: you can save in 4K, but only if you originally recorded in 4K. If you want to record your videos in higher quality, you’ll need to change a setting first.
Once iMovie is done saving your video, it will be available in your Photo Library.
Now you can rotate and fix any videos that you may have unwittingly filmed in portrait.
Option Two: Use Rotate & Flip
If you don’t want to pay for iMovie, you can use a free app called Rotate & Flip—designed to do exactly what it sounds like. It does have ads, however—you can remove them by paying $2.99, but if you’re willing to pay, you probably went with option one above.
Download Rotate & Flip from the App Store and start it up.
To rotate a video, tap on it so that it is outlined in yellow, then tap “Select” in the upper-right corner.
Now, simply use the buttons at the bottom to fix your video. These buttons will let you rotate left, right, reverse, and flip it vertically. When you’re satisfied, tap “Export” in the upper-right corner.
A dialog box will appear next asking you what kind of compatibility you want. The ideal option is to make your video compatible with all video players, which means the app will rotate each frame of the video. The other option is for the app to modify the orientation flag, which means that it will appear rotated in iOS and Quicktime, but may not appear so in other video players.
The first option is better for compatibility, but the second option will fix it without any loss in quality. (Though to be fair, it’s unlikely you’ll notice the loss in quality you get from the first option.) The first option will also take a little longer, since it has to re-encode the video entirely.
Once your video has been processed, the Share dialog will appear. Tap “Save Video” to store it on your iPhone, or you can save it to the cloud if those options are available. Alternatively, you can share it directly through a message, Facebook, email, or elsewhere.
If you save the video to your iPhone, it will be now available in your Photos Library.
Rotating videos on the iPhone doesn’t have to be a difficult task. It’s actually quite easy and shouldn’t take a terribly long time. iMovie is obviously an option, but many folks prefer the simplicity of Rotate & Flip.