How to Rotate a Sideways Video (and Keep It Fixed)

To fix a sideways video, open Rotate Video, add the video, and choose 90° clockwise, 90° counter-clockwise or 180° (upside down) — the preview turns straight away so you can check it's right. Press Rotate video and download the MP4. The picture itself is turned, so it plays the right way up in every app, browser and website.

Rotate a video step by step

1. Open Rotate Video.
2. Add the video — MP4, MOV, WebM or MKV — by clicking, dropping or pasting it, or paste a direct link to a video file.
3. Choose the rotation. The preview shows the result:
   • 90° clockwise — the top of the picture ends up on the right.
   • 90° counter-clockwise — the top ends up on the left.
   • 180° (upside down).
4. Press Rotate video and wait for the progress bar.
5. Play the result and download the MP4.

Why videos end up sideways

Phones record in the orientation of the sensor and store a small "rotation" note telling players how to show it. When the phone guessed wrong — lying flat on a table when you started, or rotation lock on — the note is wrong. And some players, editors and websites ignore the note altogether, so a video that looks fine on your phone appears sideways on a computer or in an upload.

Rotating with the tool turns the actual picture and removes any doubt: it plays correctly everywhere.

Which way do I turn it?

Look at the preview, not your head:

• If people appear lying on their left side (heads pointing left), choose 90° clockwise.
• If they're lying on their right side (heads pointing right), choose 90° counter-clockwise.
• If they're upside down, choose 180°.

Rotating on your phone

• iPhone: in Photos, open the video, tap Edit, then the crop icon, and tap the rotate button (a square with an arrow) until it's right. Tap Done.
• Android: in Google Photos, open the video, tap Edit, then Crop, and use Rotate.

The browser tool is handy on a computer, for videos that aren't in your phone's gallery, or when the phone's own fix doesn't survive uploading somewhere else.

Quality and size

The video is re-encoded as an MP4 with H.264 and AAC at high quality — the format every phone, browser and site plays. A quarter turn swaps width and height, so a 1920×1080 landscape video becomes 1080×1920 portrait. The sound isn't changed.

Rotate before you edit

If you're going to trim, add text or merge clips, rotate first. Text and watermarks added to a sideways video would end up sideways too, and merging a sideways clip with upright ones gives it black bars on the wrong sides.

Related fixes

• Back-to-front writing (mirror image from a selfie camera)? That's a flip, not a rotation — use Flip Video.
• Want a different shape, like vertical 9:16 from a landscape clip? Use Crop Video or Resize Video with a blurred background.

Privacy

The video is rotated in your browser with ffmpeg (WebAssembly); it isn't uploaded. The first use downloads the video engine (about 30 MB) once. No watermark, no sign-up.

Frequently asked questions

Can I rotate by any angle, like 45°?

No — only quarter turns and half turns, which keep the picture rectangular without cropping. Small tilts are best straightened in a video editor.

Will rotating reduce quality?

The video is re-encoded at high quality; the difference isn't visible in normal viewing.

How long does it take?

Short phone clips take seconds to a minute. Long 4K videos take longer, because every frame is re-encoded on your device.