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prodbykyris
User level: Level 1 (15 points)

Messages converts MP3s to .m4a that won't play (macOS 27 Golden Gate / iOS 27)

Since updating to macOS 27 Golden Gate, Messages has stopped sending MP3s properly. When I attach an MP3, Messages converts it to an .m4a before sending. Then neither I nor the person I sent it to can play the converted file.


I'm a music producer and send bounces and demos over iMessage all the time, so this is breaking my workflow. Other producers have been complaining about it too.


Setup


  • Mac: macOS 27.0.1 Golden Gate
  • iPhone: iOS 27.0.1
  • Before the update, MP3s sent and played normally.

Steps to reproduce


  1. Attach any MP3 to an iMessage conversation (Mac or iPhone).
  2. Send it.
  3. The attachment shows up as .m4a on both ends.
  4. Try to play it. It won't play for the sender or the recipient.


What I'd expect: The MP3 sends as-is (or converts to something that plays), like it did before Golden Gate.


Workarounds that work for now:


  • Sending Wav files (they still convert to m4a but they play)


  • AirDrop it if you're nearby.


As of early October, neither the macOS 27.0.1 nor the iOS 27.0.1 release notes mention it.


Is anyone else seeing this? Has anyone found a setting that stops the conversion?

Posted on Oct 5, 2026 9:19 PM

2 replies

TorianC
User level: Level 1 (12 points)

Oct 13, 2026 3:52 PM in response to prodbykyris

I can still easily send music from notes to Messages that I have:

  1. composed and saved as an MP3 on my Windows 11 laptop
  2. Enailed to my IPhone 14, and I can still listen to it, which I then emailed it to myself on my iPhone 14
  3. Saved it in Notes


  1. Until the v27 upgrade, it was transmissible from Notes in Messages and audible/playable by the receiving person.


  1. After the upgrade,I can still do the prior steps andsave it to Notes and listen to it myself.
  2. Still transmissible to Messages on my iPhone.However, recipients using iPhones have been able to see them, but unable to open them. They seem to have been converted to .m4a according to the recipient.
  3. To add more information, a friend of mine who has an Android was still able to hear it. The note is not locked and up until the upgrade I sent it many times to friends.


Completely annoying, and apparently not tested prior to the release, or is incompatible with earlier iPhones

prodbykyris Author
User level: Level 1 (15 points)

Oct 14, 2026 3:23 AM in response to TorianC

I was told to just submit feedback because that's how iMessage is supposed to work now. 😭

Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256371108