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Unable to load MP3 files in FL Studio
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Troubleshoot Importing MP3 FIles

FL Studio uses the Fraunhofer codec, included with Windows, to play back MP3 files. It's possible that this codec is either not installed or not functioning properly.

Check if the codec is installed

 

  1. Open Windows Media Player
  2. Make sure you can see the menu bar (Ctrl+M will toggle it)
  3. In the menu, click Help > About Windows Media Player
  4. In the about window, click "Technical Support Information"
  5. Make sure the entry "Fraunhofer IIS MPEG Layer-3 Codec" is in the list of audio codecs

Install the codec

We're not currently aware of an official installer for the Fraunhofer MP3 codec. Googling "fraunhofer mp3 codec" will show a list of potential installers, but we can't guarantee they'll be ok for use with FL Studio. When in doubt, please ask us in the TechSupport forum first.


Fix malfunctioning codec

If the codec is installed but FL Studio doesn't load any mp3 files, it's possible that the codec is not configured correctly. Follow these steps:

 

  1. Download this file: fraunhofercodec.zip
  2. Extract the downloaded file to your computer
  3. Double-click the extracted file ("fraunhofercodec.reg") in Windows Explorer to add it to the registry. If this fails, you can also add it to the registry manually by running the RegEdit program and choosing File > Import.


Windows 8 / 8.1

If you're a Windows 8/8.1 user and the above option isn't available your issue might be related to not having Windows Media Player installed.
Install the Media Feature Pack for N and KN versions of Windows 8.1

 

Windows 10

In the case that MP3 files don't work in FL Studio on Windows 10 and neither of the above solutions are helpful, it's likely due to the missing Fraunhofer codec. This codec is necessary for decoding MP3 files and is missing for Windows 10 users without Windows Media Player.

Because of licensing issues we rely on the Windows codec being present. If it isn't included with your Windows 10 installation/upgrade it would have to be acquired from a separate source.

 
Image-Line Support Team