If you’ve ever recorded a long session on your GoPro — like a full concert, a long bike ride, or a timelapse of a sunrise — you have likely opened your SD card folder to find a surprise.
Instead of one long video file, your footage is chopped up into several shorter files, usually named something like GX010045.MP4, GX020045.MP4, etc.
This is called File Chaptering.
For years, the magic number was 4GB. Every time a file hit 4GB, the camera would seamlessly close it and start a new one. But with the release of the HERO11, HERO12, and HERO13, GoPro finally raised that ceiling — if you’re using the right memory card.
Why do GoPros cut video files?
To anticipate your first question: No, the camera is not stopping and starting. There are no lost frames between these chapters. When you drop them into a video editor, they will line up perfectly to form one seamless video.
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So why do they do it? There are two main reasons: Compatibility and Safety.
Reason 1: The FAT32 filesystem limit
The primary culprit is an old filesystem called FAT32. This system is incredibly reliable and works on almost every device (Mac, Windows, Linux, Game Consoles, Android). However, FAT32 has a hard-coded limit: it cannot handle a single file larger than 4GB.
For years, GoPro formatted all SD cards to be compatible with this standard. Even if you had a 128GB card, the camera would treat it like a stack of 4GB buckets. Once one bucket was full, it moved to the next.
Reason 2: Data safety (don’t lose your eggs)
Imagine recording a 3-hour bike ride in a single massive file. Now imagine the battery dies or the camera crashes at 2 hours and 59 minutes. If that were one file, the entire header would be corrupt, and you would lose everything.
By splitting the video into chapters, GoPro ensures that if a crash happens (a figurative crash, hopefully not you on your bike), you only lose the last few minutes of footage. The previous chapters are safe, closed, and saved.
The new 12GB standard (HERO11, 12, & 13)
Starting with the HERO11 Black and continuing with the HERO12 and HERO13 Black, GoPro made a massive change. The cameras now natively support 12GB chapters. But there is a catch.
You must use a memory card that is 64GB or larger. Or, put another way, a microSDXC card (not a microSDHC card).
If 12GB still isn’t enough, GoPro Labs lets you go further. Its 64BT command sets a custom chapter size on the HERO11 through HERO13 — 32GB, or even 64GB. GoPro describes that as only lightly tested, so try it on a recording you can afford to lose before you count on it.
The gist is that the chaptering is no longer tied to filesystem limitations. They could have ditched chaptering altogether as a technical matter. But they’ve preserved it, with a higher limit, to keep some safety built-in. If they hadn’t, I’m guessing they were dreading the complaints and customer support calls…
- If you use a 32GB (or smaller) card: The camera formats it as FAT32. Your chapters will still be 4GB.
- If you use a 64GB (or larger) card: The camera formats it as exFAT. This modern filesystem allows for huge files. GoPro now uses this to extend the chapter size to approximately 12GB.
This means significantly fewer files to manage. For example, a long interview that used to be split into five or six files might now fit into just one or two.
Tip for HERO10/9/8 Users: If you are tired of 4GB chapters on these older models, GoPro Labs firmware can raise the chapter size, as long as your card is 64GB or larger. One catch to know before you rely on it: GoPro says the HERO8 and HERO9 can’t play back or USB-transfer a file bigger than 4GB on current firmware, so you’d be pulling those files off with a card reader instead.
How to join GoPro video segments
Since the split is purely a file-system trick, rejoining them is usually automatic.
1. Automatic method (modern editors)
If you use GoPro Quik, Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, or DaVinci Resolve, you don’t need to do anything special. Just import all the clips.
Drag them onto your timeline in numerical order (e.g., GX01, GX02, GX03). The audio and video will stitch together seamlessly with no “blip” or dropped frames.
2. Video concatenating software
If you don’t use a video editor and just want to watch one long file on your computer, you can use something like VideoProc Converter AI. It can “concatenate” the files without re-encoding them, so you lose zero quality, and it only takes a few seconds.
Important for 360° Workflow: Unlike standard HERO files, rejoining
.360files can sometimes be tricky if you aren’t using the GoPro Player desktop app. The app is designed to handle these chapters automatically. If you try to manually stitch them in a generic editor without processing them first, you might see a “seam” or a glitch where two chapters meet. So stick to the specialized software for those.
Reference: Chapter size by camera model
Here is the list of chapter sizes for every GoPro generation.
| Camera Model | Standard Chapter Size | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| HERO13 / 12 / 11 Black | 12GB (approx) | Requires 64GB+ card (exFAT). Uses 4GB if card is 32GB or smaller. |
| HERO10 / 9 / 8 Black | 4GB | Can be increased with GoPro Labs firmware and a 64GB+ card. Note that the HERO8 and HERO9 can’t play back or USB-transfer files over 4GB. |
| MAX 2 / MAX / Fusion | 4GB | 360° files are also split at 4GB. GoPro Labs can raise it on the MAX and MAX 2. |
| HERO7 / 6 / 5 Black | 4GB | Strict 4GB limit. |
| HERO Session / 4 / 3+ | 4GB | Loop recording writes shorter chapters, so old segments can be overwritten. |
So I put a segmented video of a DJ performance together using Nero Video, and it is a lie when they say the split is seamless. There is loss of milliseconds between the two split videos, but the loss is very noticeable when listening to the audio. It’s like the video jumps past the beginning of the next video. Very disappointing.
I had a 16min. Video that cut into 2 segments but it didn’t download the whole thing. Is that common?
What app did you use to download the video? Was it from a memory card to your computer?
What Sony action camera do you recommend? I’m
Looking for a quality camera for on demand fitness classes but the GoPro chattering causes a lot of additional work. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks, David. Is there a way of changing the chaptering settings so that the GoPro splits my videos into smaller chunks? I’ve noticed that Google Photos really struggles processing my GoPro videos when they are five minutes or longer, sometimes taking months to display thumbnails and play in full resolution, but has no trouble processing short videos, even when I upload tons of them at the same time.
(Of course, I could just start and stop recording back and forth, but for some activities, I like to start recording and just forget about it until my batteries run out).
No, there’s no setting to change that, unfortunately.
the extra step is pretty obnoxious in an already labor intensive workflow. This is the main reason I no longer use go pros.
You can use ffmpeg to recombine files without re-enconding them. It takes seconds instead of several minutes or more, and produces zero quality loss. With the right options you can even keep the gps data attached.
Thanks for the tip. I haven’t used ffmpeg with HEVC, but I see that it should now work. Will give it a try.
All of Sony’s action cameras record one large file. No chaptering and out of hundreds of days worth of recordings over the past 3 years I have never had a single file corrupt.
Hello, my 7 black gopro also does this. In the Camera the entire video appears and on the PC it appears only up to 8.53. Even in QUIK it also only appears 8.53. Is there any other solution to this if it is not editing the videos? She actually recorded another file with the rest of the videos.
The filesize will be larger when you use the high resolution and framerate options (or, more technically, it’s the bitrate that determines the filesize). While there’s no one-click way to copy them to make them fit, it is certainly possible to convert them into another file that’s much smaller (or “transcode”, more specifically). There are a lot of different ways to do it, but with 71GB files, the free online versions aren’t very practical. A better option is an app that will do it on your computer. There’s an enormous number of them available that will work, but one I’d recommend is Handbrake, which is free and open source and comes with a bunch of different presets that will help you get a smaller file. Another option that still relies on a wireless connection which will take a while with a such a large file (and be sure to use wifi rather than your phone’ data plan) is to use the GoPro mobile app to share to something like Youtube. As part of the upload process, Youtube will transcode a much smaller version of the file.
To save yourself this step next time, it’s worth reducing the video mode down to something like 1080p60 with Protune turned off. That’s still going to create a big file–about 27GB for 2 hours of recording–but that’s still a lot smaller than your 71GB file.
I have the go pro 7 black. I captured 2hr softball games but the files equal 71 GB. Is there some way to reduce file size to be able to put on a thumb drive or share. I have 2hr movies that are barely 1.5 GB, I dont understand…..Help!!
Massively regret buying my GoPro, what a waste of money, never connects to my laptop. Spoke to customer service and it took about the hours to get it sorted, they said it was my laptop. Next time I went to link it to my laptop again I had the same issues. I’ve now tried to link it with three different computers all the same problem and now I’ve recorded a long video with it had to be in one segment but it only loads up 9mins. What an absolute joke of a camera.
As a work around take the sd card out of the camera and copy to your PC. THen open that with Fusion Studio
What is the best quality setting do you recommend for day car driving from inside and outside the car ? (GoPro Hero Black 7)
A high framerate (eg. 60fps) will help with fast-moving scenes. Unless you plan to apply stabilization in post, the HyperSmooth stabilization should help quite a lot.
Very un happy GoPro user on account of the segmenting issue. For crossfit recording workouts they must be UNEDITED period. Clipping segments together is a violation and the video is rejected. If I could return the camera for a refund, I would. Had I known this issue existed I would have passed on the camera.
No one needs to see your “workout” in 4k/60fps bro. Just record in lesser quality.
CrossFit workout videos can be helpful later for when your doctor wants to see exactly what kind of nonsense caused the injuries they’re treating.
Well done! And, fantastic explanation! It makes sense now, why my Hero 4 chunks my videos into 8:52 minute “chapters”.
I really appreciate your solving the mystery.
Good on ya!
Cheers!
~Rick
Thanks for the info, I just recently got a GoPro Hero 4 silver and a 64GB card, I’m having unrelated issues but this was very interesting.
I have a goPro 3 and 3+ . I record in 1920×1080 30fps. Neither records up to 4gb. Every file is approximately 1.3GB and 12 mins. I place them behind each goal during hockey games. I have no problem recording a full entire hockey game on my iPad Pro which will record as long as I have power and space to one file if I don’t stop it. Why can iPad record an entire video as long as I want it at those same video settings but the goPro’s can’t?
iPads have a closed filesystem, whereas GoPros using memory cards are trying to retain maximum compatibility to work with other types of computers, devices, and microSDHC cards (formatted in FAT).
my gopro hero plus only records 12 minutes and then seems to stop, i lost tons of video, i filmed 2 45 minute bike rides and only have the 2 videos and just the first 12 minutes, My girl bought this so i can film going up mt washington if this is the case, it is completely useless for me, i cant keep hitting record every 12 minutes, HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A few things to try… First, how are you downloading them to your computer, assuming that’s what you’re doing? Some apps might only ingest the first segment by default. Are the segments all on the card itself if you browse that with a file browser? If they’re not (ie. the recording is actually stopping after 12 mins as opposed to the segments not showing up), a common culprit is a memory card that’s too slow. Here are some recommendations.
Also make sure you disable any voice command features such as the one on the go pro hero five black that I have. That can stop your video if you accidentally say something that sounds like stop recording.
filming with GoPro hero 5 in 4K, driving on racetrack over 10min.
all clips get to be 08:53min and no chaptering of the rest!
what can I do to fix this?
Having the exact same problem. Did you find a solution to this? I only have the first segments 8 min 53 seconds of each file and no chaptering of the rest. When the SD card is plugged into the GoPro I am able to see that my footage is over 20 minutes but when I take it out trying to import my footage it will only import 8 minutes 53 seconds and there is no chaptering of the rest :(
Hi I had a similar problem with my GoPro Hero 6.
All you need to do is remove the memory card out of the gopro and use it along with the SD card Adapter provided along with the card or simply use it with a normal memory card reader and you will be able to browse/download the entire files on to your PC.
OMG! Thank you! I thought lost my video footage. If my once in a lifetime helicopter ride in Kauai video was gone I would have been really sad.
Hehe. No You only need to repeat that beautiful trip around that garden island ;-)
I have a goPro Session 4 and it does not loop recording.
I can start bluetooth, turn on loop condition, but it only stays in loop while still on. Once its turned off the camera goes back to recording without overwriting.
I hope goPro bring out an update because I bought this camera for Motorcycle riding and I just want to recharge and use.
Just had a weird thing happen…. My recording was about 15 minutes, and it go split at about 10 minutes. problem is that the second part of the split was inferior in quality, and did not work well with the green screen. On my gopro viewing area for importing, unlike all other videos I’ve shot, the second section appeared as an mp4 with a mp4 icon rather than the image frames of everything else I’ve ever recorded. Anyone have any clues (and my apologies for my poor terminology, this is all new to me)
I just deleted some files not realising they had been “chaptered.” I’m highly pissed now. :(
Can I reduce the size of each file? Is there a setting that will allow me to REDUCE the maximum size of each file? For example, if I want it to segment every 1GB?
No, there’s no control over it.
Any gopro studio like apps for tablets? I don’t have a computer or laptop. TIA
Sort of. You can use the GoPro mobile app to download and save the video to your device and then use a separate app for editing. Here are some ideas–although I haven’t tried them. They probably won’t give you the full functionality of a desktop/laptop app, and you’ll probably run into issues if you’re using the large files generated with long or high-resolution footage.
Thank you for the great explanation! Now how can I quickly joins these split videos back together. Using GoPro studio is taking forever so I must be doing something wrong?
Thank you very much I have this problem with gopro session but we need solution?
Hello,
I used a Hero 4 Black to record an hour long video utilizing a SanDisk Ultra 64 GB card at 1080 Superview/60 FPS. I see the first 17+ min file in the download section of GoPro Studio, but nothing after. I can watch the entire video on the actual GoPro. How do I get the rest of my files? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
I’m having exactly the same problem! did you find a solution?
I would presume the go pro would save the remaining footage as a separate clip after the 17mins but if it has I can’t find it anywhere; apart from playing back in full on the camera.
if you worked it out I’d really appreciate the tip!Thanks
Did you guys ever get a response for this? I’m having the same issue and cant find the solution for this! :(
What are you using to look for the file on the memory card? I haven’t seen this behavior, but I’m wondering if the camera is creating a hidden temporary file and getting interrupted before it finishes closing off the file and unhiding it. It’s worth looking at, anyway. Here are some instructions for Mac and for Windows. If you’re using Mac, FileLoupe is a good option for browsing the clips and it’s possible the missing clip might display there.
I had the problem where I moved the first file in the sequence onto my desktop for testing and after reconnecting to move the remainder of the files, the subsequent files in the sequence were all deleted. Did anyone else experience this?
My GoPro recorded 4GB but it did not create another file(s) so I’ve lost part my recording. I have noticed it after downloading files to my computer.
At last an explanation I have been pulling my hair out for a month !!
That is sometimes a symptom of a memory card that isn’t fast enough. If you’re using one of the higher-end GoPro models, here are some suggestions. If you’re already using one of those fast cards, it’s worth testing with a different card if you have easy access to one.
So glad it’s the camera and not me doing something wrong! Thanks!
Really good info … I had wondered about that.
Thank you so much for the info dude..
Thanks for the info