How to Solve WhatsApp FFMPEG.DLL Not Found | WhatsApp is undoubtedly the most popular messaging platform on the planet, and although it started out as a mobile-only app, it has since grown into an all-in-one multi-platform messaging service. This means that apart from iOS and Android mobile apps, you can use WhatsApp on PC via macOS, Windows and web apps.
If you frequently use WhatsApp on PC, you may encounter an error “FFMPEG.DLL Not Found” while trying to open the WhatsApp desktop client for Windows. The problem seems to persist on Windows 11 and Windows 10 devices, and it appears every time you start the WhatsApp program on your computer.
According to a Reddit user, the problem appears to be related to the latest WhatsApp update for Windows, which is version app-2.2138.13. The new version of WhatsApp failed to launch on the user’s desktop PC.
DLL files (Dynamic Link Library) Windows is required to perform certain functions in the operating system or programs. It is possible that this .dll file was not delivered in the latest update, causing problems for users.
If you are experiencing this too, here’s how to solve the WhatsApp FFMPEG.DLL Not Found error on the WhatsApp app for macOS, Windows and the web app.
1. Open Whatsapp With Old Version
The current version of WhatsApp, app-2.2138.13, appears to be side by side with the previous version, app-2.2134.10. That’s clear by the fact that both folders (named after their respective app versions) are available in the WhatsApp user directory.
If you don’t want to wait for WhatsApp to fix the FFMPEG.DLL Not Found bug, you can use an older version of the program on your PC.
To do so, open File Explorer from your taskbar and navigate to:
C:Users
There are two directories in this folder, one for the older version (app-2.2134.10) and the other for the newer version (app-2.2138.13) of WhatsApp for Windows. Open the app-2.2134.10 folder in the previous version and run “WhatsApp.exe” from there.
For now, it will solve the “FFMPEG.DLL Not Found” issue that you are having.
2. Copy files from old to new app version
There is another solution to fix WhatsApp’s “FFMPEG.DLL Not Found” error, the way is to open File Explorer, then navigate to the same “WhatsApp” folder as before.
Open File Explorer on your computer and navigate to:
C:Users
There are two folders here: app-2.2134.10 (old version) and app-2.2138.13 (new version)
Now, open the folder “app-2.2134.10” and select all the files included in it.
Once selected, copy it using “Ctrl + C“. Or right click and select Copy.
Now, go back to the previous folder – “WhatsApp” and open the folder “app-2.2138.13” (newer version).
In this folder, paste the file that you copied from the “app-2.2134.10” folder earlier to this folder by right clicking anywhere and selecting the option “Paste” from the menu. Alternatively, you can use keyboard commands “Ctrl + V” to do the same.
If a question arises You wish to replace the files from the older folder into the newer folder?you can select the option “SkipThis way, only files that are not in the new version folder will be copied from the old version.
Now you can launch the app using the default WhatsApp shortcut on your desktop or use the “WhatsApp.exe” file from the “app-2.2138.13” folder. WhatsApp should now open without issue on Windows.
That’s how to solve WhatsApp FFMPEG.DLL Not Found. Hopefully this article is useful for those of you who need it. Goodbye and thank you for visiting.
