Loom's documentation names three file properties that most often produce a "Failed to process" upload: a file over 4 GB, a frame rate over 60, and a resolution over 4096 x 2160. If your video clears all three and still gets rejected, there is a fourth cause that Loom states in a single sentence of a single knowledge-base article — and that one is worth knowing, because no amount of retrying will get you past it.
What "Failed to process" actually means
The message arrives after the upload attempt, so the file has left your machine before anything tells you it will not work. Loom's upload documentation compresses the whole diagnosis into one sentence:
"You may receive a Failed to process message after attempting to upload a video. This most often occurs because the file is over 4 GB, its frames per second are over 60, or its resolution is over 4096 x 2160."
Two details in that sentence change how you troubleshoot.
First, the wording is "most often occurs because" — three named causes, not a closed list. Ruling all three out does not mean the file is fine; it means you have eliminated the common ones.
Second, all three are properties of the file itself. None of them depend on how long you waited or how many times you retried, which is why the same file fails identically on the fifth attempt.
The 4 GB figure matches the upload ceiling Loom publishes separately: "Loom limits uploads to 4 GB or 12 hours, whichever is less." Whichever is less is the clause people skip. A long screen recording at a modest bitrate can sit comfortably under 4 GB and still be refused on duration alone. Mobile gets the same rule in the same words: "We do limit Mobile uploads to 4GB limit or 12 hours, whichever is less."
On the other two numbers:
- Frame rate over 60. A 60 fps export is inside the line Loom states; a 120 or 240 fps capture is not. Loom's own specification table for uploaded video lists frame rate as "Target 30fps".
- Resolution over 4096 x 2160. Ordinary UHD footage at 3840 x 2160 is under that ceiling. The wider 4096-pixel presets that some cameras and editors default to sit right at it, and anything beyond is over the line Loom names.
The fastest fix: re-export to the spec Loom publishes
Loom does not leave you guessing about the target. The same recommendation appears on its encoding, upload and troubleshooting pages:
"The Loom uploader is designed to handle a broad range of video formats, containers, and codecs. If the file you want to upload to Loom is not supported, or even if the quality of the uploaded video doesn't turn out quite right, try running your video through Handbrake ."
And it names the destination spec explicitly: "We recommend exporting your video using the media specifications in the above table (H.264/AAC to . MP4 file.)"
That table, for video uploaded to Loom, reads:
Container Supported containers: MV, AVI, WEBM, MP4, MOV (Up to 4GB)
Video Codec: H.264, Frame Rate: Target 30fps, Bitrate: Variable bitrate.
Audio Codec: AAC, 48kHz, Channels: 1 Channel (Mono), Variable bitrate.(The container list is quoted as Loom publishes it, MV included.)
So a single re-encode — H.264 video, AAC audio, MP4 container, frame rate and resolution brought back inside the stated ceilings — addresses every named cause at once, and drops the file size in the process.
Try it right here
Runs in your browser. Your file is not uploaded anywhere.
This runs inside your browser tab: the file is read from disk, re-encoded locally and handed back, so nothing gets uploaded to a third party on the way to fixing an upload. The output is H.264 in an MP4 container, which is the pairing Loom's own guidance asks for. If your source is a QuickTime file straight off a Mac or an iPhone, MOV to MP4 does the container step by itself, and compress video exposes the bitrate and resolution controls directly if you would rather set them than accept a preset.
The cause almost nobody mentions: an unsupported underlying property
Loom's troubleshooting article for upload failures adds a sentence the other pages do not carry:
"If the file you want to upload to Loom is not supported or you believe it should be supported but is being rejected, try running your video through Handbrake . There are times when an underlying property of your video is not supported (like the number of audio channels is too high) and this can only be fixed by running the media through Handbrake."
"The number of audio channels is too high" is the part to sit with. It is an audio property breaking a video upload, and it explains the case that otherwise makes no sense: a small, short, 1080p, 30 fps MP4 that fails anyway.
Loom's specification table for uploaded video lists audio as "Codec: AAC, 48kHz, Channels: 1 Channel (Mono), Variable bitrate." That article does not give a threshold channel count — if you need the current number, check the official documentation. What it does tell you is where to look: if your export carries a surround mix or several discrete audio tracks muxed into one file, normalise the audio before you blame the video. Re-encoding to AAC as part of the pass above is what Loom says fixes it.
Other reasons the upload never completes
Not every failed upload is a rejected file. Check these before re-encoding anything:
- Your plan may not include uploading at all. Loom states that video uploading is only available to users on its Business, Business + AI or Enterprise plans, and that uploads are not available for Business + AI Trials. Its Business plan FAQ repeats it: "Please note the Upload feature is temporarily unavailable for Business Trial users."
- Connection. Loom's guidance is specific: "Ensure a strong and stable internet connection with an upload speed of at least 5 Mbps."
- Batch size. "There is no limit to how many videos you can upload. However you can upload up to 10 videos at a time."
- It might not have failed yet. Loom notes that "Videos that are large in resolution, size, or duration will take longer to process and may remain in a processing state after uploading." A long spell in processing is not the same message as Failed to process.
One more useful behaviour while you wait: "Your videos will keep uploading even if you leave the upload modal. The uploads only stop if you select cancel." Closing the dialog does not cancel anything, so you do not need to sit and watch the bar.
How to tell it worked
Before you retry, read the three numbers off the re-encoded file — size on disk, frame rate, resolution — and confirm each is inside the limits above. Those are the values Loom is checking, and they are checkable without uploading anything.
Then upload once and let it finish. Success looks like the video leaving the processing state and playing back in your library, not merely the progress bar reaching the end.
FAQ
Why does Loom say "Failed to process" when the video plays fine everywhere else? Playing locally only proves your own player can decode it. Loom names three properties that most often cause this — over 4 GB, over 60 fps, or over 4096 x 2160 — and separately notes that an underlying property such as too many audio channels can also make a file unsupported.
What is the maximum file size I can upload to Loom? Loom states: "Loom limits uploads to 4 GB or 12 hours, whichever is less." The same pair of limits applies to mobile uploads.
Does Loom accept 60 fps video? Loom's stated failure condition is frames per second over 60, and its upload specification table lists "Target 30fps". Higher-frame-rate captures are the ones to re-export.
Which file formats can I upload to Loom?
Loom's table lists the supported containers as MV, AVI, WEBM, MP4, MOV (Up to 4GB), with H.264 video and AAC audio as the recommended export.
My upload finished but the video is stuck processing — did it fail? Not necessarily. Loom says large videos "may remain in a processing state after uploading." That is different from the Failed to process message.
Can I upload videos on the free Starter plan? No — Loom limits uploading to Business, Business + AI and Enterprise plans, and excludes Business + AI Trials.
More Loom and recording problems are worked through the same way in the fix guides — including why Loom still stops you at 5 minutes after upgrading. Every browser-side converter and compressor referenced above is listed on all Clapr tools.
Quotations from Loom's official help centre, checked 16 September 2026. Loom has changed these figures before — verify against the current documentation before relying on them.
