Sideways or Mirrored Video: How to Fix It

Two different problems

• Sideways or upside-down video: The image is rotated 90° or 180°. People appear lying down, and the horizon is vertical.
• Mirrored video: The image is flipped like a mirror. Text makes it easy to spot: signs, shirts, and lettering appear backward.

Each problem has a different cause and fix. Rotating a mirrored video won't fix it, and flipping a sideways video won't either.

Why videos appear sideways

• Rotating your phone when you start recording: Your device records the orientation when you press Record. If you start in landscape and switch to portrait, or vice versa, the entire video keeps the original orientation.
• Rotation lock is on: With rotation lock enabled, some devices record the wrong orientation.
• Pointing your phone up or down: When you're recording the ceiling or a table, the sensor may not know which way is "up."
• Software that ignores orientation data: Phones usually record the image in the same position every time and add a note to the file telling it to rotate during playback. Your phone's gallery follows that note, but some older software, TVs, and video editors don't—so the video appears sideways.

How to rotate a video permanently

1. Open Rotate video and select your file.
2. Choose a rotation: 90° clockwise, 90° counterclockwise, or 180°.
3. Convert and download. The rotation is applied to the image itself, so the video displays correctly on any device, including ones that ignore orientation data.

To choose the right direction: if the top of the scene is on the left side of the screen, rotate 90° clockwise; if it's on the right, rotate 90° counterclockwise.

Why videos appear mirrored

The front-facing camera shows a mirrored image while you're recording because that's how we're used to seeing ourselves in a mirror. Depending on your device and settings, the saved video may also be mirrored. It looks natural to you, but text appears backward to viewers, and your right side becomes your left.

On iPhone, go to Settings › Camera › Mirror Front Camera. On Android, look for an option like "Save selfies as previewed" or "Mirror front camera" in your camera app settings. The name varies by manufacturer.

How to unmirror a video

1. Open Flip video and select your file.
2. Choose horizontal (left ↔ right), which is the setting you need for front-facing camera videos.
3. Convert and download. Text will be readable again.

The vertical (top ↔ bottom) option is for unusual cases, such as videos recorded using mirrors or equipment that flips the image.

How to prevent it next time

• Hold your phone in the position you want to record in (portrait or landscape) before you hit Record.
• Turn off rotation lock when recording in landscape.
• If you're recording a presentation with the front-facing camera, check the mirroring setting first.
• Record a five-second test and watch it in your gallery before filming anything long or important.

Video is sideways and mirrored

This can happen when you record a selfie with your phone held sideways: the video comes out rotated and flipped. Fix it in two steps, in this order:

1. First, rotate the video until the image is upright, even if the text is still backward.
2. Then flip the rotated video horizontally.

If the image ends up upside down, rotate it another 180°. Each step creates a new file, so keep the original until you’ve checked the final result. That way, you can start over if you flip it the wrong way.

Frequently asked questions