Opening a WAX File

The WAX file type is primarily associated with Windows Media Player.

WAX	File extension: WAX
	File type:	playlist/redirector file

What is a WAX file

WAX files mostly belong to Windows Media Player. WAX files are used by Windows Media Player as files that redirect the player to actual audio streams rather than containing the audio data themselves.
These files work in a few ways:

Audio Playlist: They function as playlists that list media locations for Windows Media Audio.

RIFF-structured Audio: Some WAX files use the RIFF format to indicate a standard WAVE file structure.

Audiobook XML: Certain variants are encoded in UTF-16 (LE) to hold XML data for audiobooks.

Advanced Stream Redirector: Others serve solely as redirection files, guiding Windows Media Player to the proper media stream.

FilExt.com tip: These formats use internal methods—whether RIFF or XML—to optimize how the player accesses the content. For further technical details, see Microsoft Support or visit Microsoft Windows.

How can I open a WAX file?

You need a suitable software like Windows Media Player to open a WAX file. Without proper software you will receive a Windows message "How do you want to open this file?" or "Windows cannot open this file" or a similar Mac/iPhone/Android alert. If you cannot open your WAX file correctly, try to right-click or long-press the file. Then click "Open with" and choose an application. You can also display a WAX file directly in the browser:. Just drag the file onto this browser window and drop it.

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Programs that open and convert WAX files:

Windows Media Player
See the previous paragraphs to learn more about the main application. WAX files are often referred to as Windows Media Player audios because this type of file is primarily created or used by this software.
Audio
Procomm Plus Compiled Script File
Windows Media (Audio Redirector) by Microsoft Corporation
This file type is used for WMA Media redirection. Use a text editor to create an .WAX file that contains a single line: the full URL to the .WMA file (e.g., MYAUDIO.WAX contains http://mysite.com/myvideo.wma as its only entry). Use ASCII mode to upload the .WAX file and binary mode to upload the .WMA file. Be certain the server has audio/x-ms-wma as the MIME type for the .WMA file extension and audio/x-ms-wax for the .WAX file extension. You can then link to the .WAX file with the following HTML code: <a href="myaudio.wax" type="audio/x-ms-wax">Play My Audio</a> The Mime types used with this association are: audio/x-ms-wax. Related links: Media Player Formats, MattBatt iAM-player, AudioPlayer

WAX file extension format:

A file format defines how the data in the file is structured. The first characters in a file identify the file format, for example, HTML files start with the bytes <html>. File extension, signature and file format must match; otherwise errors will occur when the file is opened. If there are problems opening a file, you must first determine the file format used. Our evaluation of the WAX files is as follows:

The WAX file extension is not common and is used by different programs with different formats. The two most popular formats are as follows:

45% of all WAX files are using the well-known XML file format to store the data. The Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a simple text-based format for representing structured information: documents, webpages, data, configuration, books, transactions, invoices, and much more. XML defines a set of rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable. The contents of these files are easily readable with a text editor. A typical file size is 100 bytes. The file type was developed only in the last few years. The following keywords are characteristic: REF HREF, <ENTRY>, </ASX>, </ENTRY>, <ASX VERSION="3.0"> and http://www.esl-lab.com/audio/. The file name tp20180601.wax is typical for these files. Files like these are about listening, task, service, lines and other.
15% of all WAX files are based on the well-known RIFF file format. RIFF files store data in tagged chunks. There are primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video. If you open these files in a text editor, you will see only illegible characters. WAX files are between 16 KB and 540 KB in size. Certain words are almost always found in the files, such as WAVEfmt, RIFF, data and IXSN. Files like these are sometimes connected to cfff.

All other WAX files (40%) have no uniform format, the following 4 formats can be found: UTF-16 (LE) and config. Sometimes used for radio, kutt or mzda. If you want to find out which format your WAX file belongs to, just click on the button "Choose your .wax file to analyze".

Technical Data for WAX File Extension

File classification:

Audio

Related files:

wma, wmv, wpl, asx, m3u, wmz, aac, mp3, rpm, wav, wmd, wmx, xml

Mime type:

audio/x-ms-wax

The following listing is compiled from the database produced by the 'Associate This!' program, selected data from the main FILExt database and file extension information submitted by users.

ProgramID: AshampooMediaPlayer.AudioFile, FileType: Ashampoo Media Player+ audio file, AppName: Ashampoo Media Player+

ProgramID: SlowView WMA, AppName: SlowView
EXEFile: SlowView.exe

ProgramID: Sonique.File, FileType: Sonique File, AppName: Sonique

ProgramID: UltraPlayer.AudioFile, FileType: UltraPlayer File, AppName: UltraPlayer Multimedia Player Application
EXEFile: UPlayer.exe

ProgramID: WAXFile, FileType: Windows Media Audio shortcut, AppName: ASFRecorder

ProgramID: WAXFile, FileType: Windows Media Audio shortcut, AppName: auto
EXEFile: wmplayer.exe

ProgramID: WAXFile, FileType: Windows Media Audio shortcut, AppName: Microsoft(R) Windows Media Player

ProgramID: WAXFile, FileType: Windows Media Audio shortcut, AppName: Windows Media Player
EXEFile: mplayer2.exe

ProgramID: WAXFile, FileType: Windows Media Audio shortcut, AppName: Windows Media Player
EXEFile: wmplayer.exe

ProgramID: Morpheus.Video
EXEFile: C:\Documents and Settings\Jimmy Son\Desktop\Media Downloads\Morpheus\Morpheus.exe %1

ProgramID: RealPlayer.wax.6
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Real\RealOne Player\RealPlay.exe %1

ProgramID: RealPlayer.wax.6
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Real\RealPlayer\RealPlay.exe %1

ProgramID: WAXFile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Windows Media Player\mplayer2.exe /Open %L

ProgramID: WAXFile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Windows Media Player\mplayer2.exe /Play %L

ProgramID: WAXFile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Windows Media Player\wmplayer.exe /Open

ProgramID: WAXFile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Windows Media Player\wmplayer.exe /Open %L

ProgramID: WAXFile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\WINDOW~1\wmplayer.exe /Open %L

ProgramID: Sonique.File
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Sonique\Sonique.exe %1

ProgramID: ACEMegaCoDecSPack.PlaylistFileS
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\ACE Mega CoDecS Pack\Media Player Classic\mplayerc.exe %1 /open

ProgramID: WAXFile
EXEFile: C:\Unzipped\ASFRecorder\ASFRecorder.exe %L

ProgramID: WAXFile
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\JetAudio\JetAudio.exe %1

ProgramID: Winamp.PlayList
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Winamp\winamp.exe

ProgramID: RealPlayer.wax.6
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Media Player Classic\mplayerc.exe

ProgramID: ACEMegaCoDecSPack.PlaylistFileS
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\ACE Mega CoDecS Pack\BSPlayer\bsplayer.exe /open

ProgramID: CtraxPlayer.2.File
EXEFile: %SystemRoot%\system32\CtrxPl.exe /Play

ProgramID: ACEMegaCoDecSPack.PlaylistFileS
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\ACE Mega CoDecS Pack\Media Player Classic\mplayerc.exe

ProgramID: WMP11.AssocFile.WAX
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Windows Media Player\wmplayer.exe /Open

ProgramID: QMP.playlist
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Quintessential Media Player\QMPlayer.exe /open

ProgramID: Ares.Playlist
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Ares\Ares.exe

ProgramID: Ares.Playlist
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Ares.exe

ProgramID: Ares Ultra.Playlist
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Ares Ultra\Ares Ultra.exe

ProgramID: qvodplayer.wax
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\QvodPlayer\QvodPlayer.exe -localfile

ProgramID: Ares.Playlist
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Ares\Ares.exe

ProgramID: WMP11.AssocFile.WAX
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Media Player Classic\mplayerc.exe

ProgramID: stormplayer.wax
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\StormII\Storm.exe /play

ProgramID: RealPlayer.wax.6
EXEFile: %ProgramFiles%\Dhamu\Download\RealPlay.exe

Show all 36 listings To Top

a wax playlist/redirector file is a special file format and should only be edited and saved with the appropriate software.

How to solve problems with WAX files

Associate the WAX file extension with the correct application.
Update your software that should actually open playlist/redirector files. Because only the current version supports the latest WAX file format. Search, therefore, e.g. on the manufacturer website after an available Windows Media Player update.
To make sure that your WAX file is not corrupted or virus-infected, get the file again and scan it with Google's virustotal.com.
Click here to open your .WAX file online - secure, fast, and no downloads needed.