Back-up files are opening as 'unix executable' files rather than video files when they're videos?

Less than a month ago, some videos were deleted accidentally on my iPhone 6S.
I have (sort of) managed to restore the video from my back-up files, but they're showing up as 'unix executable' files - even when I try and change the file extension, they will show up as screenshots from videos rather than the videos themselves. Solution?

Not entirely sure what fix since I do not use Apple products, so pricy compare to what those things suppose to be. In other words I'm not paying $1000+ for a phone or $3000+ for a computer, even in the deceptively cheap locked-in subsidize form.

If VLC Player is an option on iPhone get it and use it. If that doesn't work out here is sitch, Apple OS do not use .ext as a file-app association mechanism, and if I'm spot on with Apple s behavior there's nothing can be done without being a programmer with a customized app, Which means you should head to App Store now to see what can modify a file association. And UNIX Exe is a side-effect that Apple used Steve Jobs NeXT as a basis of modern OS and NeXT has a UNIX license in its very core.

It is my understanding that iPhone systems are derived from Linux. If this is the case, the operating system will examine the start of the file to work out what sort of file it is. If the file is corrupt, then it may be detected as being a different type of file from what you intend, which can explain why the files are not opening correctly.

What extensions did the original files have, and did you restore the original file names including extensions?

What size are the files that are opening as screen shots? If they are only a few Megabytes or smaller, then you may have backed up thumbnails and not the actual videos.

Have you successfully backed up AND restored videos before? If not, then any other backups you have made might be suspect.

How did you transfer the files to the backup? They MUST be transferred as binary files. Some transfer programs such as FTP will default to ASCII file formats and may add or remove certain characters during the transfer.

Good luck.

Update:

Normally, when you back-up and subsequently restore files, they should be restored exactly as they were, including the files name and extension. The only exception might be the date stamp on the file within the filesystem, but this should not affect any dates embedded inside the file.

The fact that the names are changing suggests that there's something not quite right in the way that the backup/restore process is working.

Personally, I'm not a fan of Apple products, so " the 'MobileSync' folder under 'ApplicationSupport' " mean little to me as I assume they refer to Apple software and the Apple operating systems.