Endian Converter

Convert Big Endian to Little Endian and back for firmware payloads, memory dumps, and protocol analysis.

Input Format

Width

Input Value

Byte Visualization

Results

                    Big Endian
                    —
                    
                    Little Endian
                    —
                    
                    Middle Endian (PDP)
                    —
                    
                    DEC (BE)
                    —
                    
                    DEC (LE)
                    —
                    
                    BIN (BE)
                    —

Endianness Explained

Value: 0x12345678

                    Big Endian (BE):
                    12 34 56 78
                    ← MSB first
                

                    Little Endian (LE):
                    78 56 34 12
                    ← LSB first
                

                    Middle Endian (PDP):
                    34 12 78 56
                    ← 16-bit word swap
                

What Is Endianness?

Endianness defines the order in which bytes are stored in memory. Big Endian (BE) stores the most significant byte at the lowest address, while Little Endian (LE) stores the least significant byte first. x86/x64 processors use Little Endian; many network protocols use Big Endian (network byte order). ARM processors can operate in both modes.

When Does Byte Order Matter?

Byte order is critical when reading multi-byte values from sensor registers, parsing binary protocol payloads, inspecting memory dumps, or interfacing two systems with different endianness. Common scenarios include I²C/SPI sensor data, UART binary packets, Modbus registers, and file format parsing.

FAQ

What is the difference between Big Endian and Little Endian?

Big Endian stores the most significant byte (MSB) at the smallest memory address. Little Endian stores the least significant byte (LSB) first. For example, 0x1234 is stored as [12 34] in Big Endian and [34 12] in Little Endian.

Which processors use Little Endian?

x86, x64, and most ARM processors (in default mode) use Little Endian. Network protocols (TCP/IP), Java, and many RISC architectures use Big Endian. Some processors like ARM and MIPS support both modes (bi-endian).

How do I convert 0x12345678 from Big Endian to Little Endian?

Enter 0x12345678 in Hex format with 32-bit width selected. The tool shows the Big Endian bytes (12 34 56 78) and Little Endian bytes (78 56 34 12) side by side, along with decimal and binary equivalents.

Does endianness affect floating-point (IEEE-754) values?

Yes. The same IEEE-754 bit pattern decodes to a completely different float value if the byte order is wrong. Use the IEEE-754 Converter or Hex to Float Converter to decode float values with byte-order control.