Are you unable to play YouTube videos?

This is a common problem, and a frustrating one at that.

There is no one fixed reason behind this problem. It can occur because of varied reasons.

Thankfully, the issue is easily resolvable.

Here we have discussed some easy to follow solutions to fix “YouTube videos not playing” issue.

Reasons for YouTube videos not playing

The problem could be because of the YouTube server. It is also possible that an internet connections issue at your end is causing the problem.

YouTube uses HTML5 video player to stream videos. As such the problem might be related to Adobe Flash Player or your browser.

Here we given solutions that fix the various underlying issue mentioned above. Now, let’s look at the solutions.

Solution One- Close the tab/Restart Browser

The problem might be temporary. Just close the tab and open YouTube in new Tab.

If this does not work for you, restart the browser and try again.

If neither works for you, move to the next solution.

Solution Two- Restart WI-Fi connection

The problem might be with the Internet connection.

If you are connected to Internet through Wi-Fi, disconnect and reconnect to your router.

If you are still facing same issue, move to the next solution.

Solution Three- Restart Computer

There is a possibility some temporary glitch in your computer is causing the “YouTube videos not playing” issue.

Many users were able to resolve the issue by restarting the computer.

Restart your computer and check whether YouTube videos are playing.

If the issue remains unresolved, move to the next solution.

Solution Four- Update your Internet browser

There is a possibility your browser is outdated and hence you are not able to watch YouTube videos.

An easy solution to this problem is updating your Internet browser.

Here we have discussed ways to update Google Chrome and Mozilla FireFox.

Steps to update Google Chrome

• Launch Google Chrome
• Click three horizontal dots that appear at the right-hand upper corner of the browser
• Click Help-About Google Chrome
• Google Chrome will now show the version of the browser and also check for updates.

Steps to update Mozilla FireFox

• Launch FireFox browser
• Click on the three horizontal bar menu that appears at right-hand upper corner of the browser
• Click Options

• Click Advanced option in left-hand column

• Click Update

• Select option- Automatically install updates(recommended)
• Now, Firefox will connect to update server and install updates.

If the browser is not able to update automatically, you need to update it manually. Note down the version of the browser first.

Steps to manually update Internet browser

• Go to browser developer site and download the latest version of browser
• You need to uninstall the older version of browser before installing the latest browser version.

Now check whether YouTube videos are playing.

If the issue is not resolved, move to the next solution.

Solution Five- Delete Browsing Data

Browsers store cookies and some images, audio, and video files of every website you visit. They also caches pages of the websites you visit.

If you don’t regularly delete cookies or clear cache, the size of the temporary internet files and browser cache can become enormous.

There is a possibility some cookies and cache have become corrupt and that is causing the “YouTube videos not playing” issue.

A simple solution to this problem is deleting cookies and clearing browser cache.

Here are the steps to follow.

For Google Chrome

• Launch Google Chrome
• go to More tools and click Clear Browsing data
• A setting window opens where you see options to delete browsing data

• In the time range, select All time
• Make sure the options like Browsing history, download history, cached images and files, and cookies and other site data are checked
• Click Clear Data
• Wait for the operation to complete

For Mozilla FireFox

• Open Firefox browser
• Click on the hamburger menu button (three horizontal bar) that appears at right-hand upper corner of the browser
• Click Options
• In the left-hand column, click Privacy

• In the right-hand section, under History, click clear your recent history option

• In the Clear your recent history pop-up, select Everything in Time range to clear
• Make sure the boxes for Browsing and download history, cookies, cache, active logins, offline website data are checked.
• Click Clear now

 

For Internet Explorer

• Open Internet Explorer
• Click the gear icon
• Click Safety and then click Delete browsing history

• In the Delete Browsing history pop-up dialog, make sure Temporary Internet and website files, Preserve favorite website data, cookies, and website data, history options are checked.

• Click Delete

After you have deleted browsing history of browser, restart your computer. Now, check whether YouTube videos are playing.

If you can’t watch YouTube videos, move to next solution.

Solution Six- Uninstall and Reinstall Adobe Flash Player

Though HTML5 video player is the default video player to play YouTube videos, some older computers still rely on Adobe Flash Player to watch YouTube videos.

There is a possibility the installation and settings of Adobe Flash player have corrupted, preventing you from watching YouTube videos on your PC.

A simple solution to this problem is uninstalling Adobe Flash player and reinstalling updated version of Adobe Flash player.

Here are the steps to follow.

Steps to uninstall Adobe Flash Player

• Click Start
• Click Control Panel
• Make sure the View by is set to Large icons
• Click Program and Features
• In the next window, look for Adobe Flash Player entry in the installed program list and right-click on it
• Select Uninstall/Change option
• Windows will not uninstall Adobe Flash Player

Steps to install latest Adobe Flash Player

• Open Internet browser
• Go to Adobe Flash Player download website
• On the Adobe Flash Player download page, uncheck options like Install free McAfee Security Plus and install McAfee Safe connect
• Click Install Now
• In the next screen, you will see latest Adobe Flash Player setup file is downloaded to your computer
• After the file is downloaded, double-click on it to start the installation
• Follow on-screen instructions to install Adobe Flash Player
• Restart your computer

Now check whether you are able to watch YouTube videos.

If the problem still persists, move to the next solution.

Solution Seven- Reset Internet Connection settings

You cannot ignore the possibility of some problem with Internet connection settings.

An easy way to fix the issue is to reset Internet connection settings.

Here are the steps to follow.

• Click Start
• Click Control Panel
• Set the view by to Large Icons
• Click Internet options
• In the Internet Properties window, go to Advanced tab
• Click Restore Advanced Settings
• Click Reset
• Close all windows
• Restart computer

Check whether you are able to watch YouTube videos.

We are confident the “YouTube videos not playing” issue would be resolved by one of the solutions given in this post.