How to Fix YouTube Videos Loading But Not Playing

If you guys are facing this issue where when you open any YouTube video but the video won’t play even though the video loads completely. Then just don’t worry as today we are now going to see how to fix this issue. It is actually a common issue for YouTube videos to load but not play in Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, or Safari as well. Just read this article to know all about How to Fix YouTube Videos Loading But Not Playing. Let’s start!

Since YouTube videos are saved on a server that distributes the content to the entire world. There are going to be issues with it at times actually. It’s really normal for a server to have problems and this may be the result of your YouTube videos failing to play as wel.

YouTube basically uses HTML 5 Video Play to playback all the videos you try to watch. Before you’re about to watch a video, then there could be something that interferes with the connection between your device and also the HTML 5 Video Player.

This could actually be things such as Adobe Flash Play, your cookies and cache, your internet connection, and your browser settings as well. There are a lot more reasons, however, these are the main things that are going to interfere with the connection between your device and also its connection with the video player.

Contents

1 How to Fix YouTube Videos Loading But Not Playing

How to Fix YouTube Videos Loading But Not Playing

Make sure to create a restore point just in case something actually goes wrong.

Note: These are specific steps for Google Chrome, you have to follow the steps for your browser which you are using such as Firefox, Opera, Safari, or Edge.

Set Correct Date & Time

Right-tao on date and time on the taskbar and then just choose “Adjust date/time“.
You have to make sure to Turn on the toggle for “Set Time Automatically”.
For Windows 7, just tap on “Internet Time” and then tick the mark on “Synchronize with an Internet time server.”
Choose Server “time.windows.com” and then tap on update and “OK”. You don’t have to complete the update. Just tap on OK.

Make sure to update your Browser

Update Google Chrome

In order to update Google Chrome, just tap on three dots on the upper right-hand corner in Chrome then choose help, and then tap on About Google Chrome.
Now just make sure Google Chrome is updated if not then you guys will see an Update button, tap on it.

This will update Google Chrome to its latest build that could help you to Fix YouTube Videos loading but not playing videos.

Update Mozilla Firefox

You have to open Mozilla Firefox then from the top right corner tap on three lines.
Now from the menu, just tap on Help > About Firefox.
Firefox will then automatically check for updates and will also download updates if available.
Just restart your PC to save changes.

Clear Temporary Files

Tap on Windows Key + I to open Windows Settings and then head to System > Storage.
You see that your hard drive partition will also be listed, choose “This PC” and then tap on it.
Just scroll down to the bottom and then tap on Temporary files.
Tap on the Delete temporary files button.
Now let the above process finish then Reboot your PC.

Clean Temporary Files Manually

Tap on Windows Key + R and then type temp and hit Enter.
Now click on Continue to open the Temp folder.
Choose all the files or folders present inside the Temp folder and then permanently delete them.

Note: To permanently delete any file or folder, you guys have to press the Shift + Del button.

See if you’re able to Fix YouTube Videos loading but not playing videos issue, and if not then continue along with the next method.

Clear Browsers Cache & Cookies | YouTube Videos loading but not playing

When the browsing data is not cleared for a long time then this can also cause the YouTube Videos to load but not play videos.

Clear Browsers Data in Google Chrome

Just open Google Chrome and tap on Ctrl + H to open history.
Now, click Clear browsing data from the left panel.
Make sure the “beginning of time” is also selected under Obliterate the following items.
Also, you have to checkmark the following:

Browsing history
Download history
Cookies and other sire and plugin data
Cached images and files
Autofill form data
Passwords

Then click on the Clear browsing data button and then wait for it to finish.
Close your browser and then restart your PC in order to save changes

Clear Browsers Data in Microsoft Edge

First of all, you have to open Microsoft Edge and then click the 3 dots in the upper right corner and choose Settings.
Now scroll down till you find “Clear browsing data” and then tap on Choose what to clear button.
Choose everything and then tap on the Clear button.
Now just wait for the browser to clear all the data and Restart Edge. Clearing the browser’s cache seems to Fix YouTube Videos loading but not playing videos, however, if this step was not helpful then you should try the next one.

Reset Network Connection | YouTube Videos loading but not playing

You have to tap on Windows Key + X and then select Command Prompt (Admin).
Then type the following command into cmd one by one and click on Enter after each one:

ipconfig /flushdns
ipconfig /registerdns
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
netsh winsock reset catalog
netsh int ipv4 reset reset.log
netsh int ipv6 reset reset.log
pause
shutdown /r

If you guys get access denied error then tap on Windows Key + R then type Regedit and hit Enter.
Now navigate to the following registry entry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Nsi\{eb004a00-9b1a-11d4-9123-0050047759bc}\26

Right-tap on 26 and select Permissions.
Tap on Add and then type EVERYONE and click OK. If EVERYONE is already there then just checkmark Full Control (Allow) as well.
Next, you have to click Apply followed by OK.
Again run the above commands in CMD and then reboot your PC to save changes.

Reset Browser’s Settings

Reset Mozilla Firefox

First of all, open Mozilla Firefox then clicks on the three lines on the top right corner.
Then click on Help and select Troubleshooting Information.
First, you should try Safe Mode, and for that just tap on Restart with Add-ons disabled.
Now you can see if the issue is resolved, if not then tap on Refresh Firefox under “Give Firefox a tune-up“.
Just reboot your PC in order to save changes and see if you’re able to Fix YouTube Videos loading but not playing videos issue.

Reset Google Chrome

You have to open Google Chrome and then click the three dots on the upper right corner and tap on Settings.
Now in the settings window scroll down and tap on Advanced at the bottom.
Again scroll down to the bottom and then tap on the Reset column.
This would just open a pop window again asking if you guys want to Reset, so just tap on Reset to continue.

Reinstall Sound Driver | YouTube Videos loading but not playing

Tap on Windows Key + R and then type devmgmt.msc and click on hit Enter to open Device Manager.
You have to expand “Sound, video, and game controllers” and then right-click on Realtek High Definition Audio and select Update Driver.

On the next screen just tap on “Search automatically for updated driver software“.
Now, wait for the process to finish finding the latest available update for your sound drivers. If found, then make sure to click on Install in order to complete the process. When finished, then tap on Close and reboot your PC to save changes.
However, if your driver is already up-to-date then you guys will get a message saying “The best driver software for your device is already installed“.
Tap on Close and you don’t have to do anything as the drivers are already up-to-date.
When you finish it, then just reboot your PC to save changes.

If you guys are still facing YouTube Videos loading but not playing videos issue then you have to manually update the drivers. Just follow this guide.

Again open Device Manager and then right-click on Realtek High Definition Audio & choose Update driver.
This time tap on ” Browse my computer for driver software.“
Next, choose “Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer.“
Choose the appropriate driver from the list and then tap on Next.
Now let the driver installation complete and then restart your PC as well.

Turn off All Extensions

Disable Firefox Extensions

Open Firefox and then type “about:addons” (without quotes) in the address bar and click on Enter.
Turn off all Extensions via clicking Disable next to each extension.
Restart Firefox and then turn on one extension at a time to find the culprit that is causing the YouTube Videos loading but not playing videos issue.

Note: After enabling anyone extension you guys have to restart Firefox.

Now remove those particular Extensions and then reboot your PC.

Disable Extensions in Chrome

First, just open Google Chrome and then type chrome://extensions in the address and hit Enter.
Now first, just disable all the unwanted extensions and then delete them via clicking on the delete icon.
Then restart Chrome and see if you guys are able to Fix YouTube Videos loading but not playing videos issue.
If you’re still facing issues along with YouTube videos then disable all the extensions.

Conclusion

Well, That is all from my side. If you want to know more about this article or have any queries. Then feel free to ask me anything in the comments section below.

Have a Good Day!

Also See: How to Fix Windows 10 Update Error 0x8e5e0147

How to Fix YouTube Videos Loading But Not Playing