Ever encountered a situation when YouTube won’t play videos or just displays a plain black screen? Sometimes you may experience the video going completely black for the entire duration or just for a few seconds. Sometimes you find that YouTube sound is not working, while sometimes you may hear the sound but unable to see anything.
Since YouTube displaying black screen is the most-reported issue. We’ve listed some common reasons behind the problem and its solutions so that you can get back to enjoying your favorite videos without any errors.
Possible Causes & Solutions To Fix YouTube Videos Not Playing Issue
There are multiple factors that can lead to YouTube not playing or displaying black screen error. Take a look at all the common reasons behind the issue along with viable solutions to fix them.
1. Unstable Internet Connection
If your network status connection is bad, you might experience this error every now and then. You can check your Internet Service Provider quality via Google Video Quality Report. This would let you know how your ISP compares to others in the area. If the report comes as not HD verified, then maybe it’s time to consider getting a better provider.
2. Browser Caches & Cookies
Having a pile of browser caches, history and cookies can cause YouTube videos not playing error. So, remove unnecessary resource-hogging caches, junk, and cookies. This would not only speed up your browser and who knows it might solve YouTube Won’t Play Videos Error as well.
3. Conflicted Browser Add-Ons
Added anti-virus browser extensions like AdBlocker and more are quite known for causing the YouTube Black Screen issue. If you have added any of these, remove them from your browser and update your browser to the latest version.
4. Enabled Hardware Acceleration
Hardware Acceleration means your browser starts assigning tasks to GPU instead of CPU. This surely brings an improvement to visual performance but sometimes users can observe unexpected results on their PC. One of which is YouTube videos not playing error. Try disabling it to see if it works to solve the issue.
How to Disable Hardware Acceleration?
Disabling Hardware Acceleration settings might help you to fix the issue, learn how to deactivate it on different browsers:
On Google Chrome:
Launch Google Chrome > Settings > Advanced > System > Disable “Use Hardware Acceleration When Available” option.
On Mozilla Firefox:
Open Firefox > Settings > Under General tab > Locate Performance section > Uncheck “Use recommended performance settings > Uncheck “Use hardware acceleration when available” option.
On Microsoft Edge:
Microsoft might use Adobe Flash to play YouTube Videos, so you have to disable it to notice a better playback. To do so: Open Edge browser > Settings > Advanced > Turn off “Use Adobe Flash Player” slider.
5. Outdated Graphics Card Drivers
If the aforementioned methods haven’t solved the YouTube Videos Not Playing issue on your desktop, then it might be the bad GPU Drivers that are preventing you from watching YouTube videos. So, it’s worth checking out that you’re not running outdated, damaged or corrupted drivers on your PC.
You can go to the respective manufacturer’s website for finding correct drivers for your GPU Drivers. Or you can use a dedicated Driver Updater Utility, like Advanced Driver Updater to find and install the most compatible device drivers for your PC. The software creates an ideal inventory for all your PC’s device drivers. In a single scan, it lets users detect any missing, old, corrupted or faulty drivers, in one click you can update all of them without much hassles.
Here’s what all Advanced Driver Updater has to provide:
Want to know more about Advanced Driver Updater? Learn how to update your device drivers automatically with the tool!
YouTube Videos Not Playing Issue – Resolved!
YouTube Videos Not Playing or YouTube Black Screen Error can just happen anytime to anyone because of a variety of reasons. Hope these workarounds help you to watch or post your favorite videos again!
Also, do let us know which solutions worked for you in the comment section below!
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Trish Kardux
Good post. I will be dealing with some of these issues as well..Mridula Nimawat
Glad you liked it