Cannot Play Video? 15 Reasons, 15 Myths & 15 Ways to Fix It

1. What does “Video Not Playing” mean?

This is a very simple thing to understand. It just means something is preventing your video from working as it's supposed to. End of story.

The most likely culprits are corrupted video files, outdated video players, unsupported codecs, and outdated drivers. Virus attacks and glitches in the operating system are potent causes too.

It's also possible you're running both outdated software and hardware to play the videos. Newer video formats won't work on older media player devices, and that can lead to the "video not playing" error.

So, if you're to narrow it down, the problem could stem from your device or from the video itself, regardless of whether it's an offline or online video.

Speaking of online videos, according to the official YouTube Blog, each year there are more than 2 billion users on YouTube!

Businesses have also found great use for YouTube and Facebook.

All this means a lot of people watch videos online, which means a lot of people suffer corrupt videos.

You've come across it too, haven't you? Don't be surprised if one day, you just hop on the web, download a video, click on it, and get this message: "Cannot Play Video."

3. What Are the Symptoms of Videos Not Playing?

These symptoms are fairly common across all platforms and devices. The good news is, once you see these symptoms, you can always identify them and know them for what they are.

And you'll know the best way to solve the errors they precede too. One solution may even work for another, but you'll read more about that later.

The list below is of general symptoms of videos not playing, but they will be outlined in detail in the subsequent sections of this tutorial.

• The video will flash intermittently.
• Your entire operating system will hook and even stop responding (this is particularly annoying).
• You'll also be able to see this weird distortion in the video playback area.
• When you attempt to play the video, you'll just see a black screen or white window; in worse cases, you'll just see a blank screen.
• Your video can start, stutter, freeze, then resume playing again; like its drunk, lol.
• Your video won't play when you expand the player or screen. It will only play when in normal viewing mode.

1 YouTube Videos Not Playing

It's quite frustrating when you can't watch the top-trending clip of the week on YouTube, isn't it? When you try to play the video, the dotted circle just keeps rolling around on a black screen.

The video keeps buffering, but it won't play. What gives?

Even if it does work, the image may look horrid and distorted. Or, you can even get that dreaded, "An error occurred, please try again later" error.

And worse, you won't even see the thumbnails of the other videos on the page! Yeah, it sucks bad.

2 Facebook Videos Not Playing

Facebook may not have as many videos as YouTube but there's a ton of funny stuff there for you to watch. The only problem is, whenever you click the "play" button on a video, you just get a loading loop or black screen.

It's even more annoying when the video just keeps buffering on and on and on. But you know the worst?

When you see this error: "Something Went Wrong Sorry. We're having trouble playing this video." You're not alone in this, because so many people yap nonstop about this problem too!

3Computer Videos Not Playing

This is the worst of all because it's very likely your important videos are saved on your computer: Your family vacation videos, weddings, parties, and birthdays.

So, it's perfectly understandable if you get upset when you try to play a video and a video error message pops up. Heck, your media player can even just crash! Or you can get a "cannot render file" error.

There's a host of other errors to contend with but the bottom line is, you won't be able to play the video no matter how many times you click on it.

4 SD Camera/Card Videos Not Playing

What could be worse than spending hours recording amazing videos with your camera, then when you pull out the SD card and slot it into your system, you realize none of the videos play?

Even if you try to play them using different media players, it's always the same: the videos close in on themselves.

Or, the videos play for mere seconds and then freeze.

Or, they play but you only hear stuttering sounds.

You can't help but ask yourself whether your camera was to blame, right? But nope, your camera had nothing to do with it. The fault lies elsewhere.

So, anytime you see the error sign below, it means there's something's wrong with your SD card.

3 Common Reasons Why Videos Can’t Be Played

1 Corrupt Video File

This had to be reason number one because it's one of the most pervasive causes of video playback problems. The next question you'll ask yourself is, how in the world did your video get corrupt in the first place?

That's a whole different problem on its own, but video files are mostly corrupted by pesky malware and virus, power surge, bugs, and glitches in the operating system.

Hardware damage of a device or drive has to be mentioned too, though it's a less-likely cause.

2 Low-End Systems

Hate to break this to you, but if you're using a cheap system, chances are it doesn't even have the hardware capable of handling modern videos.

Gone are the days when you only needed high-end systems to play demanding games, because there are now videos you can't play unless you have sufficient system configuration and capable hardware.

For instance, not all systems can play x265-compressed videos, which is the newer standard.

Do you see the laptop below? It's a 2014 HP Compaq, and it has a mere base clock speed of 1.0 GHz. Translation? As fancy as it looks, it can't play high definition videos!

3 Unsupported Formats

Many people never consider the possibility that their media players don't support the video file types. And remember, new formats come out all the time.

If you're not bothered about updating your media players to the latest builds, prepare to suffer video playback problems.

Anytime a new video format is released, your media player won't be able to play it until its developers tend to the matter. Be mindful of that.

3 Common Reasons Why Facebook Videos Are Not Playing

1 Flash Player Problems

All Facebook videos require Adobe Flash Player to work properly. And you can mistakenly change the settings, which in turn alters browser performance and video playability.

Even changing privacy settings can determine whether your Facebook Videos play or not.

2 Internet Problems

If you have poor signal or low network speed, your Facebook videos will just buffer in an endless loop. Or, you might see an error stating "there is no internet connection".

And don't forget that the larger and longer the videos are, the more data you'll expend to watch them.

Likewise, videos in a certain format are larger than in other formats. All these are factors that come into play.

3 Account Needs to Be Logged into Again

It's hard to pinpoint why this happens, but videos often fail to play unless you log out of your account and then log in again.

Maybe it's a glitch on the part of Facebook or the adverse effects of the cache and cookies stored in your browser.

This problem is even more common on the mobile Facebook platform than on its desktop counterpart.

3 Common Reasons Why an SD Card Cannot Play Videos

1 Corrupted SD Card

A corrupt SD card doesn't necessarily mean hardware damage. On the contrary, it's mostly caused by software issues like virus attacks or the recurrent deletion of the data in it.

Ever heard of bad sectors? Yeah, they're a potent cause of corrupt SD cards too. These bad sectors could prevent you from playing your videos even if you recorded them without any issues.

Once you see "The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable", then things have gone south for sure!

2 Video Quality

If you use an HD camera to record HD videos but then store them on outdated SD cards, what do you think the outcome will be?

The results will be undesirable, of course. Only the latest SD cards, with faster write speeds, can handle the most modern video formats and of the highest quality (1080p and 4K, especially).

So be aware that even video quality can be a factor in why your SD card cannot play your videos.

3 Size of SD Card

SD cards keep coming in larger sizes, but videos are also becoming larger. Some SD cards can display a certain size on their cover but in reality, they're a much lower capacity.

Thus, when you store a video file that's larger than what the SD card is capable of, the SD card won't be able to hold the video file in its entirety, which leads to a buggy video playback or an incomplete video file that doesn't even play.

Truth be told, these are mostly caused by subpar SD cards, but it's hard to tell the difference between them and real ones.

3 Common Myths About "Cannot Play Videos"

1 Use a Different Media Player

Granted, there are times when a certain media player can play videos others can't, but that isn't always the case.

Some videos won't play no matter what kind of media player you use simply because the video file is corrupt.

So, don't believe people when they say "only this media player will work" or "use that media player because it's better".

2 Convert the Video to a Smaller Compression Standard

Converting a video from one compression standard to another can supposedly fix video not playing problem, but this is a fifty-fifty chance.

Here's an example. Sometimes, when you attempt to play video, you might not have the hardware capable of handling it, so if you convert the video to a lower compression standard like , then the video will start playing fine.

While this is true, don't assume it will wok all the time. Sometimes, your video has just kicked the bucket and no matter how many times you convert it, you can't get it to work.

3 Convert the Video to a Different Format

This one is just silly, but many people believe it works. Converting your video to another format as a way to fix it ONLY works if the video was already working fine.

But if it's already corrupt, try converting it to dozens of formats and see what happens. The result will always be the same: video not playing!

3 Common Myths About "Videos Not Playing on Facebook"

1 Blocked by Another Facebook Account

Facebook offers a wealth of privacy options available to a user. Someone can easily decide to block you from viewing posts or even block you from seeing his account altogether.

You might be able to see that a video has been uploaded but due to privacy restrictions, you won't be able to play the video.

This is certainly true, but don't assume that you've been blocked anytime you try to play a video and it doesn't work.

In all likelihood, there's a problem somewhere and no one has blocked you. So chill.

2 Download the Video

The idea behind this is if the video won't play online, why not download it and play it on your computer instead? Problem solved, right? WRONG!

What makes you think the video will play if it was already corrupted from the source?

Yes, the video might work if you download but it's not a given; you have to be lucky, and you can't expect to be lucky ALL THE TME, can you?

This is a bogus solution that you shouldn't rely on at all.

3 Log in Using a Different Account

Another false solution is this: If a video fails to play when you use one account, try using another account instead.

Yes, a few people may have found some moderate degree of success with this but most people have not.

Your account is fine; the problem is from the video. So even if you use another account, it's going to be the same thing.

3 Common Myths About “Cannot Play Videos from SD Card”

1 SD Cards That Aren't Name Brand

While it's a good idea to use SD cards from popular brands, it doesn't necessarily mean all the other less popular brands produce bad quality SD cards.

Many people are of the notion that recording and saving your videos on SD cards that don't name brand is why you can't play videos on them.

For example, if you don't use SanDisk, then any other card you use can corrupt your videos; not true.

2 Duration of Video

No one can pinpoint where this myth sprung from, but many people believe it. Don't be surprised when you hear someone telling you the only reason your SD cards don't play videos is that the videos are too long in duration.

Well, that's just ridiculous, isn't it? The fact is, as long as you have enough space, your SD card can handle any video length.

3 Particular Video Formats

Another myth says that an SD card can only play videos of a certain format. Rather, it's the kind of media player and the codec packs you have installed that determine the kind of video formats you're able to play.

Remember, it's not the card that plays the videos because it's just a storage device, so it's the player you use that determines whether the video can be played.

Ultimate Solution: Reliable Video Repair Tool

No matter how and where your videos are corrupted or cannot be played, a reliable video repair tool can always help you fix and restore them, like Wondershare Video Repair.

Wondershare Video Repair is an incredibly powerful video repair tool. It boasts two repair modes: Quick Repair and Advance Repair. And it has a multitude of features that pretty much make it one-of-a-kind.

It can repair corrupted, damaged, and even broken video files in any format. And there are both Mac and Windows variants too, so it won't matter what operating system you're using.

The best part is, you can fix your videos in little more than 5 steps!

Step 1 Add Corrupted Videos

For Quick Repair, open the folder with the corrupt videos. Just click the "Add" button you see on the bottom-left of the software window. Then select the video from wherever you saved it on your drive.

Step 2 Repair Added Videos

Click the blue "Repair" button you see at the bottom of the window. A smaller window will open up once the video has been repaired. It will ask you to save and preview it. Click "OK" to save the video.

Step 3 Preview the Repaired Video

You don't have to do this, but you can click the tiny black button on the lower-right to preview the video. Do that to know whether the video works fine before you save it.

Step 4 Perform Advance Repair

This is meant for severely-damaged videos. On the lower-right section of Wondershare Video Repair, you'll see, "Preview failed? Try Advance Repair". Click on it.

Another window will pop up. Click the folder icon just above the "Repair" button, then select a sample video.

Take note: A sample video is a working video that was recorded with the same device as the damaged video. The sample must also be in the same format as the damaged video.

Are you confused about what the whole point of this is? Wondershare Video Repair utilizes the information of the sample video to repair the damaged video. Simple, yet effective. Pretty cool, isn't it?

Click on the black "Repair" button. But mind you, any video you repaired in Quick Repair will not be saved once you execute this action.

So perhaps it's best to save the video first. Click "Yes" in the small window you see. Or, click "No" to proceed with the final steps.

Step 5 Save All Repaired Videos

Look to the top-right of Wondershare Video Repair's window. You'll see "Save". Click it, then select the directory you want to save the recovered files in.

You're advised to choose the drive with the largest available space. Oh yeah, don't save the files where you initially lost them from. That's a huge no-no!

One last thing: If you have large files, it would be a good idea to name the new folder. That makes it easier to locate where the repaired videos are.

There you have it, guys and girls! Just five simple steps and even badly-damaged videos are fixed. Before you are the best video repair solution yet!

Now, the little tutorial up there is quite generalized, but you can still use it to fix corrupted videos from any source.

To fix videos on an SD card, just slot the card into an SD card reader and insert it into your system. Then add the video to Wondershare Video Repair's first window.

You can also use Wondershare Video Repair to fix videos on social media. Just download the corrupted videos to your computer and keep them in a folder. From there, add them to the software's first window and proceed with steps already outlined in the tutorial.

Even if the files are on your phone, you can still fix them. Just copy out the corrupted videos to your computer. From there, add them to Wondershare Video Repair and repeat the five steps you read up there. You won't even need Advance Repair if Quick Repair fixes the problem.

4 Actionable Solutions to Make Facebook Play Videos

1 Uncheck the "Use Hardware Acceleration When Available" option

Most of you use Chrome to browse Facebook and other websites, right? But you know Chrome is not immune to problems, don't you?

If you're having trouble playing Facebook videos, uncheck the "Use hardware acceleration when available" feature in your Chrome's settings. Then close and reopen your browser. That should do it.

Launch your Chrome browser, then navigate to "Settings" by clicking on the three vertical dots at the top bar.

Scroll down to "Advanced", then untick "Use hardware acceleration when available". Restart Chrome and play the Facebook video again.

• Log Out and Log-In into Your Account

Does this solution look too simple? It is, but you'll be surprised how effective it is.

Logging out of your account and then back into it again solves the problem. It could be a glitch of sorts or something else, but this works for sure.

2 Make Sure You Have Enough Storage Space

While Facebook videos aren't automatically saved to your drive, they do need adequate hard drive space to buffer and play. Without sufficient space, the videos can't load and play as they should.

Open "My Computer" and see if your default hard drive (Windows C) is in red or blue, which signifies limited or enough storage, respectively.

If it's full, delete large files like videos or uninstall large games, if you have them on your computer.

3 Try a Different Browser

If one browser fails you, just move to another. It's highly unlikely all your browsers won't play the Facebook videos properly.

And you have a lot to choose from: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Edge, Opera, and even lesser-known browsers like Vivaldi.

3 Tested Solutions to Repair Corrupted Videos from SD Card

1 Defragment the SD Card

The videos on your SD card can eventually get corrupted by constant and recurrent deletion of data. Likewise, the more you restore deleted data over and over again, the greater the chances the videos will get corrupt.

And this is still true even if you use your SD card on a device like a mobile phone, camera, etc. to delete the files.

Solution? Just get rid of all the files, then defragment the SD card before use. Here's what you'll do: Put the SD card into and SD card reader and insert it into your system.

Right-click on it and select "Properties". Click on "Tools" and then on "Optimize".

Select the SD card and click "Optimize". Let your pc work its magic and that's it; problem solved.

2 Format the SD Card

Bad sectors can rear their ugly heads and corrupt your SD card. Consequently, your videos also get corrupted.

Format the SD card and make a habit of doing it once in a while. The simple truth is, formatting an SD card can resolve most of the issues plaguing it-unless it's hardware damage.

Put the SD card into an SD card reader and slot it into your computer. Go to "Explorer", locate the SD card, right-click on it and select "Format".

3 Use Original and Compatible SD Card

It's not surprising to find out both your videos and SD card are fine. The problem just lies with compatibility between the SD card and videos.

How new is your SD card? You can't store high definition videos on an outdated card and expect them to work.

And always take into account that there are fake SD cards out there that look just like the real thing, but they perform considerably less than their original counterparts. Scrutinize any SD card before purchase.

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