How to Fix Google Chrome Unable to Play Videos on Android

Google Chrome is one of the most popular mobile browsers out there. However, being number 1 on the list doesn’t make it immune to errors and bugs. One such major and common bug reported by Chrome users is the Chrome unable to play videos issue. This is a major setback and it is of utmost importance that a browser be able to play videos without fail. Well, though the error can be frustrating, it definitely is resolvable.

There are many reasons why you could be getting this error. The major reasons being some wrong Chrome configurations or some corrupted data. Whatever be the reason, before you proceed with the advanced solutions, we would definitely recommend that you try restarting your device once. You can also try playing some other video on your Chrome to make sure the issue is not with the video that you are trying to play. If the basic troubleshooting tips did not fix the issue for you, without wasting any more time, let’s dive straight into the article.

Solution 1: Check your Network Connection

Definitely, Chrome cannot play videos if there is something wrong with your Internet connection. So check if everything is fine with your network connection first. For that, try playing another video from another platform, say YouTube, to verify whether the issue is from Chrome itself or not. If you cannot play the video from YouTube as well, it means that the issue is not with Chrome, but with your network connection or with your phone.

You can also try switching to a Wi-Fi network if you are connected to the Internet via cellular data. If you are already connected to the Internet via a Wi-Fi network, then try switching to another Wi-Fi network.

Solution 2: Force Close Google Chrome Application

Let’s now try to force close the Chrome application and see if that fixes the issue.

 Step 1: The very first step would be to launch the Settings application. For that pull down your Notifications Panel and click on the Gear icon from the top right corner of the screen.

 

2 1 settings

 

Step 2: As next, from the Settings options, click on the Apps option.

 

2 2 apps

 

Step 3: From the list of applications available, scroll down, locate and click on the Chrome application.

 

2 3 chrome

 

Step 4: Now at the bottom of the screen that follows, click on the Force stop icon to force close the Chrome application. That’s it. Try running the video again and see if your issue is fixed or not.



 

2 4 force stop min

 

Solution 3: Try Disabling VPN Connection

Sometimes, if you are connected to the Internet via a VPN connection, Chrome can act a bit odd. So, try disconnecting the VPN connection for some time and check if you can play the video from Chrome or not. If you can, maybe the video is blocked in the country to which the VPN connected your device to.

Solution 4: Use the Incognito Mode

Many people have reported that using Chrome in incognito mode readily fixed the issue for them. This happens because the incognito mode doesn’t save any data and the chances of data corruption are thus very less. So, let’s try the Chrome incognito mode in this solution.

Step 1: Click on the Chrome application from the applications drawer to launch it.

 

4 1 chrome min

 

Step 2: When Chrome launches open, at the top right corner of the screen, click on the 3 vertical dots icon to view the More options menu.

 

4 2 settings min

 

Step 3: Now you need to click on the New Incognito tab option. That’s it. From the Incognito tab, try playing the video that was giving issues and check if it plays fine or not now.

 

4 3 new incognito min 1

 

Solution 5: Enable JavaScript

If JavaScript is disabled for the website that you are trying to play the video from, then that might be the reason why Chrome is unable to play the video for you. Let’s enable JavaScript in this solution and check if that fixes your issue.

Step 1: Once again, launch Chrome from the applications drawer.

 

5 1 chrome min

 

Step 2: To view the More options menu, click on the 3 vertical dots icon located at the top right corner of the screen.

 

4 2 settings min

 

Step 3: Hit the Settings option from the menu that expands out.

 

5 2 settings min

 

Step 4: Now from the Settings screen, click on the Site settings option.

 

5 3 site settings min

 

Step 5: As next, find and click on the option named JavaScript.

 

5 4 enable min

 

Step 6: Make sure the toggle button against the JavaScript option is turned to the ON state. Also, under the Blocked section, if you find any site listed, click on it.

 

5 5 enable min

 

Step 7: Choose the Radio button against the Allow option and then hit the Remove button to remove the site from the blocked list. You can repeat the same for any number of JavaScript-blocked websites, to unblock them.

 

5 6 allow min

 

Once JavaScript is enabled, force close Chrome once, launch it again, and check if your issue is resolved or not.

Solution 6: Disable the Vulkan Flag

Before new features are officially added to Chrome and made available to the public, you can test them using Chrome flags. But since these are experimental features, if they are enabled, sometimes they can cause negative a negative impact on Chrome’s performance. Vulkan is one such Chrome flag. Some users have reported that disabling this flag fixed the issue of Chrome unable to play videos for them.

Step 1: From the applications drawer, launch the Google Chrome application.

 

6 1 chrome

 

Step 2: When Chrome launches open, at the URL bar, type in the following URL and hit the Enter key to view Chrome flags.

chrome://flags

 

6 2 flags min

 

Step 3: On the Search bar at the top, type in Vulkan and click on the Default button associated with the Vulkan flag from the search results.

 

6 3 search vulkan min

 

Step 4: You now have to choose the radio button associated with the Disabled option.

 

6 4 disabled min

 

Step 5: That’s it. Since you have made a change to one of the flags, you need to hit the Relaunch button that you can see at the bottom of the screen, for the changes to take over.

 

6 5 relaunch min

 

Once Chrome relaunches, check if can play the video without any issues.

Solution 7: Update Google Chrome Application

A simple application update can often do wonders, Chrome is no exception to this. In this solution, let’s see how to update your Chrome to its latest version in some simple steps.

Step 1: Launch Google Play Store.

 

7 1 play store min

 

Step 2: Search for Chrome and click on the Google Chrome application from the search results.

 

7 2 search min

 

Step 3: Now, if you have any pending updates to be downloaded and installed, you will be able to see the Update button instead of the Open button. Click on it.

Note: I don’t have the Update button available because my Google Chrome is up-to-date.

 

7 3 update min 1

 

Solution 8: Enable Standard Safe Browsing

When you browse, chances are huge that you might end up at some malicious sites as well. So Chrome comes with a very useful built-in feature to protect you from malicious sites and downloads. There are 3 types of safe browsing protections. They are enhanced, standard, and have no protection. If you have enabled the Enhanced protection, that can sometimes block videos from playing on your Chrome. Thus it is recommended to choose the Safe browsing protection level. Let’s see how.

Step 1: Launch the Google Chrome application.

 

8 1 chrome min

 

Step 2: From the top right corner of the screen, click on the 3 vertical dots icon.

 

8 2 1 settings min

 

Step 3: As next, click on the Settings option from the menu that pops out.

 

8 2 settings min

 

Step 4: Now from the Settings screen, click on the Privacy and security option.

 

8 3 privacy security min

 

Step 5: As next, click on the Safe Browsing option from the list of Privacy and security options.

 

8 4 safe browsing min

 

Step 6: You now need to choose the radio button corresponding to the Standard protection option. That’s it.

Note: You can even try the No protection option if the Standard protection option doesn’t work for you. However, it is not recommended that you leave your Chrome with no browsing protection enabled.

 

8 5 standard min

 

Solution 9: Clear Google Chrome Browsing Data

Sometimes, the issue can be caused because of some corrupted browsing data. Clearing Chrome browsing data, thus, can readily fix the issue for you if that’s the case.

Step 1: Once again, launch Google Chrome

 

8 1 chrome min

 

Step 2: Click on the More Options icon located at the top right part of the screen.

 

8 2 1 settings min

 

Step 3: As next, click on the Settings option.

 

8 2 settings min

 

Step 4: Next, click on the Privacy and security option.

 

9 3 privacy security min

 

Step 5: Now on the Privacy and security screen, click on the Clear browsing data option.



 

9 4 clear browsing Data min

 

Step 6: On the Clear browsing data screen, make sure you are at the Basic tab. Choose All time from the Time range dropdown menu. And tick the checkboxes corresponding to the options Browsing history, Cookies and site data, and Cached images and files. Once you are all set, hit the Clear data button at the bottom. That’s it.



 

9 5 clear data min

 

Relaunch Google Chrome and check if you can now successfully play the video that was giving the error.

Solution 10: Clear Google Chrome Application Data and Cache

Step 1: Pull down the Notifications panel and click on the Gear icon to launch the Settings application.

 

10 1 settings min

 

Step 2: Click on the Apps option.

 

10 2 apps min

 

Step 3: As next, find and click on the Chrome application from the list of applications installed on your device.

 

10 3 chrome min

 

Step 4: Click on the Storage option next.

 

10 4 storage min

 

Step 5: At the bottom of the screen, click on the Clear cache button first. Then click on the Manage storage button.

 

10 5 manage storage min

 

Step 6: On the screen that follows, hit the CLEAR ALL DATA button as shown in the screenshot below. That’s it.

 

10 6 clear all data min

 

Solution 11: Switch to an Alternate Web Browser

If none of the solutions detailed in this article fixed the issue for you, you could try getting another web browser for your Android device. Though Chrome is beyond great, there definitely are other options like Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Safari, etc. You can get them easily from Google Play Store.

Please tell us in the comments section whether you could successfully resolve the Google Chrome unable to play videos issue. If so, please tell us in the comments section which method did the trick!

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