These days, everybody is addicted to different social media applications on their iPhones. Be it Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc. More exciting is that you not only get to upload photos/images but also browse and watch videos, short reels, etc.
Many iPhone users have reported that they are not able to play any videos on their iPhones whether it is on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, or videos from the Camera roll or downloads folder, etc.
It might be because of poor internet connection, corrupted/damaged video files, unsupported videos, videos playing using an incompatible application, social media apps may be outdated, internal technical glitches on iPhone, etc.
Here in this article, we are going to show you how to fix this issue using the solutions obtained after thoroughly researching the above factors.
Preliminary Solutions
- Restart your iPhone – Restarting your iPhone can sometimes clear any technical glitches left within the iPhone and fix the issue.
- Update the iPhone and Other Apps – Try updating your iPhone software by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Also, make sure you have updated all the required Apps on your iPhone.
- Repair the Corrupted Video File – If the video files are corrupted, so try repairing the file. In addition to this, ensure you are using a compatible application to play the right format video file.
- Delete and Download the video file – Please delete the video file because it may have been partially downloaded due to interruption while downloading that can create problems while playing and try downloading it again.
- Check the Internet Connection – Some applications need an internet connection to play different videos, images, etc. So make sure you have a strong internet connection and if not, switch from Wi-Fi to a Mobile Data connection on your iPhone.
- Verify the App Server Status – If the App which is causing this issue has its server shut down for obvious reasons, then you may have to wait for a few hours once the server is up.
Solution 1 – Turn Off the Optimizing settings for Photos
Step 1: To do so, you have to first open the Settings page.
Step 2: Find out the Photos option from the settings menu list and tap on it.
Step 3: Now on the Photos page, make sure the Download and Keep Originals option is selected.
Solution 2 – Disable Content & Privacy Restrictions
Step 1: Launch the Settings app on the iPhone and go to the Screen Time option as shown below.
Step 2: Now tap on Content & Privacy Restrictions.
Step 3: If you have set the Screen Time passcode, it will require you to enter it to proceed.
Step 4: After entering the screen time passcode, disable the Content & Privacy Restrictions option at the top by clicking on its toggle switch as shown below.
Solution 3 – Allow Photos to Access Mobile Data
Step 1: Open the Settings app and select the Photos option from the Settings menu list.
Step 2: Then tap on the Mobile Data option.
Step 3: Now click on the Mobile Data option’s toggle button to enable it as shown below.
Step 4: After doing this, make sure the Unlimited Updates option is also turned on.
Solution 4 – Disable Auto-Play Videos and Live Photos
Step 1: Open the Settings page and click on Photos from the Settings list.
Step 2: Scroll down a little bit and turn off the Auto-Play Videos and Live Photos option by clicking on its toggle button.
Solution 5 – Force Close the Application and Reopen it
Step 1: Open the App Switcher on your iPhone by swiping from the bottom left corner toward the right exponentially.
Step 2: Once the App Switcher is open, search for the Application which is not able to play the videos and swipe it up to force close it.
Step 3: After closing it from the background, go to your home screen, and to reopen, tap on the application which you had closed just now
Step 4: Now try playing the video and see if this works. Otherwise, proceed and try other solutions given below.
Solution 6 – Uninstall the App and Re-install it
Step 1: Go to your home screen and long press on the App icon which is creating an issue.
Step 2: Now click on the Remove App option from the context menu as shown below.
Step 3: It will pop-up a window on the screen and you need to click on Delete App.
Step 4: Finally, click Delete to continue uninstalling the application.
Step 5: After it is done, open the App Store on your iPhone.
Step 6: Search for this application and tap on the cloud-shaped symbol on the app page.
Step 7: This starts with reinstalling the application on your iPhone.
Solution 7 – Check the Storage Space on iPhone and Clear it
Step 1: You have to go to the Settings page first.
Step 2: Then go to the General option by tapping on it.
Step 3: Click iPhone Storage from the general page menu.
Step 4: This might take some time to load all the iPhone storage details.
Step 5: Check them and delete some unnecessary files to make space.
Step 6: After you are done, try playing the videos and see if this helped.
Solution 8 – Clear Safari App History and Data
Step 1: Go to the Settings app by clicking on the settings icon.
Step 2: Scroll down and search for the Safari option and click on it.
Step 3: You have to scroll down to the bottom and click on Clear History and Website Data as shown in the below screenshot.
Step 4: At last, confirm it again by tapping on Clear History and Data option from the pop-up window.
Solution 9 – Factory Reset iPhone
Step 1: Head toward the Settings app on the iPhone.
Step 2: Go to the General option.
Step 3: At the bottom, select the Transfer or Reset iPhone option.
Step 4: Then click Erase All Content and Settings which will pop up a menu screen.
Step 5: Choose the Continue option as shown below.
Step 6: Next, follow the onscreen instructions to carry out the process and complete the hard resetting of your iPhone.