YouTube is a popular online video sharing platform that has been around since 2005. Anyone with an account can upload, view, subscribe to, comment on, and rate videos on the website. Accessing this site on a Windows 10 computer can easily be done using a browser however there are instances when certain issues can occur. In this latest installment of our troubleshooting series we will tackle the YouTube videos won’t play issue.

YouTube videos are not playing on Windows 10

One of the issues that you might experience when trying to watch YouTube videos is when it does not play. There are several factors that can cause this problem ranging from a browser issue to an internet connection issue. Here’s a list of the possible culprits.

Browser: There’s a possibility that the problem is caused by an issue with the browser. Try restarting the browser or access the website using a different browser. Sometimes updating the browser and clearing its cache will fix this problem.
Computer: A glitch in your computer might be preventing you from accessing the site. The best fix for this is to restart the computer.
Internet: If you are unable to access other websites aside from YouTube then the problem could be caused by a loss of internet connection. You should try to restart your modem/router and see if this will fix the problem.

Method 1: Clear the browser cache

The first thing you will want to do in this case is to clear the browser cache. This will delete the temporary data stored by the browser that could be corrupted and is causing the problem. Here’s how to clear the cache data on your Google Chrome browser.

Time needed: 3 minutes.

Google Chrome Clear cache

Open Google Chrome.
You can do this by clicking on its icon from the Start menu application list.
Click on More.
This is the three vertical dots located on the top right of the browser.
Click on More Tools.
This is usually the fifth choice from the bottom.
Click Clear browsing data.
This will open a new window.
Choose a time range.
This will delete the cached data starting from the time selected.
Make sure to check the boxes for “Cookies and other site data” as well as “Cached images and files”.
This will remove any site data stored in the browser.
Click clear data.
This will remove the cached data.

In case the above steps does not fix the problem then try to check if a new browser update is available. You should also consider uninstalling the browser then downloading a fresh version.

Method 2: Run the internet troubleshooter tool to fix YouTube videos not playing

windows 10 has a built-in tool that can detect and fix most of the common system related issues. In this case, the internet connections troubleshooter tool can fix issues regarding connections to websites.

Click on the Start button.
Click on Settings.
Click on Update & Security.
Click on Troubleshoot located on the left pane.
Click on Internet Connections located on the right pane.
Click run the troubleshooter then follow any recommendations that need to be done.

Method 3: Update your graphics drivers

If you are unable to playback YouTube videos then this could be caused by corrupted or outdated graphics card drivers.

Right click on the Start button.
Click on Device Manager.
Click on the forward arrow before Display adapters.
Right click on the display adapter then click on Update driver.
Click on search automatically for updated driver software.
Restart the computer.

After performing the troubleshooting steps listed above you will successfully fix the YouTube videos won’t play issue.

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