3 Ways to Fix Safari Not Playing Videos on Mac

Quick Tips

• Sometimes, a simple refresh can fix temporary glitches. For more stubborn issues, clear Safari’s history and website data.
• Isolate extensions by opening Safari in a Private window. If videos usually play, an extension might be causing conflicts—disable extensions one by one.
• Outdated software can lead to compatibility issues. Ensure you’re running the latest macOS version.

Preliminary Fixes

• Check the Streaming Service status: Can’t play videos from Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, or YouTube on Safari? Go to Downdetector and check if your preferred service is facing an outage.
• Disable ad blockers: Some websites may block video playback due to ad blockers. Disable such extensions and try streaming videos again.
• Use Safari Private mode: You can visit the same webpage in private mode and try again.

Fix 1: Disable Ad-Blockers

Some websites may block video playback due to ad blockers. You should disable such extensions and try streaming videos again.

Step 1: Launch Safari on Mac.

Step 2: Click Safari at the top-right corner of the Menu bar and open Settings.

Step 3: Move to the Extensions tab. Select the troubling extension from the sidebar.

Step 4: Click on Uninstall and open the same in Finder.

Step 5: Right-click on Extension and move it to Bin.

Now, try refreshing the webpage and check if the issue has been resolved. If it didn’t, move on to the next fix.

Also Read: How to delete website trackers from Safari

Fix 2: Clear Safari Cookies and Website Data

Safari may fail to play videos due to a corrupt cache. Try clearing the Safari cookies and website data. Here’s how.

Step 1: With Safari open on your Mac, click Safari at the top-left corner of the Menu bar and select Settings.

Step 2: When the Safari Settings window opens, go to the Privacy tab and click on Manage Website Data.

Step 3: Click on Remove All > Done and you are good to go.

If this didn’t fix the issue, move on to the next one.

Fix 3: Disable iCloud Private Relay

iCloud Private Relay shields your browsing history from prying eyes. The option is enabled by default for Safari users. You must disable iCloud Private Relay and try again. Here’s how.

Step 1: Click on the Apple logo at the top-left corner and open System Settings from the contextual menu.

Step 2: Now, select your Apple account > open iCloud.

Step 3: Select Private Relay.

Step 4: Turn off Private Relay from the following menu.

Also Read: How to refresh webpages in Safari on iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Alternative: Try Using Another Browser

Since Chromium is the most popular rendering engine, many websites are optimized for it. You need to ditch Safari in favor of Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge on Mac and try streaming videos again.

Sometimes, websites remove videos for unknown reasons. If you visit the same website again, Safari may load the webpage from the cache and show an old video. However, you can’t play the video since it’s removed from the servers.