6 Ways to Fix YouTube Lagging on Chrome, Firefox, and Other Browsers

Quick Tips

• Enabling hardware acceleration can get rid of lag from YouTube videos.
• If you have a low-end computer, reduce the resolution of the video.
• Close background apps to free up RAM if the lag persists.

Basic Fixes

• Use a reliable Wi-Fi network: It goes without saying that you need a fast and reliable network connection to play YouTube videos.
• Close unwanted browser tabs: If your computer is running low on RAM, limit the number of tabs you open in your browser.
• Restart your browser and computer: A simple restart can go a long way in fixing several issues.
• Turn off VPN or proxy: Using a VPN or proxy can lead to YouTube videos buffering so it’s best to avoid them.
• Clear browsing data, cache, and cookies: Accumulated cache and cookies can slow down your browsing experience. So, it’s best to clear the cache on Chrome or Firefox regularly.
• Free up RAM: You can avoid YouTube lagging issues by clearing up RAM on your system.

Fix 1: Enable Hardware Acceleration

Hardware acceleration lets browsers render videos using the GPU instead of the CPU on your computer. Here’s how to enable it.

Step 1: Open your browser. Click on the hamburger menu at the top-right corner and choose Settings.

Step 2: Choose General in the left pane and scroll down to Performance. Uncheck Use recommended performance settings.

Step 3: Now, select the checkbox next to Use hardware acceleration when available.

Fix 2: Reduce the Video Quality

Changing the video quality on YouTube can result in lower bandwidth usage leading to smooth playback. Here’s how to do it.

Step 1: While playing a video, click on the gear icon at the bottom-right corner of the playback window. Select Quality.

Step 2: Choose a lower resolution from the list, like 720p or 480p.

Fix 3: Update Your Browser

Updating your browser can fix software glitches leading to YouTube playback issues.

Step 1: Open your browser, click the hamburger menu at the top-right corner, and choose Help.

Step 2: Select About browser.

With this, your browser will check for updates and automatically update to the latest version.

Fix 4: Disable Extensions

Extensions can add interesting features to your browser, but they can also hog up resources. So, try removing extensions from Chrome or the browser of your choice.

Step 1: Open Firefox and click on the hamburger menu at the top-right corner. Choose Add-ons and themes.

Step 2: Select Extensions from the sidebar. Then, toggle off all extensions.

Fix 5: Reset Chrome Flags

Chrome flags are experimental features that can cause issues when enabled. Hence, it is a good idea to reset them.

Step 1: Open Chrome and type Chrome://flags in the address bar before hitting Enter.

Step 2: Choose Reset all at the top-right corner of the page.

Step 3: Click on Relaunch to confirm the changes. This will restart Chrome, so ensure you save your tasks before proceeding.

Fix 6: Update Windows Graphics Driver

Updating the graphics driver on your PC ensures seamless video rendering. Here’s how to do it.

Step 1: Open Search on your PC. Type Device Manager and hit Enter.

Step 2: Click the arrow next to Display adapters. Now, right-click the driver and choose Update driver.

Step 3: You can choose between:

• Search automatically for drivers: With this, Windows will automatically find and install suitable drivers.
• Browse my computer for drivers: If you have a driver stored locally, choose this option.

Step 4: Choose Search for updated drivers on Windows Update.

Step 5: Hit Check for Updates. Click on Download & install all if updates are available.