4 Ways to Fix Facebook Not Playing Videos

Quick Tips

• Change the video quality on Facebook. Try reducing the resolution to 480p from HD or Full HD.
• Open the Facebook app > Settings > Media > Choose mobile data and Wi-Fi to enable autoplay for Facebook videos.
• Disable Data Saver on the Facebook app and your iPhone or Android.

Basic Fixes

• Check internet speed: Make sure you use either 5G or a strong Wi-Fi network to watch videos on the Facebook app.
• Force quit and relaunch Facebook: This will give the app a fresh start on your mobile device.
• Clear Facebook cache or Use Incognito mode: Try either of the methods and log in again to you account to check if the problem gets solved.
• Update Facebook app: Install the latest version of the Facebook app to get rid of bugs or glitches.
• The video might not be available in your region: Some videos might be region specific on Facebook.
• Check the Facebook server status: Visit DownDetector to check if Facebook servers are working in your area.

Fix 1: Change Facebook Video Quality

You can change the video quality on Facebook to load the clip on a slow network connection. It’s one of the effective ways to fix Facebook videos not loading.

Step 1: Open Facebook > Settings.

Step 2: Tap Quality and then select a lower resolution.

Fix 2: Enable Autoplay for Facebook Videos

Why are my Facebook videos not automatically playing? It’s one of the frequently asked questions by Facebook users. It’s possible that you may have disabled video playback on Facebook mobile. The video doesn’t autoplay until you hit the play button. If you are on Wi-Fi or unlimited data plans, you can enable autoplay for videos from settings.

Step 1: Open Facebook > Settings > Media.

Step 2: Tap on the radio button beside Autoplay on the mobile data and the Wi-Fi option.

Fix 3: Disable Data Saver Mode (Facebook App and Mobile)

If you are browsing your Facebook feed on the Data Saver mode, you might face issues with playing videos.

On Facebook

Step 1: Open the Media menu in Facebook Settings.

Step 2: From the Video Quality menu, tap on the radio button beside Optimised.

After that, Facebook will adjust the video resolution to network conditions, and you won’t face any buffering issues.

On Android

Open Settings > Network and internet > Data Saver > Disable Data Saver.

On iPhone

Step 1: Open Settings > Mobile Service.

Step 2: Select a main SIM and then disable the Low Data Mode.

Fix 4: Disable Browser Extension (Desktop)

A data saver extension or an aggressive ad-blocker can interfere with video playback on Facebook. Let’s disable or uninstall such extensions. We are using Google Chrome as an example.

Step 1: Open the More tools menu in Google Chrome.

Step 2: Click on the Extensions menu.

Step 3: You can either disable or click on Remove to uninstall problematic extensions from the browser.