Youtube video not showing

If you’re greeted with a BLACK green when trying to stream some video on YouTube, don’t panic. Here’re 6 fixes that have helped other users resolve this problem. So read on and check them out…

6 fixes for YouTube Video Not Showing

All the screenshots below are from Windows 10, but the fixes also work in Windows 8.1 and 7.

You may not have to try all of the fixes; just work your way down the list until your YouTube video loads without any glitches again. 

  1. Check your network connection
  2. Stream videos without signing in YouTube or try the incognito mode
  3. Update your graphics driver
  4. Change the hardware acceleration
  5. Delete the app data
  6. Update your browser

Fix 1: Check your Internet connection

Sometimes poor Internet connection is behind this YouTube video black screen problem. So make sure your computer is well connected to a working Internet connection. Then re-launch your browser to see if this fixes the video not showing on YouTube issue.

Fix 2: Stream videos without signing in YouTube or try the incognito mode

Watching videos without signing in YouTube or in incognito mode is a proven effective workaround as reported by many users.

Here we take Google Chrome as an example of opening a windows in incognito mode:

  1. In Chrome, click on the three-vertical-dots icon and click New incognito window.

  2. Open a video in YouTube and see if it displays without fail.

Fix 3: Update your graphics driver

Another common cause of the YouTube video not showing issue is an outdated or corrupt graphics driver on your system. So you should update the graphics driver to see if it fixes the problem.

There’re two ways you can update your device drivers — 

Update your drivers manually – You can update your device drivers manually by going to the manufacturer’s website, and searching for the most recent correct driver for the exact device. Be sure to choose only drivers that are compatible with your variant of Windows system versions.

OR

Update your drivers automatically  – If you don’t have the time, patience or computer skills to update your drivers manually, you can, instead, do it automatically with Driver Easy. You don’t need to know exactly what system your computer is running, you don’t need to risk downloading and installing the wrong driver, and you don’t need to worry about making a mistake when installing.

You can update your drivers automatically with either the FREE or the Pro version of Driver Easy. But with the Pro version it takes just 2 clicks (and you get full support and a 30-day money back guarantee):

  1. Download and install Driver Easy.
  2. Run Driver Easy and click the Scan Now button. Driver Easy will then scan your computer and detect any problem drivers.  
  3. You can upgrade to the Pro version and click Update All to automatically download and install the correct version of ALL the drivers that are missing or out of date on your system. 
    You can also click Update to do it for free if you like, but it’s partly manual.
  4. Restart your computer, play a video in YouTube to see if it works properly now.

Fix 4: Change the hardware acceleration

Hardware Acceleration is a feature in browsers that tasks GPU with all the graphics and text rendering, hence giving us a better video playing and watching experience.

But sometimes it’s also the culprit of this video not showing on YouTube issue in Google Chrome and Firefox, while it’s the exact OPPOSITE for the Internet Explorer browser.

So to disable hardware acceleration in Chrome and Firefox and enable it in Internet Explorer:

I’m using Google Chrome:

I’m using Firefox: 

I’m using Internet Explorer:

I’m using Google Chrome:

  1. In Chrome, in the top right corner, click on the three vertical dots button > Settings. 
  2. Scroll down to the bottom and click Advanced. 
  3. Scroll down to the bottom and in System and DISABLE the toggle next to Use hardware acceleration when available. 
  4. Re-launch your Chrome, play a video in YouTube and hopefully it’s working properly.

I’m using Firefox: 

  1. In Firefox, click the menu button > Options.  
  2. Scroll down to Performance, then UN-CHECK the boxes before Use recommended performance settings and Use hardware acceleration when available. 
  3. Re-launch Firefox, play a video in YouTube and hopefully it’s working properly.

I’m using Internet Explorer:

  1. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key and R at the same time, then copy & paste inetcpl.cpl into the box and click OK.
     
  2. Click Advanced. Then CHECK the box before Use software rendering instead of GPU rendering. 

  3. Re-launch Internet Explorer, play a video in YouTube and hopefully it’s working properly.

Fix 5: Delete the app data

Another possible reason for this video won’t play on YouTube problem is the corrupted the app data on our browser. So we can try deleting the app data to see if the problem gets fixed. Here we take Google Chrome as an example:

  1. On your keyboard, press the Windows logo key  and R at the same time. Then copy & paste %appdata% into the box and press Enter.

  2. Click AppData.

  3. Double-click on Local.

  4. Double-click on Google > Chrome > User Data. 
  5. Cut-paste ALL contents to a safe location in case something wrong comes up. Then delete EVERYTHING in this location.

  6. Restart your computer, play the YouTube content again and see if it loads up fine.

Fix 6: Update your browser

If this video-not-showing issue only happens in one specific browser, then you might want to update the browser to the latest version to see if it resolves the problem. Since a newer version is always designated to fix bugs in the earlier version and optimize. Here we take Chrome as an example:

Updating your browser will not touch any of your browser settings or data, and is considered as a safe option in most cases. To do so:

  1. Open Chrome.
  2. In the top right, click on the three vertical dots button > help > About Google Chrome.
  3. Google Chrome automatically detects if there’s an update available:
  • If yes, follow the on-screen instruction to finish the update.
  • If no, delete Chrome and re-install it on Windows store or other trustworthy third-party website. (NOTE: This will erase your Chrome browser settings and data). 

 4) Again stream some video content on YouTube and see if it plays smoothly.

That’s it – 6 easy methods to fix your YouTube video not showing problem. Hope this helps and feel free to comment below if you have any further questions. 

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