5 Ways to Fix YouTube Shorts Not Playing in Google Chrome

Pankil is a Civil Engineer turned freelance writer. Since his arrival at Guiding Tech in 2021, he delves into the world of how-tos, and troubleshooting guides for Android, iOS, and Windows. Besides his new-found love for mechanical keyboards, he’s a disciplined footfall fan and loves international travel with his wife.

Fix 1: Turn Off Hardware Acceleration

When you enable hardware acceleration in Google Chrome, the browser uses your GPU instead of your CPU to perform specific graphic-intensive tasks. However, this feature does not always work properly and can occasionally prevent sites like YouTube from playing videos or Shorts. You can try disabling this feature to see if that helps.

Step 1:Open Google Chrome on your computer, click thethree vertical dotsin the top-right corner, and selectSettings.

Step 2:Click on theSystemtab from the left sidebar, turn off the toggle next toUse hardware acceleration when available.

Fix 2: Disable Extensions

A conflicting browser extension could prevent YouTube Shorts from working in Google Chrome. For instance, if you’re using a content blocker extension, it could interfere with Google Chrome and lead to such issues.

If you are unsure which extension is causing problems, disable them all. To do so, typechrome://extensionsin the address bar at the top and pressEnter. Then, use the toggles to disable all the extensions one by one.

If this gets YouTube Shorts to play in Google Chrome, you can re-enable your extensions one at a time to identify the one causing the issue. Once you find the problematic extension, considerremoving it from Chrome.

Fix 3: Clear Browsing Data

Although browser cache and cookies help speed up browsing, they can also cause problems. This usually happens when the browsing data becomes obsolete or corrupt. In that case, you’ll need topurge the existing browsing data in Chromeby following the steps below.

Step 1:PressCtrl + Shift + Delete(on Windows) orCommand + Shift + Delete(on Mac) to open the Clear browsing data panel.

Step 2:SelectAll timein the Time range menu. Then, tick the boxes that readCookies and other site dataandCached images and files. Then, click theClear databutton.

Fix 4: Enable JavaScript

JavaScript is essential for many websites, including YouTube, as it allows videos to play and facilitates other interactive features. If you have inadvertently disabled JavaScript in Google Chrome, the browser won’t play YouTube Shorts.

To enable JavaScript in Google Chrome:

Step 1:Typechrome://settings/content/javascriptin the URL box and hitEnter.

Step 2:Under Default behavior, select theSites can use Javascriptoption.

Restart Chrome after this and check if the issue is still there.

Fix 5: Reset Google Chrome

Misconfigured browser settings and preferences can also cause issues with YouTube Shorts playback. So, if nothing else works, you may consider resetting Google Chrome as a last resort. This will reset the browser to its default state, erasing any custom configurations you have made.

Step 1:In Google Chrome, typechrome://settings/resetin the address bar and pressEnter. Then, click theRestore settings to their original defaultsoption.

Step 2:Click theReset Settingsbutton to confirm.

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Last updated on 30 June, 2024

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