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9 Proven Solutions to "YouTube Not Working on Firefox" Issues

Author by Vita

Updated on Jan 30, 2024

Unexpectedly, YouTube videos don’t play on Mozilla Firefox while there are no glitches on other browsers. If you happen to experience the same YouTube not working on Firefox problem, the following solutions will help you work it out. We have summarized a package of methods that have turned out to be workable in 99% of the cases.

YouTube is well supported on almost all browsers but sometimes users might get into YouTube playback troubles on their preferred browsers, for instance, YouTube not working on Firefox. You can play YouTube videos on Google Chrome, Safari, and Opera, but there is no response on Firefox. Maybe this happens after a browser update, extension installation, or you have altered nothing. Besides obvious causes like slow network connection, most Firefox YouTube not working issues are due to the browser itself. There are the most effective solutions to the playback failure on Firefox. You can try them one by one to see whether your problem will go away. 

Also Read: Fix YouTube Videos Lagging l Solve Windows 10 YouTube Not Working l Fix No Sound on YouTube Online Playing

How to Resolve Firefox YouTube Not Working – 9 Methods  

1. Switch Firefox to safe mode

Firefox safe mode is a special Firefox mode that can be used for tackling issues caused by some extensions, hardware acceleration, and parts of other features. In some cases, it works for the YouTube Firefox problem. To use this safe mode, click on the Open menu button at the top right corner on your browser, then select Help > Restart with Add-ons disabled. A dialog pops up, hit Restart and Start in Safe Mode.

Firefox YouTube problems under safe mode

If you want to play YouTube videos under the Firefox normal mode or the method doesn’t come into it, try the following methods.

2. Disable add-ons that cause the playback failure

Specific add-ons would stop YouTube video playback or cause Firefox YouTube not working issues, such as YouTube full screen not working and YouTube freezing. You can manually disable one of the add-ons, and check whether you can play YouTube videos, then disable the next add-on, and check it again. Repeat the procedure until you find the one causing the YouTube not working on Firefox issue.

Follow the steps to disable an add-on on Firefox: Click Open menu > Add-ons > Extensions, click the blue button next to an extension. The button becomes grey and you have disabled it successfully.


Fix YouTube doesn't work on Firefox


3. Clear cookies, caches, and histories on Firefox

After you have used Firefox for a long time, the cookies and caches may get overloaded, which can cause various issues for loading a page. Thus, you can clean cookies, caches, and histories on your browser when encountering the problem that Firefox won't play YouTube videos.

Go to Open menu, select Options, head to Privacy & Security, scroll down and locate to Cookies and Site Data and History sections where you will find the corresponding clear buttons.


Fix YouTube won't play on Firefox


4. Disable hardware acceleration on Firefox

It’s a well-tried solution to this problem. To turn off the feature, go to Open Menu > Options. Under the General tab, scroll down and find Performance. Uncheck Use recommended performance settings, then continue to uncheck Use hardware acceleration when available. Restart Firefox and open the previous YouTube video to see whether the YouTube not playing on Firefox issue disappears.


Disable hardware acceleration


5. Refresh Firefox

You may try the Refresh Firefox feature to fix Firefox not playing YouTube videos, as well, which will remove all your add-ons and customizations, and restore your Firefox profile to the factory default state while keeping necessary data. The feature can be activated by following the same steps as you use safe mode. Or you can go to Open menu > Help > Troubleshooting Information > Refresh Firefox.


Refresh Firefox to resolve Firefox YouTube issue


6. Make sure you’re using the latest Firefox Version

Old browser versions may not adapt to the YouTube new standards. For example, YouTube now wholly adopts HTML5 videos. For accessing all YouTube new features, please make sure you’re using the latest Firefox browser.

Open the menu on the top right corner, select Help > About Firefox. The About Mozilla Firefox window opens and it will check for the latest version and download it automatically. When the update finishes, restart Firefox and open YouTube videos.

Use the latest Firefox to play YouTube video

7. Downgrade Firefox if you encounter the issue after update

Some users have met the YouTube videos not loading Firefox issue after they have the browser upgraded to the latest version. If you happen to be in the same circumstance, downgrading to the previous old version may take you out of the hassle. Although Firefox doesn’t recommend downgrading and using old versions, there still has a good way to go. The Mozilla FTP server stores all previous versions of Firefox: http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/

You can find and download the installer of the Firefox version you need therein.  

8. Allow Autoplay on Firefox

During YouTube video playback, if you run into the YouTube not working on Firefox error, you may also allow Autoplay on Firefox. Just click the lock icon on the top address bar, hit Show connection details option that is an arrow-pointing-right icon, then click More information. Under the Permission panel, find Autoplay, uncheck Use Default, then select Allow Video and Audio.


Allow Autoplay on Firefox


9. Close security software

Some security software may block Firefox from opening specific websites or cause crashing on Firefox. You can try to close them and open YouTube on Firefox again. If this method works, remove Firefox from the list of the allowed or trusted programs in the security software. The whole thing should back to normal.

In Summary

YouTube not working on Firefox is usually due to the conflicts with specific add-ons or programs, improper settings, or clustered caches, cookies and user data. The 9 methods above should be useful for most similar playback issues. Yet if the problem still hovers after all the attempts, downloading YouTube videos may be the compromise for addressing your urgent needs.

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