Fix YouTube Autoplay Not Working

If you have corrupt installation files in your browser or the YouTube application, one or more app features might not work properly. One such feature is AutoPlay. You can continuously enjoy watching videos automatically with the YouTube AutoPlay feature, and hence you may enjoy hours of stretch. But few users have faced YouTube AutoPlay not working on Chrome. When you try to play the video playlist, there may be a loop of videos, or the video stops playing. So in this article, we have shown all the possible methods to fix this issue. So, what are you waiting for? Let’s begin!

How to Fix YouTube Autoplay Not Working on Chrome/Firefox

The Autoplay feature in YouTube is to play the videos automatically. All your activities with the application are monitored by YouTube continuously. So, depending on your search activities, you will be prompted with similar content videos while enabling the AutoPlay feature. This problem is faced by users in all Operating Systems and mobile phones. If you are facing the same problem, you are not alone! This guide will help you fix this problem in your Windows 10 PC and also your mobile devices.

Reasons for Autoplay Not Working in YouTube

Here are some of the reasons for this issue to occur in the browser.

• Server-related issue
• Network connection issue
• Outdated browser
• Corrupt browser cache or data
• Misconfiguration of browser (DRM settings)
• Incompatible browser extension
• Too many videos in the playlist

Whenever you face any technical problem with YouTube, the first thing you have to check and ensure if there are any server down activity for maintenance. Go to Downdetector to check the status of YouTube servers.

You can also take a look at YouTube’s official Twitter page to check if there are any glitches with the YouTube servers. Ensure that whether other users have reported the same problem in the platform. If so, you have to wait until the team of YouTube resolves the issue.

Method 1: Basic Troubleshooting

Before trying the rest of the methods, you are advised to perform some basic troubleshooting steps given below.

Step 1: Restart PC

In most cases, a simple restart will fix the issue without any challenging layouts. So, try to reboot your system by following the below-mentioned steps and checking if you face the problem again. Alternatively, you can fully shut down the system using the Power options and turn it on again.

1. Navigate to the Start menu.

2. Now, select the power icon.

Note: In Windows 10, the Power icon is found at the bottom. Whereas in Windows 8, the Power icon is located at the top.

3. Several options like Sleep, Shut down, and Restart will be displayed. Here, click on Restart.

Step 2: Restart Browser

Sometimes restarting Chrome will fix YouTube autoplay not working in Chrome issue. Here are a few steps to implement the same.

1. Launch Task Manager by hitting Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys simultaneously.

2. In the Processes tab, search and select your browser process (e.g Chrome)

3. Then, click on the End task button as depicted in the below picture.

4. Now, relaunch Google Chrome and check if you have fixed the issue.

Step 3: Restart Router

Restarting the router will re-initiate the network connectivity, and few users have reported that all the changes marked in the configuration settings will be effective in action when you restart the router. Therefore, follow the below-mentioned steps to restart your router.

1. Find the Power button at the back of your router.

2. Press the button once to turn it off.

3. Now, disconnect your Router power cable and wait until the power is entirely drained from the capacitors.

4. Then, reconnect the power cable and switch it on after a minute. 

5. Wait until the network connection is re-established and try signing in again.

Method 2: Clear Browser Cache & Cookies

Corrupt cache and cookies in your web browser can cause problem while using the browser. So, to fix YouTube autoplay not working on Chrome you can clear the cache and cookies by following the given steps.

Note: We have shown Google Chrome as an example.

1. Press the Windows key, type Google Chrome and click on Open.

2. Then, click on the three-dotted icon > More tools > Clear browsing data… as illustrated below.

3. Check the following options.

• Cookies and other site data
• Cached images and files

4. Now, choose the All time option for Time range.

5. Finally, click on Clear data.

Check if YouTube autoplay not working on Chrome issue persists or not.

Also Read: How to Enable DNS over HTTPS in Chrome

Method 3: Disable Extensions

Follow the below-mentioned instructions to delete the extensions from Google Chrome.

1. Launch Chrome and type chrome://extensions in URL Bar. Hit Enter key to get the list of all installed extensions.

2. Switch Off the toggle for the extension (e.g. Grammarly for Chrome) to disable it.

3. Refresh your browser and see if the error is shown again or not.

4. Repeat the above steps to disable the extensions one by one to check if the error is fixed or not.

Method 4: Tweak AutoPlay Settings

Sometimes, the AutoPlay button looks like it is turned on. But, actually not! So, give it a try to toggle off the button first and turn it on again. Then, any random command error in the AutoPlay button will be resolved. Here are a few simple instructions to turn off the AutoPlay feature of YouTube in the Google Chrome browser.

1. Open your web browser (e.g. Google Chrome) from the Windows Search Menu.

2. Launch YouTube in the web browser and click on any video on the home screen.

3. Now, toggle off/on the AutoPlay button at the bottom of your video as highlighted.

4. Now, click on the Settings icon to the right of the AutoPlay button

Note: Ensure the AutoPlay button does not change its position as soon as you click on Settings.

5. Now, toggle on the AutoPlay button.

6. Now, click on your profile icon at the top-right corner of the screen, as shown.

7. Here, click on the Sign out option as shown.

8. Finally, sign in again with your credentials and check if you have fixed this problem.

Also Read: How to Restore the Old YouTube Layout

Method 5: Tweak DRM Settings (For Mozilla Firefox)

All digital media copyrights are protected by a set of DRM settings of your browser. However, these DRM settings might interfere with the usual function of YouTube, contributing to YouTube autoplay not working problem. In this case, disable the DRM settings of your Firefox browser by following the below-mentioned steps.

1. Launch Firefox and type about:config in its address bar, then hit the Enter key.

2. Now, click on Accept the Risk and Continue button as depicted.

3. Here, type media.eme.enabled in the Search preference name field as shown.

4. Now, click on the arrow keys at the right corner and change the settings to false as depicted.

5. Likewise, type media.gmp-widevinecdm.enabled in the Search preference name field as shown.

6. Now, click on the arrow key at the right corner and change the settings to false as depicted.

Now, check if you have fixed this problem. If not, change the settings to true again and check if the issue recurs again.

Method 6: Remove Videos from Playlist

If you have a lot of videos in your YouTube playlist, removing a few of them from the list might help you fix YouTube autoplay not working issue. Here are a few instructions to remove videos from YouTube Playlist in the browser.

1. Launch your web browser (e.g. Google Chrome) from the Windows search menu.

2. Launch YouTube on the browser by typing YouTube in the search bar.

3. Click Show more as shown.

4. Now, click on any of your playlists.

5. Click on the three-dotted icon at the right corner of the video as shown.

6. Now, click on Remove from My Playlists as shown above.

7. Repeat the same steps to remove some of the videos from your playlist.

Check if you have fixed YouTube AutoPlay not working on Chrome issue.

Also Read: Fix YouTube Videos Not Playing

Method 7: Allow Audio and Video Autoplay Settings (For Mozilla Firefox)

Your web browsers will implement too many security features to safeguard your PC from online attacks. For example, in Firefox, automatic playing of audio and video is not enabled by default. Hence you may face this problem in the Firefox browser. Yet, you can resolve YouTube autoplay not working problem by disabling autoplay blocking features of the browser by implementing the below-mentioned steps.

1. Launch Firefox and click on the three-dotted lines as shown below.

2. Now, click on Settings as shown.

3. Here, click on Privacy & Security in the left pane.

4. Scroll down to the Permissions section in the right pane. Then, click on the Settings… button to the right of Autoplay, as shown.

5. In the Settings – Autoplay window, set the value of Default for all websites to Allow Audio and Video as depicted.

6. Now, click on Save Changes and exit the window.

7. Check if you have fixed the problem. If not, type about:config in its address bar.

8. Now, click on Accept the Risk and Continue button as depicted.

9. Here, type media.autoplay.blocking_policy in the Search preference name field as shown.

10. Now, click on the write key at the right corner.

11. Change the value to 1 as depicted.

11. Likewise, type media.block-autoplay-until-in-foreground in the Search preference name field as shown.

12. Now, click on the arrow key at the right corner and change the settings to false as depicted.

Now, check if you have fixed this problem. If not, change the settings to true again and check if the issue recurs again.

Also Read: How To Fix Firefox Black Screen Issue

Method 8: Update Web Browser (For Chrome)

If you have an outdated browser, the improved features of YouTube will not be supported. To fix some errors and bugs with your browser, update it to its latest version. Here is how to update your browser to fix YouTube autoplay not working issue.

1. Open your web browser (e.g. Google Chrome)

2. Click on the three-dotted icon to expand the Settings menu.

3. Then, select Help > About Google Chrome as illustrated below.

4. Allow Google Chrome to search for updates. The screen will display Checking for updates message, as shown.

5A. If updates are available, click on the Update button.

5B. If Chrome is already updated then, Google Chrome is up to date message will be displayed.

Now, check if YouTube autoplay not working on Chrome issue is fixed or not.

Also Read: How to Fix YouTube Comments Not Loading

Method 9: Reset Web Browser (For Chrome)

Resetting the browser will restore the browser to its default settings, and there are more possibilities that you can fix the discussed problem. Follow the below-mentioned steps to reset your browser and check if the issue is resolved.

1. Open your browser (e.g. Google Chrome) and go to chrome://settings/reset

2. Click on the Restore settings to their original defaults option, shown highlighted.

3. Now, confirm your action by clicking on the Reset Settings button.

Method 10: Switch to Another Browser

If you are using Google Chrome to watch YouTube videos and did not get any fix for the said error even after trying all the methods mentioned above, then you can switch to another web browser. Some of the popular browsers are listed below.

After switching your browser, check if you have fixed the issue. If YouTube autoplay not working issue is filed in some other browsers, then the error is associated with your browser.

Recommended:

We hope that this guide was helpful and you could fix YouTube autoplay not working problem on your device. Let us know which method worked for you the best. Also, if you have any queries/suggestions regarding this article, then feel free to drop them in the comments section.