7 Ways To Fix “Error Loading Media File Could Not Be Played”

The “Error Loading Media File Could Not Be Played” is an error extensively experienced by chrome users while trying to watch an online video. This error is also seen across mobile applications and streaming platforms that use their native embedded browsers.

This type of media playback error occurs when browsers fail to handle embedded media players. It is seen that the browsers, most commonly Chrome, cannot handle the JW player, an HTML5-based online video player. This problem can also be caused by incompatible browser extensions or if the website’s javascript is disabled.

In today’s article, we’ll go over how to fix this error and get the videos to play normally again.

Table of Contents

How to Fix Error Loading Media File Could Not Be Played

The first thing to do is check your internet connection. Sometimes due to poor internet, the media player might fail to load properly, and you can receive this error message. Ensure that the internet is stable and that no connectivity issues are leading to this error.

Reset Browser

Generally, resetting the browser solves this media player issue. Resting a browser will reset its default settings and delete the cookies and temporary site data.

Here, we are resting the Chrome browser.

Open the Browser
Click on the three vertical dots in the upper right corner of the browser.
Go to Settings.
Navigate to the Reset and clean up section.
Select Restore settings to their original defaults.
Click on the Reset settings button.

Here’s how you can do it on Safari,

Go to Preference.
Go to the Privacy tab.
Click on Manage Website Data.
Click on Remove All, and choose the Remove Now option.

Delete Browser Cache

The browser cache contains the website contents in order to enhance faster loading time and reduce data usage. Clearing the cache regularly can help users resolve the issue brought on by broken links and poor web page formatting. Browser cache can also occupy a decent amount of space on your device; cleaning it would free it.

Go to Chrome Settings.
Go to the Privacy and Security Section.
Click on Clearing Browsing Data.
Check on the Cached images and files option and click on the Clear data button.
Restart the browser and check if the problem exists.

To delete the Browser cache on Safari, follow these steps,

Open the Browser.
Click on the Safari button on the top left corner of the screen.
Select Preferences.
Go to the Privacy Section.
Click on Manage Website Data.
Click on Remove All and give your confirmation.

Update the Web Browser

This is a glitch in the browser, which has been solved in the newer versions of the Chrome Browser. Therefore, it is wise to keep the browser up to date to get rid of glitches and also improve performance.

The chrome browser notifies the users when there is a new update release. The three dots on the upper right corner of the screen will turn into different colors (Green, Orange, and Red) depending upon the time since the browser was updated.

Here’s how to update the browser.

Go to Chrome Settings
Go to the About Google Chrome section from the panel.
Click on the Update Google Chrome button. If the button is missing, the browser is already up to date. The recent versions of Google chrome automatically download and install the update when you go to this section.
Click on the Relaunch button. The browser will restart, and you will see a prompt saying Chrome is up to date.

Follow these steps to update Safari on Mac.

Click on the Apple logo in the Upper left corner side of the Screen.
Go to System Preferences > Software Update.
The system will start searching for the available updates. If it finds some update, Click on Update Now.
To install the latest updates when they are available, check on the option Automatically keep my Mac up to date.
This will keep your Mac OS and the safari browser up to date.

Uninstall Extensions

Extensions in chrome can sometimes generate some functional issues, especially if they are from unknown sources. You are advised to uninstall such extensions, which affect the browser’s performance and threaten your data privacy.

You can also check which extensions are causing the issue for you. To do this, disable an extension and then open the video from the website where you get the error message. If you do not get the error message this time, it indicates that the extension is the culprit for the problem.

Here’s how to disable the extension on chrome:

Click on the Puzzle icon on the toolbar of the browser.
Click on Manage extensions.
Locate the extension you want to delete from the list and click on Remove.
Again, click on Remove to give final confirmation to delete it.

Disable Hardware Acceleration

Enabling the hardware acceleration shifts some portion of the workload of the CPU to the GPU and makes the Browser performance much more efficient. However, on some devices, the hardware acceleration might not be handled well, which might result in an error during online Video playbacks.

Here’s how to disable the Hardware Acceleration on Chrome.

Go to the Settings.
Go to the Systems Section.
Click on the slider for the Use Hardware acceleration when available to turn it off.
Click on Relaunch.
The browser will reboot, and Hardware acceleration will be disabled. Now, go to the website where you encountered such an error and check if the issue still persists.

On Mac devices, the Hardware acceleration feature is automatically enabled, and there is no way to disable it.

Allow sites to use Java Script

Usually, javascript is by default, enabled for all the sites on most browsers these days. However, they also provide the flexibility to disable it or turn it off for a specific website. Disabling the javascript access to a website can prevent you from seeing the media contents such as videos, photos, and other graphical materials on it.

Here’s how you can enable it on the chrome browser.

Go to Chrome Settings.
Go to Privacy and security > Site Settings.
Scroll down to the Content section and click on the option.
Select the Sites can use the Javascript option if you want to give javascript access to all the websites.
If you have previously set up a website in the Not allowed to use javascript list, click on the three buttons on the side of the restricted website and click on remove.
Finally, go back to the website and try accessing the video.

Here are the steps you need to follow to enable the javascript on Safari for Mac Devices.

Click on the Safari button in the Upper left corner of the screen.
Select Preferences.
Go to the Security section.
Select Allow Plug-ins
Click on Manage Website Settings.
Check Enable JavaScript Option.
Restart the Browser and see if the issue is resolved.

Clear Application Cache

This error is very commonly seen in mobile-based applications that use an embedded browser to play videos and open links. Facebook Messenger and Youtube app are such apps where users face this issue.

If you are getting similar issues with the application, you can get them resolved by clearing the application’s cache.

Here’s how to clear the app cache on Android Devices.