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Videos on websites keep pausing themselves

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Anonymous
2023-09-23T21:46:53+00:00

This is a really bizarre issue that I started encountering a couple months ago. Videos on websites (Slack, WhatsApp, YouTube, etc) sometimes do not play correctly. Specifically, when I start playback, the video plays for a fraction of a second, and then pauses. The same exact behavior can be observed on multiple unrelated websites, and happens in every browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox), even in browsers that are newly installed.

I am seeing this problem on two separate machines (one laptop and one desktop), each running Windows 11, which is why I've posted this as a Windows 11 problem. I do *not* have issues on my Android phone and tablet playing the same videos. I also run a Linux VM on my desktop, and that VM is able to play videos correctly. The common thread for all my troubles seems to be Windows 11.

Both of my machines have plenty of CPU, disk space, memory, and Internet bandwidth. They can play 1080p videos in VLC just fine, and do everything else just fine, including high-powered gaming. But there seems to be a really nasty software bug in Windows that is blocking the correct playback of videos inside browsers.

Any ideas?

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Internet and connectivity

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-10-28T16:26:30+00:00

    I finally figured this out! :-D

    I was reading over a similar issue (https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/videos-on-all-media-players-and-browsers-keep/2d1027c2-58f0-49d8-b01d-653d895ad99c?correlationid=0fb4762a-3b41-40e6-8319-6bb480407d33&from=ContactUsWebBCQR) where someone was encountering a similar problem and they tracked it down to a Bluetooth connection. In my case, my computers are connected to a Bluetooth speaker in my room, but so are some other devices (phone, tablet, etc). This problem happens when something else is playing to the Bluetooth speaker. Windows 11 realizes it can't play the audio, so it immediately pauses the video.

    It's incredibly non-obvious that this is happening, but once you know this, it's easy to fix (stop the other audio playback or disconnect from the speaker).

    I still think this is a Windows bug - video playback should not pause entirely just because the speaker is in use.

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  1. Anonymous
    2024-03-06T19:06:08+00:00

    This issue was driving me nuts, I even reinstalled my Windows... and yes, I have Windows 11. I disconnected what devices I had on Bluetooth on my desktop and the issue was solved.. You're a God, thank you so much!

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  2. Anonymous
    2024-05-17T19:29:47+00:00

    I have been trying to fix this for months. This finally worked (at least, so far). I'm not sure anything other than my PC was connected to the bluetooth device, but once I disconnected from it, no more video stopping.

    Thank you!

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-09-28T01:47:07+00:00

    Hello, kaiyoma

    Thanks for your update.

    If the above suggestions don't work for your video issue, then I may not have any more ideas. I'll keep the thread open for people in the community with more ideas to post solutions here.

    Have a great day!

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  4. Anonymous
    2023-09-24T06:42:33+00:00

    Hello, kaiyoma

    Welcome to Microsoft Community.

    I’m sorry to hear about the video playback issues you’re experiencing on your Windows 11 machines. Here are some potential solutions that might help:

    1. Try Another Media Player: You should try opening videos in another media player. This will help verify if the video playback issue is consistent across all video players.
    2. Run Video Playback Troubleshooter: By running the video playback troubleshooter, you can let Windows detect and fix any playback issues.
    3. Disable Video Processing on Windows: Your Windows 11 PC carries a video enhancement feature to improve your video playback experience. But if your hardware isn’t compatible with those enhancements, you might have trouble playing videos.
    4. Update Display Drivers: Display drivers are responsible for showing the graphical interface and videos in the best supported format. Naturally, if there’s an issue with your PC’s display drivers, it could easily lead to hiccups like screen flickering or videos not playing on Windows 11.
    5. Tweak Audio Playback Settings: If you’re facing any kind of video lag or delay in audio playback while playing videos, then you can try lowering the bitrate on Windows to see if that helps.
    6. Disable Hardware Acceleration in Browser Settings: Go to browser settings, and disable hardware acceleration.
    7. Close Unnecessary Background Programs: Close unnecessary background programs to free up system resources.

    Nonetheless, there are other users in the community who are having the same issue you are currently having, it seems¡ Firedog's suggestions can be used as a reference to a certain extent:

    How do i fix video player in edge for windows 11? - Microsoft Community

    Best regards,

    Chandy |Microsoft Community Support Specialist

    * Your patience and cooperation are highly appreciated.

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