VMU2

Q: Youtube videos do not play in Safari

When trying to watch a Youtube video in Safari 10.0, I receive an error message that reads: "Your browser does not currently recognize any of the video formats available."  Below that it displays: "Click here to visit our frequently asked questions about HTML5 video."  When I click the FAQ page, it shows Safari as one of the supported browsers.  The same video will play in Google Chrome.  I tried emptying the Safari cache and rebooting the computer, but to not avail.

iMac, macOS Sierra (10.12)

Posted on Sep 23, 2016 6:08 PM

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Q: Youtube videos do not play in Safari

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  • Helpful answers

  • by WelshDog,

    WelshDog WelshDog Sep 23, 2016 6:25 PM in response to VMU2
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 23, 2016 6:25 PM in response to VMU2

    I have the exact same issue. In fact, I discovered it trying to play one of Apple's own videos on their YouTube channel.  My YouTube account is set up properly to handle HTML5 video - has always worked prior to this last update.

  • by Daniel MacBook Pro User,Apple recommended

    Daniel MacBook Pro User Daniel MacBook Pro User Sep 23, 2016 8:00 PM in response to VMU2
    Level 1 (15 points)
    Sep 23, 2016 8:00 PM in response to VMU2

    I also had this issue when I upgraded to Safari 10.0 and was able to resolve it easily by turning off my Extensions (under Safari preferences / Extensions tab). By toggling the Extensions one-by-one, I was able to troubleshoot the problem. For me it was "Click to Flash" that prevented HTML5 video from playing. I didn't need to close and restart Safari--turning off the Extensions immediately resolved the issue.

  • by egocentrictheory,Apple recommended

    egocentrictheory egocentrictheory Sep 23, 2016 10:23 PM in response to Daniel MacBook Pro User
    Level 1 (11 points)
    Sep 23, 2016 10:23 PM in response to Daniel MacBook Pro User

    Mine was called ClickToPlugin. When I disabled it, videos began to play.

  • by WelshDog,

    WelshDog WelshDog Sep 24, 2016 5:02 PM in response to Daniel MacBook Pro User
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 24, 2016 5:02 PM in response to Daniel MacBook Pro User

    That was it - thanks for doing the work to find this conflict.

  • by chromalyn2,

    chromalyn2 chromalyn2 Sep 27, 2016 2:55 PM in response to Daniel MacBook Pro User
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 27, 2016 2:55 PM in response to Daniel MacBook Pro User

    This worked for me. Only, I wonder now what is going to happen to flash content if I don't want it to auto load (as in spam-ads on Facebook, etc).

  • by WelshDog,

    WelshDog WelshDog Sep 27, 2016 3:38 PM in response to chromalyn2
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 27, 2016 3:38 PM in response to chromalyn2

    Safari 10 now defaults to blocking flash on any webpage. You will see a button appear over the flash content which you click to play.  Otherwise the flash does not load at all and thus poses no threat to your computer or overloads your CPU.  You can choose to enable flash either once or permanently for that page.