Unable to play any video on MacBook Pro 2018 with Touch Bar

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Level 1

4 points

Unable to play any video on MacBook Pro 2018 with Touch Bar

I am not able to play any video at all on my MacBook Pro 2018 Model Apple T2 Security Chip. I tried resetting the NVRAM and SMC. There is no luck. I can't watch videos on any website like YouTube , Vimeo etc. It worked all fine before few days when I clicked update Mac button. It just loads a spinner and sits there, No video playback. Same with Quick Time or VLC player. VLC player starts the playback but it stops working when I run through the video using the timeline slider.

Is there any other way to reset the machine to default settings so I can use the laptop at least for some basic work.

running now macOS Big Sur

shipped OS High Sierra

Posted on Feb 28, 2022 9:56 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

jdo_apple

Community Specialist

Mar 1, 2022 8:42 AM in response to 1Nicson

Hey 1Nicson,

We see you're unable to play videos on your Mac. Issue started after attempting to update Mac. Were you attempting to upgrade macOS Monterey? If so, have you attempted to upgrade again: How to upgrade to macOS Monterey.

If you continue to have issues and not able to upgrade, we suggest trying to upgrade in safe mode.: How to use safe mode on your Mac. Afterward, restart your Mac normally and see if you're able to play videos.

Take care.

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Answer 2

1Nicson Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 2, 2022 9:19 AM in response to 1Nicson

Somehow the issue is fixed now. Thanks to jdo_apple.

Steps followed:

Downgraded macOS to Big Sur
Upgraded macOS back to Monterey in safe mode. But the videos were not playing.
Reset the NVRAM (press and hold command + option + P + R on reboot)
Now the video should play
Shut down the Mac and then start it again.

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Answer 3

1Nicson Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 1, 2022 12:33 PM in response to jdo_apple

Yes I did upgrade the macOS to Monterey. It did work all well. Then I faced this strange issue. I restarted my machine, it worked again. And after few days, it started acting up. So, I followed the online troubleshooting steps like reset NVRAM and SMC. But nothing helped in fixing this issue.

I then, tried to reinstall the macOS erasing the hard disk. Same again. It doesn't play any video file. Then I thought about downgrading to Big Sur which I remember the videos were playing perfect. I see it is done but the issue is not fixed yet.

I will try upgrading the macOS once again to the Monterey version in safe mode. Let me see if that helps.

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Answer 4

1Nicson Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 11, 2022 3:35 PM in response to 1Nicson

Consider this fix if you had to reset the NVRAM often.

1. On Safari, go to Preferences > Advanced, and check the box at the very bottom, "Show Develop menu in menu bar"

2. Now on the Menu Bar, go to Develop > Experimental Features and disable "VP9 decoder"

3. Restart Safari

4. Go to Develop > Experimental Features and re-enable "VP9 decoder"; also enable "VP9 SW decoder on battery"

5. Restart Safari

6. YouTube should work now! If you want to hide Develop in the menu bar, go back to Preferences > Advanced and uncheck the box we checked in step 1

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Answer 5

1Nicson Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 2, 2022 5:35 AM in response to 1Nicson

The issue is not fixed. Upgraded to macOS Monterey in safe mode.

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Unable to play any video on MacBook Pro 2018 with Touch Bar

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