Videos not playing on Android? - we solve the problem

01/29/2020 internet | mobile devices

A fairly common problem for users of tablets and phones running Google Android is the inability to watch online videos, as well as movies downloaded to the phone. Sometimes the problem can have another form: a video shot on the same phone is not shown in the Gallery or, for example, there is sound, but instead of video there is only a black screen.

Some of the devices can play most of the video formats, including flash by default, some others require the installation of plugins or separate players. Sometimes, to correct the situation, you need to identify a third-party application that is interfering with playback. I will try to consider all possible cases in this instruction (if the first methods do not work, I recommend paying attention to all the others, it is likely that they will be able to help).

  • Doesn't show online video on Android in the browser
  • No video, black screen with sound on Android
  • The downloaded video does not show or there is only sound
  • The phone does not open the video in the Gallery
  • Other reasons and solutions
  • Video instruction

Video doesn't play in browser

The problem here is most likely that your browser does not support videos in Flash format, which is used on almost every site.

What to do? Just install a browser that supports this format. To avoid searching for too long, here is the list:

  • Opera (Important! You need Opera , Opera Mini and Mobile will not work)
  • UC Browser
  • Dolphin

Installed? Now open the video with which you were having problems using a new browser. In 80% of cases your problem will be solved.

Don't want to download a new browser? Just download the Flash plugin and try again.

Installing Flash Player

Often, modern browsers have Flash Player built in by default. If you are using the browser that is installed by default on Android, then it may not have the required component. The only way to solve the problem is to use a different browser. From the Play Market you can download any of the following web browsers:

  • Maxthon Browser.
  • Dolphin Browser.
  • UC Browser.
  • Google Chrome.
  • Opera.

After installing the browser, you need to check whether videos will be played on it. If the problem was that Flash Player is missing, using a different web browser will solve it.

By following the link https://advertapp.ru/zarabotok-na-android.html you will learn how others make money on their Android.

You cannot install Flash Player separately on Android. This feature is not supported since Android version 4.0. Even the Play Market does not have this component. It can be installed from an APK file or downloaded from Adode. To work, you will still need to use a third-party browser, for example, Maxthon Browser.

Media player MX Player PRO

One of the most famous. In addition, this player has been tested for years and new updates are regularly released that ensure productive work with the player. The player has a lot of functions and capabilities, and most importantly, it supports almost all video formats.

To make your videos more likely to be supported by the player, do the following:

  • Go to settings
  • Open the “Decoder” tab
  • Click on “HW + decoder”

Next, click “Set W+ decoder as default hardware decoder for local files”

These settings will be enough for you to successfully play the video. There is also a free version of this player in the play market, which is quite suitable for use, especially since advertising in this version is not shown while watching a video.

Read our article for a more detailed review of the player. Download link below ↓

Using Clients

If problems occur when playing videos on YouTube, install the official video hosting client on Android. This will help locate the source of the error. If the video is played through the application, but there is no image or sound in the browser, you should try downloading a different web browser.

Help is needed?

Don’t know how to solve a problem with your gadget and need expert advice? Alexey, a smartphone and tablet repairman at the service center, answers your questions. Write to me »

To view VKontakte, Twitter or Instagram videos, no additional components are required either. The videos are played inside applications without transferring the user to the browser.

Read

Media player VLC for Android

Another worthy product. Why? VLC works with almost all video formats, so this player will easily solve your problem. What this utility doesn’t have...... You won’t need to download additional codecs, the developers have taken care of everything and added everything you need to the player.

It is worth noting that the player allows you to use the split-screen function. That is, you can watch videos in a separate window on your desktop and simultaneously use other applications.

The application is free and without advertising. Yes, yes, you heard right, there are no advertisements here at all!

Player playback problems

If you watch videos on your smartphone through the built-in player or downloaded from Google Play, and problems arise, you need to solve them using one of the methods described below.

Lack of codecs on the device

Standard Android applications do not have encoders to play most video formats, which is why problems arise when opening a video or movie. Mainly mp4 is supported, but such as mkv, flv, avi and others are not installed by default. In this case, you will need to replace the standard player, since non-Android codecs cannot be installed separately.

Our portal recommends that you use one of these players: VLC, MX Player, BS Player. If you install BS Player, then activate all decoders in the “Hardware decoder” item so that the video plays correctly!

Player version is outdated

Check if there are any updates for the video player, as it may have been updated on Google Play, and the old version had bugs. Go to Google Play and have a look. If there are any updates, be sure to download them. There may also be problems with multimedia playback if the application has not been supported by the developer for a long time. In this case, you better find an analogue, of which there are plenty. We already indicated in the previous paragraph that VLC, MX Player and BS Player can be used as an alternative. If you don’t know which player is better, read the article “Best players for Android.”

Smartphone power is not enough

If you are playing, for example, a movie in FullHD quality, then an old phone may not be able to handle this resolution, so it is recommended to convert it to 720 or even 360, if this format suits you. Modern smartphones reproduce FullHD without any problems, but with 2K there will be problems.

Not enough power on your smartphone? Clean it, remove unnecessary programs from startup, disable unnecessary services, and then, most likely, you will be able to play the video on your phone.

The problem with watching videos on an Android smartphone is widespread, and there can be many reasons. We hope that our material helped you resolve this situation. If the problem is still relevant, leave a comment under this post indicating your mobile phone number and describe the problem. We will definitely help you solve it!

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There is sound, but no pictures

Let's talk about more serious problems, but don't be alarmed, they can be solved very quickly. If everything was working fine before, and then suddenly stopped, try the following:

If you have installed applications that change the color temperature or changed the built-in inversion and color rendering settings, then do the following:

  • We disable these functions in the display settings. If you did the settings through the application, delete them!
  • If you do not understand what applications we are talking about, then try uninstalling CM Locker and other applications that serve as “decoration” of the interface, and these could be launchers, applications that have a parental control function.

Here is a method that will help you identify the cause of the black screen when playing a video.

Boot your phone into Safe Mode. Then the smartphone will disable all third-party applications, including those applications that use an overlay. After that, open the video, if everything worked, then the problem was in a third-party application that you need to find and remove.

Playing saved video with slowdown or freezing

Causes

If the video plays, but slows down or freezes for a long time, then the reason for this may be:

  • low RAM power;
  • lack of a graphics processor accelerator;
  • simultaneous operation of several programs;
  • unsuccessful gadget firmware.

Solution

The first thing you need to do is look at the video capabilities of your Android device. If the system is old or weak, then, naturally, it will not be able to reproduce high-resolution videos, and, as a result, the video will slow down. But if a smartphone or tablet has normal capacity for playing video files, you need to look for the next reason. First you need to turn off all programs and restart the device. If after this the gadget does not play the video correctly, you should try to free up space in the memory, remove unnecessary applications or programs that take up a lot of space.

Often the reason for braking is unsuccessful firmware of a smartphone or tablet. If such a process has taken place, re-flashing the device can solve the problem.

A solution may also be to enable hardware acceleration for the player.

Additional reasons and their solutions

If your smartphone is based on Android 5, 5.1 and you encounter a problem with video display, do the following:

  • Enable developer mode. To do this, go to the settings and click on the build number of the smartphone until the message “You have become a developer” pops up.
  • In the settings that you have after you became a developer, change the player from NUPlayer to AwesomePlayer or vice versa.

If you have a very old smartphone, the video may not be displayed due to high resolution.

If you have any options enabled in developer mode, disable them. You may have activated the wrong thing.

If the video does not play in one place, for example in the gallery or YouTube, clear the cache of these applications or update them through the play market. If that doesn't help, try uninstalling them and installing them again.

The best players for Android

So that in the future you do not have problems playing videos from a local device, we have listed several players that are currently considered one of the best. We recommend using one of the presented options and then most problems will bypass you. When choosing a player, we advise you to be guided by the rating of the TOP 5 video players for Android.

MX Player

On Google Play this is now the most popular and versatile player, supporting almost all formats, both audio and video. Decoding on multi-core devices is also supported, which significantly improves performance. The main difference of the application is the ability to scale videos, support for subtitles, a smart blocking system and many other features. At the time of writing, the player had more than 7 million ratings, mostly extremely positive.

BS Player

Another popular video player that also supports a large number of codecs and playback formats. The main difference of the product is hardware acceleration, due to which the load when watching a video is reduced, and, accordingly, the battery charge is consumed an order of magnitude less. Files with subtitles, background playback, various lists and modes are supported. There is both a paid version of the program and a free one with viewing ads.

As you can see, there can be many reasons why video does not play on Android, and some of them depend on the specific firmware of the device, model and manufacturer, the format you are trying to view and many other factors. We tried to consider all possible reasons within the framework of this article, but if a solution was not found, you can write about it in the comments with all the details, and we will definitely answer you and offer options for solving the problem.

Finding and installing a suitable video on your tablet

The universal player will play almost any file format without any problems. The most popular and well-proven programs include the following:

  • MX Video Player.
  • Mobo Player

You can search for the proposed options on the Internet, where there are really enough of them. If the software does not have the required set of codecs, it offers to download the missing elements during the launch and installation process. After installation, you will need to restart your tablet to avoid program conflicts.

Reduce video size

Sometimes video files stored on an Android device take up a lot of space, and it’s a shame to delete them. Or the video you need to download is very cumbersome. In this case, you need to use a converter program. This program helps you change the video format, frame size or bitrate, which will significantly reduce the size of the video.

Reduce video size

Video compression utilities

The network offers many options for video conversion or compression applications.

Audio & Video Media Converter

A good converter that allows you to compress video without losing quality. The application allows you to convert most video formats. Advantages include background processing of multimedia files, video editing and the ability to trim videos.

Video Converter Android (VideoCon)

The converter can also convert almost any video format, and there is a trimming option. After installation, the utility itself finds all media files on the device, which simplifies the work. The application also allows you to extract the audio track from any video and save it separately.

Any Video Converter Ultimate

A good application among free ones, with all the necessary options. Simple interface and convenient controls.

Digital Media Converter

A good program, but not all functions are free. If you have the opportunity to purchase, you won’t regret it.

Online converters

Online-convert

A free online converter that allows you to quickly reduce the size of videos of almost any format. To do this, you just need to upload the file, specify the format to save and click the “convert” button. If the file is uploaded to the cloud, you only need to insert a link to it in the field.

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