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Flash videos work in chrome but not firefox

  • 2 replies
  • 56 have this problem
  • 12 views
  • Last reply by LadyWho

LadyWho
LadyWho
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This is a recent problem I never had before. Flash videos on any website, even youtube, endlessly buffer and never play. No problem playing on Chrome. This is on my toshiba laptop (windows 10), no problem on my desktop computer (windows 7) My Firefox version is 54.0.1 64 bit My flash version is 26.0.0.131 Flash is set "always activate" in options. No message comes up and no security warning next to the URL Tried updating flash, no change. Tried giving the page the permission to allow flash instead of default by clicking on the green lock and changing that. What to try now?

(Also tried to upload an image on this page, and it seemed to be endlessly bufering as well, not sure if it will work or not, so I am just going to hit submit whether it does or not.)

This is a recent problem I never had before. Flash videos on any website, even youtube, endlessly buffer and never play. No problem playing on Chrome. This is on my toshiba laptop (windows 10), no problem on my desktop computer (windows 7) My Firefox version is 54.0.1 64 bit My flash version is 26.0.0.131 Flash is set "always activate" in options. No message comes up and no security warning next to the URL Tried updating flash, no change. Tried giving the page the permission to allow flash instead of default by clicking on the green lock and changing that. What to try now? (Also tried to upload an image on this page, and it seemed to be endlessly bufering as well, not sure if it will work or not, so I am just going to hit submit whether it does or not.)

Chosen solution

I would suggest to test if Flash is installed and working properly by going here or here first (note that the first link requires Flash set to Always Activate for best results.) If you have any doubts, then uninstall Flash using the available uninstaller on this page (you could also run that after first uninstalling Flah from Windows if you like) and reinstall it from here.

Note that YouTube does no longer use the Flash player by default, so it’s quite possible Flash is just ignored there. Instead, you should make sure HTML5 playback is enabled by visiting this page. Then visit both support articles below to find out if there is any issue with regard to such playback. Given that you are using Windows 10 and known issues after updating it, chances are someting is wrong with, or you need to (re)install the Windows Media Feature Pack for your version.

Fix common audio and video issues Fix video and audio problems on Firefox for Windows N editions

Not entirely unimportant and/or if the above doesn’t help: given that you suffer endless buffering or at least it looks like it, make sure no add-ons or even security software is blocking any content or streaming. For the first, starting Firefox in Safe Mode is the step to take. For the second, try disable any security software, or even restart Windows in Safe Mode with networking enabled.

Could you report back how things go?

Read this answer in context 👍 3

All Replies (2)

Tonnes
Tonnes
  • Locale Leader
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Chosen Solution

I would suggest to test if Flash is installed and working properly by going here or here first (note that the first link requires Flash set to Always Activate for best results.) If you have any doubts, then uninstall Flash using the available uninstaller on this page (you could also run that after first uninstalling Flah from Windows if you like) and reinstall it from here.

Note that YouTube does no longer use the Flash player by default, so it’s quite possible Flash is just ignored there. Instead, you should make sure HTML5 playback is enabled by visiting this page. Then visit both support articles below to find out if there is any issue with regard to such playback. Given that you are using Windows 10 and known issues after updating it, chances are someting is wrong with, or you need to (re)install the Windows Media Feature Pack for your version.

Fix common audio and video issues Fix video and audio problems on Firefox for Windows N editions

Not entirely unimportant and/or if the above doesn’t help: given that you suffer endless buffering or at least it looks like it, make sure no add-ons or even security software is blocking any content or streaming. For the first, starting Firefox in Safe Mode is the step to take. For the second, try disable any security software, or even restart Windows in Safe Mode with networking enabled.

Could you report back how things go?

LadyWho
LadyWho Question owner
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OK thanks for the quick response tonnes.

I tried all the suggestions, and one of your solutions worked, it was add-ons causing it.

Instead of starting in safe mode to check it, I decided to disable 2 add-ons I thought the most likely to be a problem, UBlock origin (ad-blocker) and Ghostery (script blocker.) I have used these both for a long time without issue, but it was worth a try. On youtube I disabled UBlock and the videos now play. On a few other websites I had to disable ghostery as well.

I will not disable the add-ons unless I need to. Both these let you disable only for the page you are on if you need to.

If a video won't play I'll do it again. Not that I hate all ads, but some are deceptive or malicious or unusually intrusive, or make the page un-usable. Until ad makers make proper ads we will still need ad-blockers.