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Youtube Settings wheel only activates while in "InPrivate" browsing.

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Whilst viewing a "Youtube" HTML5 embedded video, the settings wheel for the HTML5 player does not appear when clicked, nor can a keyboard shortcut bring up the settings menu. There is no confirmation of the click on the player window, however the accompanying buttons (Play/pause, next, Captions, etc) do work when clicked, the right-click menu does appear. However, when switching to "InPrivate" browsing, and navigating to the same video, the settings wheel works, and everything works as intended. I have uninstalled all extensions and plug-ins, refreshed firefox, and also done a complete firefox reinstall, all to no success. Is there anything further that can be tried?

Thanks in advance.

-- Starnsworth

Whilst viewing a "Youtube" HTML5 embedded video, the settings wheel for the HTML5 player does not appear when clicked, nor can a keyboard shortcut bring up the settings menu. There is no confirmation of the click on the player window, however the accompanying buttons (Play/pause, next, Captions, etc) do work when clicked, the right-click menu does appear. However, when switching to "InPrivate" browsing, and navigating to the same video, the settings wheel works, and everything works as intended. I have uninstalled all extensions and plug-ins, refreshed firefox, and also done a complete firefox reinstall, all to no success. Is there anything further that can be tried? Thanks in advance. -- Starnsworth

All Replies (4)

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In PB mode you use a separate cookie jar and the disk cache is disabled. Also local storage is disabled and an in memory storage is used instead.


You can try these steps in case of issues with web pages:

You can reload web page(s) and bypass the cache to refresh possibly outdated or corrupted files.

  • hold down the Shift key and left-click the Reload button
  • press "Ctrl + F5" or press "Ctrl + Shift + R" (Windows,Linux)
  • press "Command + Shift + R" (Mac)

Clear the Cache and remove the Cookies from websites that cause problems via the "3-bar" Firefox menu button (Options/Preferences).

"Remove the Cookies" from websites that cause problems:

  • Options/Preferences -> Privacy & Security
    Cookies and Site Data -> Manage Data

"Clear the Cache":

  • Options/Preferences -> Privacy & Security
    Cookies and Site Data -> Clear Data -> Cached Web Content: Clear

Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions ("3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Extensions) or if hardware acceleration is is causing the problem.

  • switch to the DEFAULT theme: "3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Appearance
  • do NOT click the "Refresh Firefox" button on the Safe Mode start window
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Thanks for the assistance cor-el, but sadly going to safe mode still doesn't resolve the problem. Going back to defaults, safe mode, as well as clearing cache and all data like that still doesn't resolve the issue, however "InPrivate" browsing still has the desired functionality

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starnsworth said

however "InPrivate" browsing still has the desired functionality

Hello starnsworth,

Are you sure that you're using Firefox  ? I'm asking, because you keep mentioning "InPrivate", a term that is used by Microsoft's Edge and IE . In Firefox it's called "Private Browsing". 'Not nitpicking - just want to make sure .....


In a Reddit thread two users mentioned that clearing the cache and deleting cookies didn't help, but strangely clicking on the little 'i' in a circle (left end of the address bar whilst on YouTube) and then at the bottom "Clear Cookies and Site Data" did .....

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Hi McCoy! Yeah I'm on Firefox, using the latest release and the x64 executable. I just mixed up the nomenclature, got a tad confused with all the different names and made sure to keep it consistent.

As for the fix you suggested, it did not fix the issue. Thank you anyway however.