YouTube Autoplay in Playlists Not Working? Here’s The Fix

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Trying to figure out why autoplay is not working on YouTube playlists?

If you spend a lot of time on YouTube, you probably have a dedicated playlist for your favorite videos or follow a specific channel’s playlist. Finding your favorite videos is faster with YouTube playlists since you just need to look in one place. 

Besides, the autoplay feature on YouTube also works on playlists, making your watching experience even better. 

Unfortunately, the autoplay feature is probably not working on YouTube playlists if you’re here right now. 

On most occasions, this problem is caused by a glitch or error that may have occurred on the platform. However, server related problems and network connection issues should also be considered when dealing with this problem. 

To make it easier for you, we’ve decided to make a simple guide on what you should do if autoplay is not working on YouTube playlists. 

Let’s get started, shall we? 

1. Check YouTube Servers. 

The first thing that you should do when YouTube is not working is to check its servers. There are times when it encounters unexpected errors, or YouTube’s team is conducting maintenance. 

Whatever the case is, you can use third-party sites like Downdetector to determine the current state of YouTube’s servers. 

On the other hand, you can also visit YouTube’s official Twitter page to get more updates about the issue.

Unfortunately, server related issues are mostly fixable on YouTube’s end, but you can still try the methods below and see if anything works out for you. 

2. Toggle On/Off AutoPlay and Log Out of Your YouTube Account. 

If the autoplay feature does not work on YouTube playlists, try to toggle the autoplay switch On/Off. It is possible that a random error just occurred on the switch where it’s shown as turned on, but it is off.

If you’re on a browser, you can find the Autoplay switch inside the video controls tab beside the Settings button. 

For mobile users, the Autoplay switch is at the top of the video controls tab beside Cast Screen. 

You can also navigate to Account > Settings > Autoplay and toggle the On/Off switch from there. 

If autoplay is still not working, you can try using YouTube with your account signed out. Check out our detailed guide to learn more on how you can sign out your YouTube account.

 

3. Using Firefox? Change the Permissions. 

Firefox has a feature that automatically blocks any video or media file that plays automatically on your browser. Thankfully, the feature can be turned off easily inside the settings page. 

Check out the steps below to guide you on the process. 

  1. First, open Firefox on your system and go to its Settings page. 
  2. Now, click on Privacy & Security and look for Autoplay
  3. After that, open Autoplay and click the drop-down menu. 
  4. Next, select Allow Audio and Video
  5. Finally, click on Save Changes and refresh the page.

Try to play a video and see if the autoplay feature is now working. 

4. Turn Off Muted Playback (Mobile Devices Only).

For some unknown reason, YouTube’s latest feature that mutes the previews on your feed messes up the platform’s autoplay feature. Based on what we’ve found out, turning off muted playback helps in fixing autoplay on YouTube. 

Follow the steps below to turn off muted playback. 

  1. First, launch the YouTube app on your device and tap on your Profile
  2. Now, tap on Settings
  3. After that, tap on General and find Mute Playback in Feeds
  1. Lastly, disable the feature and restart the app. 

Once done, watch a few videos to check if the autoplay feature is now working. 

5. Try Using PureVPN. 

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With PureVPN, you are sure that your data is safe and protected online without dealing with network connectivity issues.

Besides, PureVPN also has 24/7 customer support available via phone, email, and live chats to help you with problems that you may encounter on the platform. 

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6. Check for Updates. 

Problems occurring on the YouTube app could be a sign that it needs to be updated. YouTube releases timely updates on its app to ensure that issues are patched, and it’s optimized for most devices. Besides performance issues, you are also risking your security when running an outdated version of any application. 

On Android, you can update YouTube by doing the following: 

  1. First, open the Google Play Store on your device and navigate to the side menu. 
  2. After that, check for updates by tapping on My Apps & Games
  3. Finally, tap on the Update button to install the latest version of YouTube
autoplay not working on YouTube playlists

For iOS users, see the steps below to update YouTube. 

  1. Go to your home screen and open the App Store
  2. Inside the App Store, locate and tap on your Profile icon from the top right corner of your screen. 
  3. Lastly, tap the Update button beside YouTube to install the update. 
autoplay not working on YouTube playlists

Once done, go back to YouTube and check if the autoplay feature is now working. 

7. Clear Your Browser Cache and Cookies. 

Browser cache and cookies are temporary data used by your browser to improve its performance when loading previously visited websites. However, these data can accumulate over time and get corrupted. 

In this case, you may experience all sorts of problems on the websites you visit, like YouTube. 

To fix this, simply clear your browsing data to eliminate corrupted caches and cookies. 

  1. First, open your default browser and click on the Options button located at the top right corner of your window. 
  2. Now, click on Settings and scroll down to Privacy and Security
  3. After that, click on Clear Browsing Data and ensure that caches and cookies are included in the process. 
  4. Lastly, change the Time Range to All Time and hit the Clear Data button to start. 
autoplay not working on YouTube playlists

Once you’ve cleared your browsing data, go back to YouTube to check if the autoplay feature is now working correctly. 

8. Disable Browser Extensions. 

Extensions are third-party tools or programs installed on your browser to bring additional features to some websites. If you are using browser extensions that control video playback, consider turning them off. 

  1. First, open the Settings page on your browser. 
  2. Inside the settings, click on the Extensions tab to view your browser extensions. 
  3. Lastly, identify all the browser extensions that are related to video playback and turn them off. 
autoplay not working on YouTube playlists

Try to watch another video on YouTube afterward and see if the autoplay feature is now working. 

9. Disable DRM on Your Browser. 

DRM or Digital Rights Management is a tool used by your browser to restrict the use of copyrighted materials online. As it turns out, the autoplay feature on YouTube might fail if you have DRM enabled on your browser. 

To fix this, simply turn off the DRM feature on your browser. 

  1. First, open your browser and navigate to its settings. 
  2. Now, click on Privacy and Security and open Site Settings
  3. After that, expand Additional Content Settings and click on Protected Content.
  4. Lastly, turn off the feature and reload your browser. 

Once done, go back to YouTube and try to play another video. 

You can also visit our dedicated guide if you are having a hard time finding the autoplay button on YouTube. 

This brings us to the end of our guide in fixing autoplay not working on YouTube playlists. If you know other ways to address this issue, please let us know in the comment section below. We’d be glad to give you credit for the solution once we update this article. 

 If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂

Author

  • John Sixto

    John is a staff writer at Saint and comes from a SAP ABAP development background. He has a Bachelors in IT and has been writing since 2018, with over 500 posts published. He loves to build PCs and has a deep curiosity in understanding how different components and configurations work. John spends hundreds of hours at a time, researching and testing the software and apps, before he proceeds to write about it. LinkedIn Twitter

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