In some cases, the thumbnail of the video may show up and on clicking it, an endless spinning wheel appears. Here are some general workarounds that can be used before trying technical workarounds. Make sure if you have a working internet connection and if you are having issues in a domain network, then contact your network administrator. Make sure that you are using the latest version of your browser as well. If you have just uploaded the video, then wait for some time so that Google could process the video. The time taken by Google Drive to process the video may vary depending upon different factors. Also lastly, sign out of Google Drive and then sign back in to check if the problem is solved.
Solution 1: Clear the Browsing Data
Like any other application, your browser uses the cache to improve user experience and boot up things. Moreover, cookies are used to store client/server communication details. If any of these get corrupt, then you will not be able to play videos in Google Drive. Here, in this case, clearing the browsing data may solve the problem. For illustration, we will discuss the process for Google Chrome.
Solution 2: Open the Video in Another Window
There is a reported workaround that lets many users play the video of Google Drive where they open the problematic video in another window of the browser. This forces Drive to fetch information of the video from scratch from Google’s servers and solve the issue of the videos not playing if the problem was because of the stopped network communication.
Solution 3: Disable the Browser’s Extensions/Addons
Browser’s extensions/addons are used to add extra functionality to the browser and the user. However, interference by these extensions with the Google Drive website may end up causing videos not to play. Given the circumstances, disabling these extensions may solve the problem (you can opt to use the incognito or in-private mode of the browser but disabling extensions is recommended).
Solution 4: Using Another browser
Another thing to try before we attempt other extensive solutions is to try loading Drive in another browser altogether. There are might be instances where the browser has installation problems or has missing modules. If we discover earlier on that it is a browser problem, it will make our troubleshooting much easier.
Solution 5: Changing Network Temporarily
ISPs restrict certain features and resources to control web traffic and safeguard its users. But if a feature/resource essential for Google Drive is blocked by an ISP, then Google Drive may not play any videos. To rule out any ISP interference, temporarily switch your network (or you can opt to use a VPN).
Solution 6: Use the Correct Google Account
You can sign-in to multiple Google accounts in a browser. An account mismatch regarding ownership of the Drive video may cause the current Google Drive error. In that case, switching to the account which owns the video may solve the problem.
Solution 7: Download the Video File
If the issue is still persisting and you cannot stream the video file, we can download it locally on your computer, and then you can watch it using your operating system’s default video viewer. You can skip this step if the video file is too large to be downloaded.
Solution 8: Disable SameSite Default Cookies Flag
Another workaround that worked for numerous users was disabling the default Cookies flag in your browser. SameSite is used by a variety of browsers to identify whether or not to allow a cookie to be accessed. We can change this flag from its default value and see if this fixes our problem.
Solution 9: Change Browser Settings
There are different browser settings like third-party cookies or Flash due to which Google Drive could not play the video on your computer. We can experiment with these settings and see if this makes any difference.
Blocking Third-Party Cookies in Your Browser
Third-party cookies are used by a site to remember details about a user. This type of cookie is called ‘third party” as it is placed by a site other then the user is visiting. Google Drive videos are reported to have issues in playing videos when third party cookies are enabled. In that case, disabling these cookies may solve the problem. You can always turn them back on later if this doesn’t work.
Allowing Google’s Cookies
If disabling third-party cookies didn’t work, we can try the opposite and make sure that Google’s cookies are being allowed. This method was reported to get the videos to work for several users.
Allow Flash
Flash is a container file format that is very popular in being used to send digital videos across the internet. Drive makes use of Flash every now and then to operate and if this is disabled, you might not be able to play videos. You can always disable it again if this doesn’t work.
Disable Popup Blocker
Popup blockers are used to block popups by websites to make the browsing experience smoother and less intrusive. However, this is known to cause several problems with other modules like Google Drive who make use of popups to video videos. Disabling the option may solve the problem for you.
Bonus for Android: Update the Google Drive App and Clear its Cache
Apps are updated to cater to the new technology developments and patch the known bugs. If you are using an outdated version of Google Drive’s app, then you may encounter the issue under discussion. In that case, updating the app may solve the problem. We will discuss the process for the Android app.
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