How to Fix Videos Not Playing on Android Phone

‘A few days back, I recorded some important videos with my Samsung smartphone for a project. But now, when I try to play these videos from Gallery on my phone, it says, ‘Can’t play video.’ Please help.’

‘Some of my stored videos are not playing on an Android phone. I get this error – ‘video cannot be played.’ I restarted my phone but of no use. I use Android Lollipop OS. Is there a way I can fix videos not playing on an Android phone?

There can be many reasons for your videos not playing on an Android phone, such as:

• Your video is corrupt
• The media player is outdated
• Android OS is not updated
• The video is not downloaded completely from the source
• Your mobile SD card is corrupt
• You downloaded an untrusted software/app

How to Fix Videos Not Playing On Android phone

Try the below methods to play videos on your Android phone. You can apply these methods to fix the ‘videos not playing’ issue in any Android phone, such as Samsung, Oneplus, Xiaomi, Motorola, HTC, etc.

1. Restart/Reboot your device

Restarting your smartphone is the most simple troubleshooting way which may help to play your videos. First, close all the applications on your mobile. Restart/Reboot the phone. Next, go to Gallery and check if your videos are playing.

2. Clear cache on your Android phone

Cached data is required to reduce loading time but clearing the cache is also essential for troubleshooting to address several issues that may arise due to corrupted cache data.

To clear data on your smartphone go to Settings > Storage/ Application Manager > Clear Cache.

Now, go back to the Gallery to play the videos.

3. Uninstall insecure apps on your mobile

Trojans are a menace for your Android phones too. If you have downloaded any app or software from an untrusted source, remove it. There are chances that it disrupts your mobile Device’s smooth functioning, including not letting you play your mobile videos or making your videos corrupt.

4. Install VLC player/MX Player on Android phone

It might be possible that the media player on your Android phone does not support the video codec you are trying to play. Install a compatible video player like a VLC player, BS Player, or MX Player from the Google Play store.

5. Update your Android OS

Update your Android OS to fix the videos not playing problem. Before updating the Android OS, it is always recommended to back up your mobile data like contacts, photos, videos, etc.

Although OS update does not cause data loss, any technical glitch during the process may lead to loss or corruption of your mobile phone information loss or corruption. So it is better to be safe than to repent later.

How to update Android OS on mobile phone

• Connect your Android phone to Wi-Fi
• Open Settings on your Android phone
• Scroll down and tap About Device
• Tap Update. Depending on the Android version, some mobiles may be Software Update or System Firmware Update.
• Tap Check for Updates
• Tap Update
• Tap Install/ Reboot and Install/ or Install System Software, whichever you see. Then, the download and installation process begins.

Once the installation completes, your mobile phone automatically reboots.

6. Uninstall Dubious Software

It may sometimes happen that you may not be able to play video on your Android device since you have installed some unsecured app from somewhere else besides the official app store. Such an unsecured app can block the video playback on your Android device; It is always advised to uninstall it.

 7. Get Stellar Repair for Video

If you can play some video files on your Android phone, the problem is not with the Device or media player. Instead, your video files may have gone corrupt.

Transfer the mobile videos to the computer. Then, try to play them again on your system. If still, they are not playable, the videos have got corrupt. Stellar Repair for Video, a video repair tool, is the best and the easiest solution to fix videos not playing issues on Android Phones. It is completely safe to download and free from any malware or Trojan. You can repair your videos that have turned choppy, jerky, blurry, or out of sync.

The free demo version of the software is good enough for evaluating whether a video corruption issue can be resolved.

Fix videos not playing on Android phones using Stellar Repair for Video

• Transfer your videos from Android to PC/Mac
• Download, install and run Stellar Repair for Video on your PC/Mac
• On the software’s home page, click Add File to add the corrupted video in the software you wish to repair.

• Click Repair to fix the corrupted file that you had added.

• The repairing process begins. You can view the repair progress in the progress bar. Use the Stop option to stop the repair process anytime.

• A ‘Repair process completed message appears after the successful Repair of the selected files. You can preview the repaired videos by clicking on the Preview option. Then, click Save Repaired Files to save the repaired files.

Thus, in just a few simple clicks – Add, Repair, Preview, and Save– you can make your corrupt videos playable again.

The software supports the Repair of most popular video file formats such as AVI, ASF, WMV, MKV, FLV, DIVX, WEBM, MJPEG, MPEG, AVCHD, MTS, MOV, MP4, M4V, 3G2, 3GP, and F4V video files. In addition, it can fix corrupt or non-playable videos stored in any Android phone’s microSD card, microSDHC card, microSDXC card, etc.

Once repaired, either keep the videos on your computer or MicroSD card or transfer them to your Android phone.

You may also refer to How to Fix ‘No sound on Android video’ Error

8. Reset your app preferences

Resetting your app preferences lets you choose which video player you want to use for playing videos.

How to Reset App preferences on an Android phone?

• Go to Settings > Application Manager or Apps.
• Tap the three dots on the top right corner. Tap Reset App Preferences.

Now try to play your videos on the Android phone.

9. Factory Reset your smartphone

If none of the above methods can play your Android phone videos, the last resort is Factory Reset.

Factory Reset wipes out all data and renders your smartphone as new. Thus, before doing it, ensure you have taken all your contacts, photos, videos, and other smartphone data into a backup.

Cannot play Facebook, YouTube, or other web videos on your Android phone? Try the below fixes:

• Check your Wi-Fi network
• Update the internet browser
• Clear cache and history files in Android phone
• Clear cache in the YouTube app
• Update your YouTube or Facebook app
• Uninstall recently downloaded apps
• Update your Android OS

To Sum up

Mostly, the’ video not playing’ on Android issue is resolved by clearing the cache or restarting your smartphone. However, if the mobile video file is corrupt, it is recommended to use Stellar Repair for Video. This software is an efficient video repair utility that fixes all sorts of corruption. In addition, you can repair multiple corrupt videos simultaneously, saving a lot of your time.

So now no need to bother about videos not playing on an Android phone. Instead, try the above methods and enjoy the videos again on your Android mobile.

Read more guides:

How to fix Video Playback Errors and Issues?

Solved: iPhone Videos not playing on Windows

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About The Author

Sumona Chatterjee

Sumona is a tech blogger, avid photographer, & technogeek with vast experience in writing about media file recovery tips and tutorials. She has over 10 years of experience in media file recovery/media file repair technology. She is passionate about Photography, Creative Designing, Music, and Exploring lesser-known destinations.