Fix the “YouTube 360-Degree Video not Working” Issue

Read time 7 minutes

If you are looking for a way to run a YouTube 360-degree video without issues (like jerkiness, patchiness, glitches, or distorted screen), then read this blog carefully to get answers to your queries related to the same.

What is a 360-degree video?

360-degree videos are those video recordings that can be viewed from all possible directions by simple dragging. Such videos are also known as spherical or immersive videos and are shot using an omnidirectional camera/multiple cameras to record a view in every direction simultaneously.

• Outdated graphics card driver
• Hardware acceleration is not enabled
• Incompatible browser
• Outdated YouTube application
• Cached and temporary file issues
• Corrupted 360-degree video file

Clear history and cache from the browser & app

It is advised to clear the cache and history from both the web browser and installed YouTube application as the temporary files may hinder the smooth functioning of the YouTube 360-degree video files.

“To clear cached files and history in the web browser”

Suppose you are using Chrome as the web browser. Follow these steps to clear history and cached files.

1. Click on the three vertical dots from the top right of the Chrome application.
2. Click the Settings option from the drop-down list.



3. Go to the Privacy and Security section and click on the Clear browsing data option.



4. Next, make sure all the options are selected; click on the Clear data option.



5. Wait for the process to complete.

To clear cached files and history in the YouTube application

If you have installed the YouTube app on your mobile phone and the error occurred, then try deleting the cached files using this procedure.

1. Go to the Settings on your android mobile phone.
2. Move to the Apps folder and open it.
3. Next, click YouTube>Storage>Clear cache to clear the temporary files created by the application.

Check your browser compatibility with HTML5

To run 360-degree video files, browsers need HTML5 support. This compatibility check is a must to eliminate this cause or correct the problem if the browser HTML5 format is not available.

Switch to another web browser

Ensure that you are using a standard web browser compatible with the YouTube 360-degree videos such as Google Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, and Safari. If you are using some other web browser to run the video, then it is suggested to use one of the above web browsers depending on your OS environment to run the video smoothly.

Re-install the YouTube application

Due to the incorrect installation of the YouTube application, the issue may arise. So, it is suggested to uninstall the updated application and then re-install it on the phone.

1. Go to the Settings on your android phone.
2. Click on the Apps and Notifications option.
3. Navigate to the YouTube application and click on the Uninstall option.
4. Click OK to confirm the uninstallation.
5. Once the uninstallation is completed, re-install the YouTube application and check if the video is playable or not.

Update the YouTube application

Suppose you are trying to run a 360-degree video on the YouTube app on your phone and getting issues in its working. In that case, one solution can be checking the available update for the YouTube application and then update the same.

1. On your Android phone, move to the Google Play Store and open it.
2. Now navigate to Menu>My apps & games.
3. Find the YouTube application and check for the Update option against it.
4. If the Update option is not available, then your installed application is up-to-date, and you need to think about another solution.
5. But if the Update option is available, click on it to progress to the new version update.
6. Once the update is completed, try to play the 360-degree video again.

Turn on the Windows Hardware Acceleration

It is possible that the Windows Hardware Acceleration feature is disabled on your system. You can manually enable it by performing these steps.

1. Open Control Panel on your system.
2. Choose the Large icons option against View by on the top right of the screen.



3. Click on the Display option.



4. Now, , click on the Change display settings option.



5. Click on the Advanced settings option.



6. Switch to the Troubleshoot tab. Next, slide the Hardware Acceleration bar with the drag action of the mouse to the rightmost side to set it as ON. Click OK.
7. Restart your Windows system, and then try to play your 360-degree video on YouTube.

Update Graphics Card drivers on the system

Sometimes system driver issues like outdated graphic card drivers can create trouble for the users. You can update the drivers as follows.

1. First, ensure that you have the latest graphics driver available with you for installation.
2. Go to Device Manager on your system.
3. On the left panel, move to the Display Adapters section, expand it, and then right-click on your installed graphics card to select the Update Driver Software option.



4. The new graphics card driver will be installed when you restart your Windows system.

There is a possibility that your 360-degree video got corrupted. So, when manual solutions are not effective for repairing the video, you can try the free version of the Kernel Video Repair. The tool supports almost all popular video file formats, including 360-degree video files from any device. It has a simple repair process that does not affect the resolution and properties of the video. So, give it a try.

End Words

The new 360-degree videos are quite popular in all fields, whether sports, cinema, medical line, etc. It is really annoying if the video didn’t play as expected. We have tried to explain all possible solutions to fix the issue related to “YouTube 360-degree video not working” in this blog.