Fix The “Unable to Play Video Error – 5” In Google Chrome

Read time 10 minutes

Within Google Drive and Slides, you have the capability to incorporate videos into your presentations, seamlessly utilizing the platform’s built-in player. Nonetheless, there may arise instances where the player encounters an issue preventing it from playing your chosen video content. An illustrative example of such an error is denoted by the code “Unable to Play Video Error Code – 5” which predominantly emerges when attempting to playback embedded videos within Google Slides. This predicament often vexes users engaged in crafting presentations on the Google Slides platform. When they endeavor to integrate videos from their Google Drive into their presentations, they are confronted with the vexing message, “Unable to play video. Error: 5.”

The aforementioned scenario highlights a consistent problem in one form or another. Web browsers, such as Google Chrome, frequently generate these errors when attempting to play videos sourced from Google Drive and embedded into Google Slides. Occasionally, when the user switches to a different browser, the error miraculously disappears.

On occasion, the Chrome browser may encounter compatibility issues when playing videos sourced from Google Drive. In some instances, the video content itself may be the root cause of the problem. Regardless of the underlying cause, it is imperative to address the “Unable to play video error-5” in Google Chrome to resolve our presentation-related concerns. We are here to guide you through the potential reasons for encountering this video error and provide prompt troubleshooting solutions.

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Now, to fix “Unable to play video Error 5”, you need to perform a few trouble shooting techniques that are required to be executed consecutively.

Following are some reasons why video files display the ”Unable to play video Error 5” error –

• Attacks by viruses: Occasionally, our files can fall victim to viruses and malware, a scenario considered one of the most detrimental occurrences for digital documents. These malicious software entities render the file unreadable and undiscoverable by the computer.
• System Crashes: Periodically, our system experiences crashes, resulting in occasional file errors. These system corruptions can be attributed to hardware malfunctions or software bugs, frequently manifesting as the error message “Error 5: Unable to play video.”
• Hard drive failure: Loss of magnetism in hard drive results in hard drive failure which leads to loss of data and results in the corruption of your video files.

As we now have a better understanding of the problem, let’s start resolving it. Below, various troubleshooting techniques are given sequentially. Follow these methods one by one to fix this error easily.

1. Check for Stable Internet Connection

In the event of a weak internet connection or network problems in your vicinity, you might encounter difficulty in loading your video file within Google Slides. This can result in the appearance of an error message labeled as “Error 5: Unable to play video” on your display. To mitigate this issue, it is imperative to ensure a stable internet connection when creating slides or importing videos from Google Drive.

2. Update your system OS and Browser.

To resolve the problem, consider performing updates for both your operating system and web browser. These updates often contain software enhancements designed to address prevalent issues and glitches. If you’re utilizing a Windows-based system, you can readily initiate the update process by adhering to the provided instructions:

Go to Start and navigate all the way through Settings >> Update & Security >> Windows Update.



To update your Google Chrome, go to the browser’s Settings and select About Chrome. It automatically detects and installs updates for your Chrome browser.

3. Clear cache data and cookies from your browser.

   Allowing your web browser to retain cached data for extended durations can result in reduced browser performance and potential video playback problems, regardless of the platform where videos are viewed. To resolve the “Unable to play video Error 5,” consider clearing your browser’s cache and cookies as a possible solution.

   Since Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox are the two prominent browsers; here is how you can clear cache and cookies in both platforms:

   Mozilla Firefox:

   • Launch Firefox, click on the Menu button and select Options.
   • On the left-hand side panel, select Privacy & Security.
   • Under the Cookies and Site Data section, click Clear Data.
   • Check both “Cookies and Site Data” and “Cached Web Content”. Then, click the Clear button.

   Google Chrome:

   • Launch Google Chrome, click on the Customize and control Google Chrome icon located at the top right corner of the interface.
   • Select Settings from the list.
   • Under the Privacy and Security section, click Clear browsing data.
   • Check all options, Select Time range as “All time” and click on the Clear data button.

   

4. Disable Plugins or extensions

Plugins or extensions are incorporated to provide users with additional features. Nevertheless, certain plugins may introduce viruses or malware that can disrupt the normal operation of web browsers.

To address the “Error 5: Unable to play video” problem, you can take the technical step of eliminating troublesome extensions. Generally, these problematic extensions are third-party ones not associated with established organizations. Begin by identifying and deactivating all potentially problematic extensions right away. If the error persists despite this initial action, proceed to disable the remaining extensions individually, verifying if the issue continues to persist with each deactivation.

Here is how to disable plugins or extensions in Chrome:

1. Launch Google Chrome and tap on the three dots at the top-right of your screen.
2. Tap on Settings.



3. From the left side dashboard, click on Extensions.



4. Now, you can disable the extensions you want by sliding the scroller next to the plugin or extension.



5. Switch to the Incognito mode

Attempt to access the embedded videos while using the Incognito mode, which is available in nearly every iteration of browsers such as Chrome and Firefox. Incognito mode provides a secure and protected environment for users to browse the internet and access data.

In Chrome, you can enable the Incognito mode by clicking on the Customize and control Google Chrome icon and then selecting the New Incognito window.

In Firefox, click on the menu icon located at the top right corner then select the New Private Window to enable the incognito mode.

6. Turn Off Hardware Acceleration

Enabling hardware acceleration results in the intensive utilization of the processor when the PC’s GPU is active. Consequently, you have the option to disable this feature within your browser’s settings. Deactivating hardware acceleration in the browser’s settings can effectively address the problem labeled as “Video Playback Error Code – 5.”

1. Launch Google Chrome and tap on the three dots coming on the top-right of your screen.
2. Tap on Settings.



3. Next, expand the menu of Advanced coming on the left side of your screen. Tap on System.



4. Now, you need to click on the scroller next to the option Use hardware acceleration when available.



5. Lastly, restart your browser.
7. Enable JavaScript in Chrome

Any web browser must support JavaScript for multimedia playback. By default, it is enabled, but if it has been disabled you have to enable it again.

1. Launch Google Chrome and tap on the three dots at the top-right of your screen. Tap on Settings.



2. Now, click on the Security and Privacy tab. Tap on the option Site Settings.



3. Click on JavaScript and you need to checkmark the option Site can use JavaScript.



8. Try a video repair tool

If you’re encountering a persistent error message despite changing web browsers, it’s possible that the videos in your Google Drive have become corrupted. Consider utilizing an automated third-party repair tool to address these corruption problems within the embedded videos in your Google Slides presentations.

In this context, we’ve spotlighted a highly effective third-party video repair software capable of aiding users in the restoration of damaged videos, regardless of their video file format or the extent of corruption.

Kernel Video Repair stands out as a highly favored solution for effortlessly rectifying variously damaged and inaccessible video files in a single operation. This versatile tool possesses the capability to mend videos linked to nearly all prominent file formats while imposing no restrictions on file dimensions. Furthermore, it offers the convenience of repairing numerous files simultaneously through its intuitive drag-and-drop functionality and user-friendly graphical interface. Remarkably, it preserves the original video quality, guaranteeing precise repairs across all Windows versions.

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Final Words

In this blog post, we’ve comprehensively addressed various solutions for resolving the “Error 5: Unable to play video” problem in Google Chrome, which often results in playback issues with embedded videos in Google Slides. Generally, you can resolve this issue by following standard troubleshooting methods, as we’ve previously explained. However, if your files are corrupted, it’s advisable to consider utilizing third-party software. Another potential resolution is attempting to convert the video into a different file format to potentially resolve the problem.
You can learn to convert 3GP video file to MP4 without losing quality with this sample. Hope this blog helps you fix your issue.