Recently, we faced an issue where we kept playing a video on YouTube and it started from the middle. Many others have reported this issue where YouTube video is not playing for them from the beginning. There are various reasons why videos on YouTube don’t play from the beginning. We’ve compiled a list of solutions that will assist you in getting your YouTube videos to start playing right from the start.
Table of Contents
1. Disable Ad Blockers
Sometimes, when you have ad blockers enabled on YouTube, it may skip a portion of the video while trying to skip the ad that plays before it. We’ve encountered this problem too but found that disabling the ad blocker for YouTube solved the issue and allowed YouTube videos to play from the start. If you are not able to disable the ad blocker on your browser, here’s how to remove it completely for a smoother experience.
We are using Chrome here, but removing an extension is mostly the same on all Chromium-based web browsers. However, the process for managing an extension on Safari is different.
1. First click on the extension icon and then the kebab menu next to the Ad blocker extension. After that, select Remove from Chrome.
2. Now just click on Remove. Now play video again on YouTube and it may start playing from the beginning.
2. Pause YouTube Search History
Sometimes, when watching a video on YouTube, you might close it in between and replay it later. YouTube is smart enough to remember where you left off and resumes playing the video from where you left it. This could explain why your YouTube videos aren’t starting from the beginning. Luckily, you can easily fix this by simply pausing your YouTube search history either on your web browser or mobile device.
3. Disable Video Preview
YouTube allows you to get a sneak peek of a video without actually opening it, so you can decide if you’re interested in watching it or not. However, once you open the video, it doesn’t start playing from the beginning. Instead, it picks up from where you left off during the preview. Fortunately, you have the option to disable this feature in the settings.
Disable Video Preview on Desktop
Here’s how you can disable video preview on YouTube in your web browser.
1. On the homepage of YouTube, scroll down through the options present at the left and click on Settings.
2. After that select Playback and performance and disable the toggle next to Video previews.
Disable Video Preview on Mobile
To disable video preview on the YouTube app, follow the steps mentioned below.
1. Tap on the profile and tap on the settings gear icon. Here select General.
2. Now tap on Playback in feeds and select Off.
4. Check the Video URL
Did you receive a YouTube video link that is not playing from the beginning? It’s possible that the person who shared it added a time stamp to the link. This means that when you open the video using the link, it will play at a specific time.
To check if the link has a time stamp, simply examine the link itself. If you see &t= followed by a number, it indicates that the video will start after that time. For instance, the link mentioned below includes “&t=31” at the end, so the video will begin playing in 31 seconds.
https://youtu.be/LUDDjnxlYY8?si=MejLiMlRKqzYuFVR&t=31 Must Read: Learn more about how you can share a YouTube video to play at a specific time.
5. Clear Browser Cache
If the previous methods have not resolved the issue, clearing the cache of your web browser may help in resolving this issue. Clearing the cache of your web browser can resolve problems by eliminating corrupted or outdated data that could potentially disrupt the functioning of websites. We’ve got a comprehensive guide on clearing cache for all platforms.
Pro Tip: Do you know you can now search for a song simply by humming or whistling on YouTube?
6. Try Another Web Browser
Have you attempted all the fixes mentioned earlier but the problem persists? The web browser you’re currently using may be experiencing difficulties with playing YouTube videos from the beginning. You can try alternate web browsers and check out this compilation of the top web browsers known for their speed, security, privacy, and features. Give them a try and hopefully, your YouTube videos will play smoothly from the start, resolving the issue.
Start From the Beginning
Have you thought of updating to YouTube Premium? The family plan is great value for money and offers a YouTube Music subscription. Plus, no ads so you don’t need an ad blocker either. And it supports playing songs in the background so you can turn off your phone. Here is how you can set up the YouTube family plan.
Now that this has been resolved, you can have a great time playing games on YouTube.
