I'm having problems with videos not playing. Can you help?

Usually if there's a problem with the site I get a thousand emails at once, and if that's the case, I will post a notice on the website and you'll see a big yellow band across the top saying something like "we're experiencing a problem right now, please try back later." But usually, it's an issue on your end.

Try Other Videos

First, check if any of the other videos on my site play? Try some TechHelp videos...

• Blank Database Template
• Contact Management
• Invoicing

Try Other Websites

Are you able to play videos on YouTube or any other site? My site uses almost identical technology. If YouTube works but my videos won't play it's likely a browser or VPN firewall issue.

• YouTube

Clear Browser Cache

If most videos do play and just one specific video does not, you may need to just clear your browser cache.

• Clear Browser Cache

Firewalls

If you're using a computer at work, some employers block videos or video servers via a firewall. They don't want their people wasting time on YouTube. If that's the case, try when you get home, or try watching on your cell phone (not on the company network). You can check to see if this is the issue by attempting to download one of my eBooks, like the free one for Access Beginner 1 (scroll down to the Resources section). They're on the same server as the videos, which is different from the main website server. If those don't download, you have a firewall issue.

More Troubleshooting Steps

I've got over 50,000 students from all over the world, and at any given time of the day there are 50 to 100 people on my site playing videos. 99.9% of the time when someone has a problem, it's on their end. If there's a problem with one or more of my videos, I get a dozen emails from my students immediately to let me know about it.

So, here are some additional troubleshooting tips for your system:

• Reboot your computer - an actual restart, not just a shutdown (Start > Power > Restart Windows)
• Try downloading the videos and playing them locally. You'll find a ZIP file on each lesson page with the MP4 videos in it. If there is no ZIP file (such as for a TechHelp video) you can right-click on the video itself and select Download.
• Check your firewall settings and make sure we're not blocked. If you're on a corporate VPN this is likely the issue.
• Disable any antivirus software you may have running. They're usually worthless pieces of garbage anyways and they can block valid traffic from reaching your computer. All you need is Windows Security (Defender).
• It could just be a glitch. Sometimes "stuff happens" with web and video servers. Wait an hour or two. If the problem still doesn't go away, let me know. It could be an issue with your ISP. I had a problem once at my home where I could connect to certain sites (like my own) but I couldn't hit Paypal.com or other popular sites. It turned out to be a DNS issue with my ISP. My web server and my video server are in two different locations. One may work for you while the other may not. I switched my browser to Google's public DNS and everything worked fine.
• Check the status of our video server host, Wasabi. If they're reporting any issues, you may have to wait for them to be resolved.

Provide More Details

If you've tried all of those things and the videos still won't play, please give me more information:

• What specific video are you trying to play? Course/Lesson Number? Page/URL?
• Which browser are you using? I've tested my site thoroughly with Chrome and Edge. Make sure you're up to date.
• What OS do you have? Remember I only officially support Windows, although my site works fine on Android. I do not support Apple products at all. And while I do have a lot of Apple (Mac, iOS, iPhone, etc.) users who are able to watch my videos just fine, Apple gets nothing but my scorn.
• Are you getting any specific error messages, or just a blank video screen? Give me some more details, and perhaps a screen shot if you can of exactly what you see. Windows Snip & Sketch

I'll do the best I can to help get you up and running, but like I said above, chances are there's something on your system or your network causing the problem.

If you can see my website, but none of the videos are playing, and none of the ZIP file downloads are working, then your firewall may be blocking my download server, which is on a completely different domain. If you're at work, check with IT.

Feel free to post any questions you may have below.