How to Solve Ubuntu YouTube Not Working

Steven Wilson

Jul 19,2019 • Filed to: Video Resources & Tips • Proven solutions

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According to its website, Ubuntu comes with an intuitive interface. It is also fast, secure and has thousands of available software applications to choose from. Ubuntu was developed by Mark Shuttleworth together with his small team with its vision of free Software, easy to use, and can be available to everybody. However, Ubuntu also comes with some compatibility issues, especially with software applications like YouTube, or other software that plays videos. Here we list some reasons why YouTube is not working on Ubuntu and solutions to solve the Ubuntu YouTube not working problem.

Watching YouTube videos online might be a hassle and irritating at times, especially if you don't have faster internet connection. So better download it and watch it offline, at least you will no longer encounter slow and loading connection. If you want to completely solve the problem of Ubuntu YouTube not working, and enjoy YouTube freely in your Ubuntu, you can download iTube HD Video Downloader, which is a 100% free and 100% safe solution of downloading the YouTube videos. It allows the users to download videos 3x faster and you can even download 4K UHD YouTube videos.

iTube HD Video Downloader - Perfectly Solve the YouTube not Working on Ubuntu Problem

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• You can enjoy YouTube videos batch downloads, one click to download whatever you like from online sites.
• After downloading, you can also convert or transfer it to any of your device to enjoy them anywhere.
• It can automatically detect all YouTube videos opened in browsers such as Firefox, Chrome or Safari and even download them.
• It can automatically shut down your PC or switch it into sleep mode after the download process is over.

How to Download YouTube Videos for Free with iTube HD Video Downloader

Step 1. Download and Install the Application

Just follow the introduction to finish the installation after downloading the application. Run the program and the main interface will be shown in front of you.

Step 2. Download Online Videos from YouTube or any other online video sites

There are three ways to download videos with the video downloader:

Option 1: Download Button. Simply click the "Download" button which will appear at the top right automatically as you move the mouse over the video. Then select the video resolution to download YouTube video.

Option 2: Paste URL. Copy the URL of the video that you want to download and click "Paste URL" in the main interface. Then your video will be downlaoded soon.

Option 3: Record Video. You can use “Record video” button to open the recording screen that you can set to the video or full-screen and begin recording.

1. Flash not installed in your System

The flash does not come pre-installed in Ubuntu package, so you need to manually install it yourself.

How to Install Flash Player:

• Open your terminal window (Ctrl+ALT+T).
• Type this command: 2. sudo apt-get install --reinstall flashplugin-installer.

There are times that you may encounter a problem with the installation of flash using CLI. This occurs due to sufficient sources of software not enabled. Sources.list can found in this Path: /etc.apt/sourceslist needs to be edited. To do this, follow these steps:

• It's always necessary to create a back-up of your original file. Back-up your Sources.list file.
• Perform this command: 'sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list'
• Check Ubuntu website to make sure that you have the complete the sources you needed. https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Repositories/Ubuntu
• Once you finished editing your sources.list, perform this command: sudo apt-get update.
• Then try to install again your flash player : sudo apt-get install --reinstall flashplugin-installer.
• It can now be installed successfully.

2. Outdated Chrome/chromium codecs

Not Updated Chromium-Browser in the operating system Ubuntu system is one of the most common issues why YouTube videos are not playing. To solve this problem, you might want to consider updating it to the latest version.

How to Update Chromium:

• Remove the current version you have installed in your system.
• Perform this command to remove: sudo apt-get remove chromium-codecs-ffmpeg.
• After uninstalling, install the latest version.
• Perform this command to install: sudo apt-get install chromium-codecs-ffmpeg-extra.

This will now solve the issue with YouTube videos not playing in your browser. Performing this command also allow your system to support applications that use html5.

3. Some softwares may be not installed in your system

Sometimes, the reason why we encountered a problem with our applications (like YouTube, players,etc.) is that we were not able to check if the prerequisites or required software is installed in our system. Ubuntu-restricted-extras is a meta-package software that will allow you to install particular software that's not included in the package in Ubuntu.

How to Install Ubuntu-Restricted-Extras:

• Installation of this package comes with different ways depending on what kind of Ubuntu software you're using.
• If you're using Lubuntu, use this command: sudo apt-get install lubuntu-restricted-extras;
  If you're using the normal stock Ubuntu, use this command: sudo apt-get install ubuntu-restricted-extras;
  If you're using Xubuntu, use this command: sudo apt-get install xubuntu-restricted-extras;
  If you're using Kubuntu, use this command: sudo apt-get install kubuntu-restricted-extras.
• For an additional feature, perform this command. This command installs libdvccs file.
  sudo /usr/share/doc/libdvdread4/install-css.sh.

4. Using Firefox Browser with Plug-ins Not Enabled

Web Browsers need plugins to support special features, to utilize ability and allow compatibility with other software. Without plug-ins, some applications, especially video applications, may not work properly. If you're using Firefox and already install adobe-flash player plugin system, but still did not solve the issue. This might work:

• Check if libflashplayer.so file is present in this directory : /usr/lib/Mozilla/plugins/.
• If not Copy libflashplayer.so in /usr/lib/flashplugin-installer/libflashplayer.
• Place it to /usr/lib/Mozilla/plugin. Then try playing youtube videos again using Firefox browser.
• Also, it is necessary to enable "plugin check and updates" in your browser in order to keep updated with your flash player.

5. YouTube may not work properly with cookies enabled in Ubuntu

It might be a simple problem but as we know that unclear cookies may cause your browser to run slow. And it can be a reason why YouTube videos did not play properly. Disabling Browser cookies may solve this issue.

How to Disable Cookies in Firefox:

• Go to Edit, Navigate to Preferences.
• Choose Privacy and click Remove individual Cookies.
• Look for YouTube cookies and disable it.

How to Disable Cookies in Chrome/Chromium:

• On the right side of the browser, click this icon.
• Navigate to settings, then Show advance Settings.
• Click Privacy, then content Settings.
• Chooses cookies and Site Data.
• Look for YouTube and disable.