How to Fix Videos Not Playing on Telegram for Android

Are your videos not playing on Telegram for Android?

Telegram is one of the most used messaging services in the world. In contrast, Android is also the most used mobile operating system in the market, with dozens of smartphone companies using it. 

In January 2022, Telegram reported over 550 million active monthly users. This puts Telegram in the top 10 most popular social networks in the world. 

Having that many users, you’d think that Telegram is flawless. 

Sadly, this is not the case. Like any Android or iOS application, Telegram encounters random errors from here and there and could suffer from server outages. 

Recently, many Android users are complaining that videos on Telegram are not playing on their devices. Based on what we know, this problem on the platform is often caused by slow network connections. 

However, it could also be due to server downtimes, outdated app versions, or improper user configurations. 

Today, we will show you what to do if videos are not playing on Telegram for Android. 

Let’s dive right in!

1. Check Telegram Servers. 

Before tweaking your device settings, we recommend checking Telegram’s servers first if you encounter video playback problems. This way, you’ll know whether the issue is coming from Telegram or your Android device. 

You can use third-party tools like Downdetector to view Telegram’s current status. 

videos not playing on Telegram for Android

If there are ongoing problems on the platform, the best thing you can do is wait. Unfortunately, server-related issues on Telegram can’t be resolved on your end. 

On the other hand, you can jump to the next method below if the servers are working. 

2. Restart Your Device. 

While this solution might look simple, it is very effective in solving most minor issues on any application. If your videos are not playing on Telegram, try restarting your device to reload its resources. 

Here’s how you can restart your Android device: 

  1. Find the Power button on your mobile device. 
  2. After that, hold it down until the selection menu shows up. 
  3. Lastly, tap on Restart to reboot your system. 
Restart Android

Once done, go back to Telegram and try playing videos in your conversation to check if the problem is solved. 

3. Check Your Network Connection. 

Playing videos online could consume a lot of bandwidth. If your network is not stable, you might have a hard time streaming videos on your device. Due to this, we suggest checking your network if you can’t play videos on Telegram. 

You can use Fast.com to perform a speed test on your network to measure its current upload and download bandwidth. 

Speed Test

If the result shows that your network is the problem, power cycle your router or modem to refresh the connection with your service provider. Unplug your modem from the outlet and wait for 5 to 10 seconds before reconnecting it. 

Restart Router

Once done, perform another test to check if the problem is solved. If not, contact your ISP and ask them to fix the issue. 

4. Download the Video First. 

If you can’t play the video directly from the Telegram app, you can try downloading the video first on your device. This way, you don’t have to stream the video from the servers, and you can just play it locally. 

Here’s how you can download videos from Telegram: 

  1. On your mobile device, launch Telegram and go to the conversation where you want to download a video. 
  2. Now, locate the video in the conversation. 
  3. Tap on More Options in the upper right corner of the video. 
  4. Finally, tap on Save to Gallery
videos not playing on Telegram for Android

Once done, go to your device gallery and play the video you’ve downloaded. 

5. Enable Automatic Downloads. 

If you don’t want to manually download videos on your device, you can enable automatic downloads so you can play videos locally anytime. However, this can consume your bandwidth if you are using cellular data. 

Here’s how  you can enable automatic downloads: 

  1. Launch Telegram on your Android device. 
  2. After that, go to Settings and tap on Data and Storage
  3. Finally, look for the Automatic Media Download tab and choose when you want media to be automatically downloaded to your device. 
videos not playing on Telegram for Android

Restart Telegram afterward to apply the changes and see if the problem is solved. 

That ends our guide for fixing videos that are not playing on Telegram for Android. If you have questions, please drop a comment below, and we’ll do our best to answer them. 

If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂

Author

  • John Sixto

    John is a staff writer at Saint and comes from a SAP ABAP development background. He has a Bachelors in IT and has been writing since 2018, with over 500 posts published. He loves to build PCs and has a deep curiosity in understanding how different components and configurations work. John spends hundreds of hours at a time, researching and testing the software and apps, before he proceeds to write about it. LinkedIn X (Twitter)

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