YouTube error · Occasional

YouTube video keeps restarting from beginning — fix the loop bug

A video that should play once keeps restarting from the beginning when it ends. Or scrubbing forward jumps you back to 0:00 unexpectedly. Different from "Loop" mode (which is intentional) — this is unintended re-restart.

Why this happens

  • Loop mode is accidentally on (right-click menu → Loop).
  • YouTube's "playlist" mode is active and the same video is the only entry — looping by playlist behavior.
  • Player session got stuck — fresh video starts treat the previous playback as a new session each time.
  • Browser extension forcing replay.
  • Memory leak in player state — playhead position resets to 0 on certain triggers.

How to fix it

  1. 1

    Check the Loop toggle

    Right-click the player → uncheck Loop. The setting is per-video and resets next session, but the current tab keeps looping if it's on.

  2. 2

    Confirm you're not in a single-video playlist

    Check the URL — if it has `&list=...` after the video ID, you're in a playlist. A playlist with only one video loops by default. Strip the `&list=` parameter from the URL and reload.

  3. 3

    Disable autoplay

    Toggle the autoplay switch next to the player title to off. Some autoplay bugs cause the same video to re-queue and effectively loop.

  4. 4

    Hard reload + reopen

    Cmd+Shift+R on the URL fixes most stuck-player-state issues.

Frequently asked

How do I make YouTube auto-play the next video instead of looping?
Toggle the autoplay switch (next to the video title) to on. With autoplay on and Loop off, the next recommended video plays automatically when one ends.

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