YouTube error · Common
"Video playback was interrupted" — what causes it and how to fix it
YouTube paused a video that was playing, usually after a network blip or a tab switch. On mobile, the "are you still watching?" prompt counts as this error too. Different from "video unavailable" — playback worked, then stopped.
Why this happens
- Network connection briefly dropped (Wi-Fi handoff, mobile signal change).
- YouTube's "are you still watching?" idle timer triggered after ~30 minutes of no interaction.
- Browser tab was backgrounded and the player paused to save resources.
- A browser extension (productivity / focus tools) auto-paused the video.
- Hardware acceleration crashed and the player recovered to a paused state.
How to fix it
- 1
Click the play button — that's usually all you need
Most "playback was interrupted" cases are recoverable in one click. The video keeps from where it stopped.
- 2
Disable focus / productivity extensions
StayFocusd, Cold Turkey, LeechBlock and others auto-pause video. Whitelist youtube.com if you want it to keep playing.
- 3
Pin the YouTube tab
Right-click the tab → Pin tab. Pinned tabs are less aggressively backgrounded by Chrome's memory manager.
- 4
For long-form playback, download the video
For movies, lectures, or anything 1+ hour where you don't want interruptions, downloading and playing locally bypasses every browser-side pause cause.
If you just want the video saved
Long-form content (1-3+ hour podcasts, lectures, livestream replays) is what this fix is for. Save once, play with your local media player — never see the "are you still watching" prompt again.
Try VidPickr