4 Fixes When Videos in PowerPoint Are Not Playing

Quick Tips

• Changing the playback settings will effectively fix audios that are not playing.
• You cannot play videos if they are hidden, so you must unhide them.
• You should also insert the right video formats. If not, they will not be played on Microsoft PowerPoint.

Basic Fixes: 

• Confirm if the video plays outside PowerPoint: You want to ensure the video file isn’t corrupt. Open the video in the VLC media player and check if it plays fine.
• Ensure you’re connected to the Internet to play online videos: If the embedded video is online, you will need an internet connection to play it.
• Add videos in compatible formats: PowerPoint works seamlessly with select video file formats, mostly the ones that Windows supports by default. Microsoft recommends adding videos in an .MP4 format with H.264 encoding and AAC audio.

Fix 1: Change Playback Setting

PowerPoint will set your playback preference as In Click Sequence by default. That means the video will play automatically when you click the next slide button. Change the playback setting to play the video manually to see if it makes a difference. Here’s how to do it.

Step 1: Open the PowerPoint presentation and add your video to a slide.

Step 2: Click on the video to select it. At the top, you will see additional formatting options for the video.

Step 3: Select the Playback tab next to Video Format.

Step 4: Click on the drop-down menu to start changing the preference.

Step 5: Select When Clicked On.

Fix 2: Unhide Videos During Slide Show

PowerPoint has an option to hide videos during a slideshow. If you’ve selected this option by mistake, your videos won’t appear during a presentation. Here’s how to uncheck the hide option.

Step 1: Open the PowerPoint presentation and add your video to a slide.

Step 2: Click on the video to select it. At the top, you will see additional formatting options for the video.

Step 3: Select the Playback tab next to Video Format.

Step 4: Deselect the checkbox for Hide During Show.

Your videos should now show up and play in the slideshow.

Fix 3: Paste Embed Code for YouTube Videos

If you add a YouTube video to your presentation instead of one stored on your computer, you must add the embed code for the video instead of the standard link in PowerPoint. Here’s how to do it.

Step 1: Open the PowerPoint presentation and navigate to the slide you want to embed the video.

Step 2: Open the YouTube video you want to embed in a browser.

Step 3: Click on the Share button under the YouTube video.

Step 4: Select Embed.

Step 5: YouTube will show you the embed code. Select Copy at the bottom.

Step 6: Head back into PowerPoint and navigate to the Insert tab. Select the Video option at the right.

Step 7: In the drop-down menu, select Online Film.

Step 8: PowerPoint will ask you to enter the video’s URL. Enter the code you copied earlier and click on Insert.

Your video will now be added to the slide. Click on it to start playing.

Fix 4: Repair Office or Microsoft 365

If videos are still not playing, you should use the built-in repair function to fix the problem.

Step 1: Press the Windows + I keys to open the Settings app.

Step 2: Select Apps from the left sidebar > open Installed Apps from the right pane.

Step 3: Click the three horizontal dots icon next to Microsoft Office and select Modify.

Step 4: Select Quick Repair > hit the Repair button.