FAQ about video, audio, and games

Video

Tip

To learn more about video, see Watch videos in Yandex Browser.

Video playback problems

If Yandex Browser displays a black screen instead of a video, the image shakes in online games, or the video takes a long time to load, freezes all the time, or stops when you switch to full-screen mode, try one of the following methods:

Turn off extensions

Some extensions can block certain page content from appearing — for example, videos or images. Here's how you can check your installed extensions:

  1. Click  → Extensions and turn off all extensions.

  2. Restart Yandex Browser: close it by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Q (on Windows and Linux) or ⌘ + Q (on macOS), then open it again.

  3. Clear your cache so Yandex Browser doesn't load a copy of the page that was saved earlier.

  4. If this solves your problem, go through your extensions and turn them back on until you find the one that causes the problem. Restart Yandex Browser every time.

  5. Disable this extension. You may want to let the developers know about the problem.

Change your hardware acceleration settings

Try turning the hardware accelerator on or off:

  1. Click  → Settings → System.
  2. If the Use hardware acceleration if possible option is selected in the Performance section, deselect it. If the option is deselected, select it.
  3. Close the Browser with a keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + Q (on Windows and Linux) or ⌘ + Q (on macOS).
  4. Restart the browser to apply these changes.
Update your graphics drivers
  1. Click Start → Control Panel → Device Manager.
  2. Open Video Adapters: a list of video cards will appear.
  3. Right-click the name of your video card.
  4. In the context menu, select Update drivers.

Check whether this solved the problem. If the problem persists, write to us. In the email, indicate that the drivers were updated.

Sound is quiet or there's no sound at all

If you're having trouble with sound in videos, see FAQ about audio.

Problems with videos on Linux
Update your graphics drivers

Make sure that you've installed the latest updates and graphics drivers:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

sudo dnf install ffmpeg-libs

Test video playback in other applications (such as VLC) to rule out driver issues.

Install codecs

  1. Check your browser's version.

  2. If the version is lower than 23.3.0, update your browser.

  3. Install GStreamer packages by running the following commands:

Mint
sudo apt install libgstreamer1.0-0 gstreamer1.0-plugins-base gstreamer1.0-plugins-good gstreamer1.0-plugins-bad gstreamer1.0-plugins-bad-faad gstreamer1.0-libav
Ubuntu
sudo apt install libgstreamer1.0-0 gstreamer1.0-plugins-base gstreamer1.0-plugins-good gstreamer1.0-plugins-bad gstreamer1.0-libav
Astra Linux
sudo apt-get install ffmpeg-plugin-browser libgstreamer1.0-0 gstreamer1.0-plugins-base gstreamer1.0-plugins-good gstreamer1.0-plugins-bad gstreamer1.0-plugins-bad-faad gstreamer1.0-libav
Alt Linux
su -lc 'apt-get install gstreamer1.0 gst-plugins-base1.0 gst-plugins-good1.0 gst-plugins-bad1.0 gst-libav'
RED OS
dnf install gstreamer1 gstreamer1-plugins-base gstreamer1-plugins-good gstreamer1-plugins-good-extras gstreamer1-plugins-bad-free gstreamer1-plugins-bad-free-extras gstreamer1-libav

yum install gstreamer1 gstreamer1-plugins-base gstreamer1-plugins-good gstreamer1-plugins-good-extras gstreamer1-plugins-bad-free gstreamer1-plugins-bad-free-extras gstreamer1-libav
ROSA “COBALT” 7.9
dnf install libgstreamer1.0 gstreamer1.0-plugins-base gstreamer1.0-plugins-good gstreamer1.0-plugins-bad gstreamer1.0-libav
AlterOS
yum install gstreamer1 gstreamer1-plugins-base gstreamer1-plugins-good gstreamer1-plugins-good-extras gstreamer1-plugins-bad-free gstreamer1-plugins-bad-free-extras gstreamer1-libav
OpenSUSE
sudo zypper install gstreamer gstreamer-plugins-base gstreamer-plugins-good gstreamer-plugins-bad gstreamer-plugins-libav
  1. Restart Yandex Browser. If this didn't help, close it and run the following console command:
rm ~/.cache/gstreamer-1.0/registry.x86_64.bin
Install additional codecs

Some video formats may require additional codecs:

sudo apt install ffmpeg chromium-codecs-ffmpeg-extra

sudo dnf install ffmpeg-libs

Change the "Override software rendering list" setting
  1. In the SmartBox, enter browser://flags/#ignore-gpu-blacklist.
  2. Press Enter.
  3. Set Ignore GPU block list → Enabled Hardware decode acceleration for Linux → Enabled Video decoder.
  4. Restart Yandex Browser. Click  → Close Yandex Browser, or press Ctrl + Shift + Q (on Windows) or ⌘ + Q (on macOS), then open the browser again.
Videos don't play; they download to my computer

If a site owner doesn't allow you to open a file in your browser, the file downloads to the user's computer. To open it in Yandex Browser, drag the downloaded file icon that appears to the right of the SmartBox to the Browser, or use the Ctrl + O keyboard shortcut and select the file from your Downloads folder.

Protected content is not played

Note

Protected content is not played in Incognito mode.

If a video that has content protected by copyright doesn't play:

Update and restart Yandex Browser

An outdated version of Yandex Browser may not support the technology required for fast video loading. Install the latest update of Yandex Browser.

When you launch Yandex Browser for the first time, some of the plugins required for the content encryption system to work properly may not connect. To fix this error, restart Yandex Browser and the plugins will connect automatically.

Allow protected content to play

  1. Click  → Settings → Websites.

  2. Scroll down the page and click Advanced site settings.

  3. Under Protected content, enable the Allow protected content to play option.

  4. Some services use unique device identifiers to protect content. To activate them, go to Identifiers of protected content and enable Allow sites to use identifiers to play protected content (Windows only).

NPAPI and Unity not supported

Yandex Browser no longer supports the NPAPI plugin that powers the Unity Web Player. This technology is outdated. Unity has also stopped supporting that plugin.

I can't disable video autoplay on a website

When you go to certain sites, videos start playing automatically. Unfortunately, Yandex Browser has no way to restrict video autoplay on sites.

Browser doesn't see the webcam

Check if other programs can recognize the camera.

  • If not, make sure that your camera driver is installed correctly, and reinstall it if necessary:

    1. Click Start → Control Panel → Device Manager.

    2. Open Cameras: a list of cameras appears.

    3. Right-click the name of your camera.

    4. In the context menu, select Update drivers.

  • If they can, specify it manually in the Yandex Browser settings:

    1. Click  → Settings → Websites.

    2. Open Advanced site settings.

    3. In the Access to your camera section, select your camera and enable Ask permission.

    If this doesn't help, contact Yandex Browser support.

"Required video codecs not found" error on Windows

If a video doesn't play on a site and you see a "Required video codecs not found" error, it may be because you're using a Windows N or KN edition that doesn't have the necessary video codecs.

Check your Windows version:

  1. Click Start → Control Panel → System.

  2. Find the Windows version in the About section. For example, "Windows 10 Pro N".

Select the Windows version:

Not Windows N/KN

Write to us using the form.

Windows 7 N/KN

  1. Close Yandex Browser. Click  → Close Yandex Browser, or press Ctrl + Shift + Q (on Windows) or ⌘ + Q (on macOS).

  2. Restart Yandex Browser and check whether the video plays.

If it didn't help, write to us using the form.

Windows 8 N/KN

Download and install Media Feature Pack for Windows 8 N/KN.

Windows 8.1 N/KN

Download and install Media Feature Pack for Windows 8.1 N/KN.

Windows 10 N/KN

Download and install Media Feature Pack for Windows 10 N/KN.

Audio

Tip

To learn more about audio, see Play audio in Yandex Browser.

No one can hear me
Add a microphone in the Yandex Browser settings

  1. Click  → Settings → Websites.

  2. Scroll down the page and click Advanced site settings.

  3. In the Access to your microphone section, select the device manually.

Check your microphone

  1. Open the Windows Control panel .

  2. Click Sound.

  3. On the Recording tab, find the microphone you need.

  4. Right-click on it and select Set Default.

  5. Right-click on the microphone again and select Properties.

  6. In the window that opens, click the Levels tab. Both parameters should not be set to minimum or maximum at the same time.

  7. Go to the Advanced tab and make sure the Enable additional audio features option is deselected.

  8. Disable special sound effects. Open the Enhancements tab. Select Disable all enhancements and click Apply → Ok.

For more information about setting up the microphone, see Windows help.

Update your audio drivers

  1. Go to Start → Control Panel → Device Manager → Sound, video and game controllers.

  2. Expand the list.

  3. Right-click a driver name → Properties → Driver → Update driver.

Sound is quiet or there's no sound at all
Check the sound in the media control panel

Tap to the right of the SmartBox. If the sound is muted, you'll see the Звук вкладки отключен icon. To turn sound on, click this icon.

Check the volume slider in your operating system settings

  1. Turn on any online video or music player in the internet using Yandex Browser.

  2. Right-click the Звук icon in the taskbar in the lower-right corner of the screen.

  3. In the menu that opens, click Open volume mixer and increase the volume.

  1. Turn on any online video or music player in the internet using Yandex Browser.

  2. Go to System Preferences → Sound.

  3. In the window that opens, adjust the volume mixer.

Audio doesn't play

Try to find an extension that might be blocking the audio:

  1. Open  → Extensions and turn off all extensions.

  2. If this solves your problem, go through your extensions and turn them back on until you find the one that caused the problem.

  3. Disable the problematic extension. You may want to let the developers know about the problem.

Games

Games don't work
Update your video card drivers
  1. Click Start → Control Panel → Device Manager.
  2. Open Video Adapters: a list of video cards will appear.
  3. Right-click the name of your video card.
  4. In the context menu, select Update drivers.
Change the "Override software rendering list" setting
  1. In the SmartBox, enter browser://flags/#ignore-gpu-blacklist.
  2. Press Enter.
  3. In the search bar, enter Override software rendering list.
  4. Set this feature to Enabled.
  5. Restart Yandex Browser. Click  → Close Yandex Browser, or press Ctrl + Shift + Q (on Windows) or ⌘ + Q (on macOS), then open the browser again.
Launch Yandex Browser with a flag

  1. Right-click the Yandex Browser shortcut and select Properties.

  2. In the Target field, add the --ignore-gpu-blocklist parameter.

    Warning

    Make sure that browser.exe is followed by a space. Example Target string:
    C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Yandex\YandexBrowser\Application\browser.exe --ignore-gpu-blocklist

  3. Restart Yandex Browser. Click  → Close Yandex Browser, or press Ctrl + Shift + Q (on Windows) or ⌘ + Q (on macOS), then open the browser again.

Mouse cursor freezes when gaming online

When you're playing some online games in Yandex Browser, clicking the mouse may cause the cursor to freeze. If this happens, try disabling mouse gestures:

  1. Click → Settings → Tools.
  2. Under Mouse gestures, deselect Enable.

If this didn't help, write to us.

Contact support

You can enter search queries in the address bar and Yandex Browser will understand what you need.