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How to Fix VLC Not Playing YouTube Videos: Quick and Easy Steps

How to Fix VLC Media PlayerNot Playing YouTube Videos

Last updated on January 23rd, 2024 at 02:17 am

This quick tutorial will show you how to fix the problem of VLC not playing YouTube videos.

Sometimes you don’t want to watch YouTube videos through the YouTube site.

Maybe you don’t want to be distracted by the other videos there. You may not also want others to know that you’re visiting YouTube.

In this instance, you can use the VLC Media Player to play YouTube videos.

All you have to do is open Network Stream from the Media Menu and paste the YouTube video link and hit Play.

But sometimes this method doesn’t work.

If so, here’s how to fix VLC not playing YouTube videos. A video guide is included at the bottom of the post to refresh your understanding of the steps.

Fix YouTube Luac File

Sometimes your YouTube video may not play because you may have a problem with the VLC YouTube luac file.

So, you’ll need to replace the YouTube luac File with a working one.

Find the YouTube Lua File

To find the Youtube luac file, you would have to navigate to the VLC Program files.

To do that go to the C drive in your file explorer.

The default installation is in the Program Files folder if you’re on a 64-bit computer. If you’re on 32-bit then it’s in the Program Files (x86).

If you don’t know what operating system you have, just check both the Program Files folder to locate the VLC folder.

Navigate Program Files Folder

Choose the appropriate Program Files folder and navigate to VideoLAN.

Once there, click on the lua folder.

Next, choose playlist.

Delete youtube.luac File

In the playlist folder, you’ll see youtube.luac at the bottom.

Delete this file.

Replace youtube.luac with youtube.lua

To replace youtube.luac with the youtube.lua file, visit this link.,

This is the link to download it from the official VLC site.

Download the file without changing its name.

Next copy this file and paste it to the playlist folder as mentioned above.

Now, try playing the YouTube video.

The steps above should fix VLC not playing YouTube videos.

Fix VLC Not Playing YouTube Videos: Video Guide

Watch the video below to learn the steps in action.

Go ahead and give the steps a try.

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