I can't hear any sound on the videos — what should I do?

At a Glance

If a lecture video plays but you cannot hear anything, the cause is almost always a volume setting on your own device rather than a problem with the course. Work through the five checks below in order. The first one solves it most of the time.

Why this happens

Our videos play through a video player that has its own volume control, separate from your computer's main volume. That means the video can be muted while everything else on your computer still has sound.

Browsers add a second layer. Chrome, Edge and Firefox can all silence a single tab without any obvious sign that they have done it.

Five checks, in the order most likely to fix it

1. Check the video's own volume. Start the video, hover your mouse over it, and look for the small speaker icon at the bottom-left of the player. If it has a line through it, click it to unmute. Check the volume slider next to it is turned up.

1. Unmute the browser tab. In Chrome or Edge, right-click the browser tab at the top of the screen. If you see Unmute site, click it.

1. Check your browser is not muted separately. On Windows, right-click the speaker icon in the bottom-right of the screen and choose Open Volume Mixer. Make sure your browser is not turned down or muted there, as it is set independently of your main volume. On a Mac, check any per-app volume control in the same way.

1. Try a different browser, or a private/incognito window. This rules out a browser extension or ad-blocker interfering with the player. If the sound works there, an extension is the cause.

1. Check your headphones and Bluetooth. Make sure the sound is not being sent to headphones or a Bluetooth speaker that is connected but not in use.

After making a change

Refresh the lesson page and start the video again. Some settings only take effect once the page reloads.

Still stuck?

If none of the five checks works, email us and include:

• The device you are using — for example a Windows laptop, a MacBook, an iPad

• The web browser you are using — for example Chrome, Safari, Edge, Firefox

• The link to the specific lesson you are on

With those three details we can look at it properly for you rather than guessing.

Related Articles

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• The page has stopped responding — Page Frozen or Not Responding

• Subtitles are showing and you do not want them — How to Turn Off Subtitles or Closed Captions

Still Need Help?

Our support team is always on hand if you get stuck.

Email us at support@counsellingtutor.com and we will be happy to help.