- Step 1: check the video has captions
- Step 2: turn them on and choose a language
- Step 3: make captions show every time
- Step 4: fix captions you can't read
- Why automatic captions are missing or wrong
- Captions on live streams
- Quick fixes when captions still won't play
- For creators: make sure your viewers get captions
- My verdict
- Frequently asked questions
If YouTube captions aren't working, first check the video has them: no CC button means no captions exist for that video. If the button is there, turn it on, pick a language under Settings, then Subtitles/CC, and try Auto-translate if your language is missing. Automatic captions can also be delayed or missing on some uploads.
Caption problems usually come down to one of three things: the video has no captions at all, your settings are hiding them, or YouTube's automatic captions haven't been made for that video. Work through the checks below in order and you'll know which one's to blame in a couple of minutes.
Step 1: check the video has captions
This is the one people skip. YouTube says that if you don't see the Closed captions (CC) button on the player, captions aren't available for that video. No setting will make them appear. On a computer the CC button sits at the bottom right of the player. On a phone, tap the video once to show the controls, then look for the CC icon among them.
Step 2: turn them on and choose a language
| Device | How to turn captions on | How to pick a language |
|---|---|---|
| Computer | Click the CC button on the player | Settings gear, then Subtitles/CC, then choose a language |
| Android, iPhone or iPad | Tap the video, then the CC button | Tap the menu on the player, then Captions, then a language |
If your language isn't in the list, choose Auto-translate and pick it there. Auto-translate works from the captions the video already has, so if the original captions are automatic and a little rough, the translation will be too. It's still far better than nothing for a video in a language you don't speak.
Step 3: make captions show every time
If you have to switch captions on for every single video, change the default. On Android, tap your profile picture, then Settings, then Captions, and turn on Show captions so they appear whenever a video has them. On a phone or tablet you can also turn on Show when muted, under the player's Settings, then Captions, so captions appear automatically when your sound is off. That one is brilliant for watching on the train.
Step 4: fix captions you can't read
Captions that are there but unreadable are a settings problem too. On a computer, open the player's Settings gear, then Subtitles/CC, then Options. You can change the font, colour, size, opacity, background and the edge style of the letters. Click Reset to go back to YouTube's default if you've made them worse. On Android it's under Settings, Captions, then Caption size and style.
Why automatic captions are missing or wrong
Many videos rely on YouTube's automatic captions rather than ones the creator typed. YouTube lists the reasons automatic captions might not be generated:
- They're still processing, because the audio is complex.
- The video's language isn't supported for automatic captions.
- The video is too long.
- The sound quality is poor, or YouTube doesn't recognise the speech.
- There's a long silence at the start of the video.
- Several people talk over each other, or the video mixes languages.
When automatic captions do appear but read oddly, YouTube says accents, dialects, mispronunciations and background noise can trip them up. And if you see [ __ ] in place of a word, that's deliberate: YouTube replaces potentially inappropriate words with that symbol in automatic captions by default.
Captions on live streams
Live captions are more limited. YouTube's live automatic captions are English only and only work on normal latency streams, so a low-latency phone stream won't get them. After a live stream ends, the live captions don't stay on the video. YouTube generates new automatic captions for the recording, and they may be different from what you saw live.
Quick fixes when captions still won't play
- Refresh the page, or close and reopen the app.
- Update the YouTube app from your app store.
- Try the same video in another browser or on another device. If captions work there, the problem is your app or browser, not the video.
- Turn off browser extensions that change the YouTube player.
- Sign out and back in if your caption settings don't seem to save.
If the whole player is misbehaving rather than just captions, my guide to why YouTube isn't working covers the wider fixes.
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For creators: make sure your viewers get captions
Don't rely on automatic captions alone. In YouTube Studio, open Subtitles, choose the video and review the automatic captions, editing anything that's been transcribed wrongly. Clear audio, no long silence at the start and one person speaking at a time all help YouTube get them right first time. My guide on how to add subtitles to a YouTube video shows how to upload your own.
My verdict
Start with the simplest check: is there a CC button? If not, that video has no captions and nothing on your side will change it. If there is, turn on Show captions so you never have to switch them on again, and use Auto-translate for missing languages. Most 'captions not working' problems are solved in those two steps, and the rest usually come down to automatic captions that YouTube hasn't been able to create for that video yet.
If Premium features are the ones failing, see how to fix YouTube Premium when it is not working.
Frequently asked questions
Why are captions not showing on YouTube?
The video may not have captions. If there's no CC button on the player, captions aren't available for that video.
How do I make YouTube captions turn on automatically?
On Android, go to Settings, then Captions, and turn on Show captions. On a phone or tablet you can also turn on Show when muted.
Why are there no automatic captions on a YouTube video?
They may still be processing, the language may not be supported, the video may be too long, or the audio may be too unclear.
Why do YouTube captions show [ __ ]?
YouTube replaces potentially inappropriate words with that symbol in automatic captions by default.
