YouTube Mini Player Not Working? When It Is and Isn't Available

The Miniplayer is one of those YouTube features you only notice when it goes missing. You're halfway through a long tutorial, you want to check an email or find another video, and instead of a neat little window the video just stops or vanishes. I use it all the time when I'm researching, so I know how annoying that is.

Here's the thing most people miss: in many cases the Miniplayer isn't broken at all. YouTube's own help lists several situations where it deliberately isn't available or behaves differently. I've gone through those pages so you can work out which situation you're in.

Is the YouTube Miniplayer meant to work on this video?

Start with the video itself, because YouTube's help states two exclusions plainly. The Miniplayer is not available for Shorts, and it's not available for videos marked as made for kids. If you're trying to shrink one of those, nothing is wrong with your device.

If you create content, this is worth knowing too. Setting the audience on a video to made for kids changes how viewers can watch it, and the Miniplayer is one of the things that goes.

What you're watching	Miniplayer available?
A normal long video	Yes
A playlist or a livestream	Yes, YouTube's help lists both
A Short	No
A video marked as made for kids	No

Starting the Miniplayer on a computer

On a computer there's no button in the toolbar that most people spot. YouTube's steps are:

1. Open a video and start it playing.
2. Right click on the video.
3. Choose Miniplayer from the menu.

You'll land back on the page you were browsing, with the video playing in a small window. If you're just clicking around the player controls, you may never have found that menu item, which is why people think the feature has gone.

Once it's running, YouTube says you can pause and play without leaving the Miniplayer, and that clicking another video's thumbnail while you're on Home loads that video straight into it. To close it, use the close control at the top right or press the Escape key. To go back to the full page, click Expand. You can also drag it to any of the four corners of your screen, and drag a corner to resize it.

If you closed it by accident, YouTube's help says you can find the video again from your watch history or by going back to its page.

Getting the YouTube Miniplayer to appear in the phone app

In the app it works differently. YouTube's help says the Miniplayer pops up at the bottom of the screen when you tap the back button or swipe down while a video is playing. There's nothing to switch on in the menu.

1. Start a video in the YouTube app.
2. Tap the back button, or swipe down on the video.
3. The video shrinks to the bottom of the screen and keeps playing while you browse.

In the phone version you tap the video to go back to the watch page, and the controls sit at the top of the small player: one side pauses and resumes, the other closes it. You can move it by touching, holding and dragging, double-tap it to switch between its largest and smallest size, or pinch in and out to resize it.

One difference from the computer: in the app, tapping another video's thumbnail on Home while the Miniplayer is up takes you to that video, rather than loading it into the small window.

Why the YouTube Miniplayer pauses when you leave the app

This is the complaint I'd guess causes most of the confusion. You swipe away from YouTube to another app, and the video stops. According to YouTube's help, for people who don't have YouTube Premium, playback pauses straight away for all content, including ads, when the Miniplayer is hidden. It resumes when the Miniplayer is no longer hidden. Playing in the background is a YouTube Premium feature.

So if the Miniplayer works while you're inside YouTube but goes quiet the moment you leave it, that's the behaviour YouTube describes rather than a fault.

YouTube Miniplayer or picture-in-picture: which one are you after?

They sound alike but they're separate features. The Miniplayer lives inside YouTube. Picture-in-picture shrinks a video into a small window that you can drag over other apps on your phone.

YouTube's help for picture-in-picture says you use it by leaving the YouTube app while a video is playing, with the picture-in-picture setting turned on. It also says music content, such as official music videos, is only available to YouTube Premium members.

Checking picture-in-picture on Android

1. Open your Android settings, then Apps, then YouTube.
2. Scroll to Advanced and tap Picture-in-picture, and make sure it's allowed.
3. Open the YouTube app, go to your settings, then Playback.
4. Switch Picture-in-picture on.

You can close the small window by tapping it and then the X at the top right, or by dragging it off the bottom of the screen.

When the YouTube Miniplayer still won't appear

If your video is a normal one and you've followed the right steps, work through YouTube's general playback advice. It doesn't target the Miniplayer alone, but it clears the odd glitches that make features misbehave.

• Update the YouTube app. YouTube encourages the latest version for new features, a faster experience and fixes. On Android, open the Play Store, tap your profile picture, then Manage apps and device, then Updates available.
• Close and reopen the app or your browser, then restart your device.
• On a computer, close the extra tabs so you're only using one for YouTube, and update your browser.
• Clear the app's cache through your phone's app settings, or clear your browser's cache and cookies on a computer.
• Try your video in a different browser, or with extensions switched off in an incognito window. YouTube's help says ad blockers in particular can affect playback.

If the whole app is struggling and not just the Miniplayer, my overview of why YouTube might not be working covers the wider picture, and if the picture looks soft once the video shrinks, my page on why YouTube looks blurry on a phone is worth a look. Another player feature people mix up with this one is YouTube's ambient mode, which only changes the glow behind the video.

A quick note for creators about the YouTube Miniplayer

If you publish videos, the Miniplayer shapes how people watch you. Viewers using it keep your video running while they browse, which means a clear title and a strong opening matter even when the picture is tiny. And because it isn't available for Shorts or made-for-kids videos, those formats are always watched in full view. That's useful to remember when you're deciding how to present a tutorial.

Telling YouTube when the Miniplayer misbehaves

If you've checked the video type, followed the steps for your device and updated everything, and the Miniplayer still won't start, tell YouTube. Open your profile picture in the app, go to Help and feedback, and send feedback straight after the problem happens, as YouTube's playback help suggests. A short, specific description of your device and what you did gives them the most to work with.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the YouTube Miniplayer not working on my computer?

YouTube's help says the Miniplayer isn't available for Shorts or videos marked as made for kids. For other videos, right click the video and choose Miniplayer. If that menu item is missing, update your browser and try again.

How do I turn on the Miniplayer in the YouTube app?

There's no switch. YouTube's help says it appears at the bottom of the screen when you tap the back button or swipe down while a video is playing.

Why does my video stop when I leave the YouTube app?

YouTube's help says that without YouTube Premium, playback pauses straight away when the Miniplayer is hidden. Playing in the background is a Premium feature.

What's the difference between the Miniplayer and picture-in-picture?

The Miniplayer stays inside YouTube. Picture-in-picture is a small window you can move over other apps, and you set it up in your phone's settings and the YouTube Playback settings.

Can I use the Miniplayer for YouTube Shorts?

No. YouTube's help says the Miniplayer is not available for Shorts.