Why Is There No Sound on Reddit Videos?

Almost always a mute setting or browser issue — here’s what’s causing it and how to fix it

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Playing a Reddit video and getting no sound — even though the video is clearly playing — is one of the most commonly reported Reddit complaints across every platform.

The cause is almost always one of a handful of specific things, and most of them are fixed in under ten seconds once you know where to look.

Here’s what’s actually happening and how to fix it.

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The Video Is Muted

This is the cause in the vast majority of cases. Reddit mutes videos by default when they autoplay in the feed, and the mute state sometimes persists even when you click directly to play a video intentionally.

On desktop: Look for a small speaker or mute icon in the bottom left corner of the video player. If it shows a muted speaker (a speaker icon with an X or a line through it), click it to unmute. The video immediately plays with sound.

On mobile: Look for the same speaker icon in the corner of the video. Tap it to unmute. On some versions of the Reddit app, the mute button is in the top right corner of the video rather than the bottom left.

This single step fixes the problem for most people who encounter missing Reddit video sound. The mute state carries over between videos in the feed and isn’t always obvious.

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Your Device Volume or System Sound Is Off

Before assuming it’s a Reddit issue, check the basics. The video may be playing with sound that simply isn’t audible because:

Your device volume is turned down or muted. Check the volume buttons on your phone or the volume mixer on your computer.

Your computer’s audio output is set to the wrong device — sound going to a disconnected Bluetooth speaker or headset rather than your speakers.

The app or browser is muted in the system audio mixer. On Windows, right-click the speaker icon in the taskbar and open Volume Mixer — check whether your browser or the Reddit app is muted there specifically.

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Reddit Videos With No Audio Track

Some Reddit videos genuinely have no audio track — they were uploaded without sound, recorded as silent clips, or are GIFs converted to video format. Reddit converts GIF files to short video clips (MP4) automatically, and these clips have no audio because the original GIF had none.

If a video has no audio track, no amount of unmuting will produce sound because there’s nothing there to play. This is particularly common with:

Short looping clips that originated as GIFs. Screen recordings without system audio captured. Time-lapses and similar content where audio wasn’t included. Clips uploaded from apps that strip audio by default.

The Reddit app sometimes shows the mute button as active on these videos even though there’s no audio — misleading you into thinking unmuting will fix it when the clip simply has no sound.

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Audio and Video Upload as Separate Files

Reddit’s video upload system historically separated video and audio into two separate files — video.mp4 and audio.mp4 — and played them together through the player. When the two files fail to sync or the audio file fails to load, the video plays silently.

This is a known Reddit infrastructure issue that’s been present for years and is more common on:

Slower internet connections where the audio file fails to load before the video starts. Third-party Reddit apps that don’t handle Reddit’s dual-file system correctly. Older Reddit video uploads before infrastructure improvements.

The fix on desktop: Refresh the page and let the video fully load before playing. On slower connections, pause the video for a few seconds to allow buffering before continuing.

On mobile: Close and reopen the video. If using a third-party Reddit app, the app may handle the dual-file system poorly — try the official Reddit app or reddit.com in a mobile browser.

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Browser Extensions Are Blocking Audio

Ad blockers and privacy extensions sometimes block Reddit’s audio file requests — particularly extensions that block certain CDN domains or media requests. Since Reddit’s audio is a separate file from the video, blocking the audio CDN silently removes sound without affecting video playback.

Test by opening the Reddit video in incognito or private mode where most extensions are disabled. If sound plays in incognito, an extension is blocking the audio in your regular window.

Go to your browser’s extensions page and look for ad blockers or privacy tools. Check their settings for any rules blocking Reddit’s media domains and add reddit.com or Reddit’s CDN domains to the whitelist.

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The Reddit App Needs to Be Updated

Outdated Reddit app versions have known audio bugs — particularly the separate audio/video sync issue. Reddit updates its app regularly and audio fixes appear in these updates.

Check the App Store or Google Play for pending Reddit updates and install them. After updating, restart the app and test whether audio plays correctly.

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The Reddit App Cache Is Corrupted

Corrupted cached data in the Reddit app can cause audio playback failures. Clearing the cache forces the app to fetch fresh data.

On Android: Go to Settings → Apps → Reddit → Storage → Clear Cache.

On iPhone: Reddit doesn’t expose a direct cache clear. Go to Settings → General → iPhone Storage → Reddit and look for an Offload App option, or simply delete and reinstall the app from the App Store.

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Third-Party Reddit Apps and Audio

Third-party Reddit apps — Apollo, Relay, Infinity, RIF, and others — handle Reddit’s video player differently from the official app and website. Some handle the separate audio/video files better than the official app, some handle them worse.

If audio is consistently missing in a specific third-party app, check that app’s settings for video playback options. Some apps have a video sound or autoplay audio toggle in their settings. Also check for app-specific updates — developers frequently patch audio playback issues as Reddit changes its infrastructure.

If a third-party app consistently fails with audio, trying the official Reddit app or reddit.com in a mobile browser for video content is a reliable workaround.

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Audio on Embedded vs. Direct Reddit Videos

Videos embedded from external sources — YouTube, Imgur, Streamable, Gfycat, and similar services — play through their own players rather than Reddit’s native player. Audio issues with these embedded videos are often specific to the embedded service rather than Reddit.

For YouTube embeds specifically, the YouTube player has its own mute state that’s independent of Reddit’s mute button. If a YouTube video embedded on Reddit is muted, look for the YouTube player’s own volume control rather than Reddit’s mute button.

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Browser-Specific Issues on Desktop

Certain browser configurations affect audio playback on Reddit specifically.

Autoplay policies: Modern browsers block autoplay with sound by default. When you navigate to a Reddit video, the browser may mute it to comply with this policy. Clicking the video to play it should unmute — but if the browser’s autoplay policy is very strict, you may need to manually click the mute button.

In Chrome: Go to Settings → Privacy and Security → Site Settings → Sound and make sure Reddit.com is not in the muted sites list.

In Firefox: Go to about:config and check media.autoplay.default — a value of 1 blocks autoplay with sound, which can cause Reddit videos to start muted.

Hardware acceleration conflicts: On some systems, hardware acceleration in the browser causes audio/video sync issues. Try disabling hardware acceleration in browser settings and test Reddit video audio.

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Check Reddit’s Own Status

Occasionally Reddit’s video infrastructure experiences issues that cause audio to fail across the platform for many users simultaneously. If sound suddenly stopped working on videos that previously had audio and none of the above fixes help, check whether it’s a platform-wide problem.

Check Downdetector.com for Reddit and look for spikes in reported issues. Reddit’s own status page at redditstatus.com shows current service incidents. If there’s a known issue with video delivery, waiting for Reddit to resolve it is the only option.

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A Quick Checklist

Work through these in order:

• Check the mute button in the video player — click or tap the speaker icon to unmute
• Check device volume and system audio mixer for muted browser or app
• Confirm the video has audio — short GIF-converted clips often have no audio track
• Refresh the page and let the video buffer before playing
• Test in incognito mode to rule out extension interference
• Whitelist Reddit in ad blocker or privacy extension settings
• Update the Reddit app to the latest version
• Clear the Reddit app cache or reinstall the app
• Check browser autoplay settings and remove Reddit from muted sites list
• Try the official Reddit app if using a third-party app
• Check Downdetector for Reddit-wide audio issues

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The Bottom Line

Reddit video sound not working is almost always the mute button being active or Reddit’s separate audio file failing to load. Clicking the speaker icon in the video player fixes the first in one second. Refreshing the page and letting the video buffer fixes the second in most cases.

For persistent audio issues across all Reddit videos in a browser, the extension audit and browser autoplay settings cover most remaining causes. And for videos that genuinely have no audio track — converted GIFs and silent uploads — no fix exists because there’s simply nothing to hear.

Reddit mutes videos by default — the speaker icon in the corner is almost always the whole answer.