This support article covers playback issues for the web and desktop apps only. We also have separate articles for the Android and iOS apps.
At times, a browser (ie.: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, etc) can encounter an unforeseen event and will not play an episode, or will stop streaming during an episode, frequently resulting in an error message.
The most common reason an episode won’t play in your browser, is because an extension you have installed is blocking it. Common examples of this are any sort of ad/content blocking extensions like Adblock/Ublock (Night Eye – a dark mode extension has also caused some loading issues). The best way to test if this is the case, is to enter private browsing (incognito) mode in your browser, and attempt to play the podcast again. Alternatively, you can try temporarily disabling any extensions you have that might cause issues.
An alternative option is to enable insecure content to be played through Pocket Casts temporarily:
- Click the certificate/padlock icon next to the website location
- Click site settings
- Change ‘Insecure content’ to allow
Some error messages you may receive and their meanings are:
A network error occurred, your internet connection may be unstable, or the episode may have been removed by the author
- The episode may have been removed by the podcast author.
- There may be a problem with the podcast server or your internet connection.
Your browser is unable to play this episode. Its stream may be corrupt or unsupported
- The stream isn’t in a file format that can be played by the browser. As particular examples, some Linux browsers can’t play .mp3 files, most browsers can’t play .mov or .ogg files, etc.
- Some browsers might require additional software (plugins, or actual system software support) to play certain audio or video files
- This is also the error shown when Edge wants to play a file but there is no audio-out hardware attached.
This episode could not be downloaded. Your internet connection may be unstable, or the episode may have been removed by the author
- A firewall or browser extension preventing the stream from downloading/streaming
- It is a Windows machine that has locked down local storage in Edge which causes the streaming mechanism to fail.
An error occurred decoding this stream
- The media player is having trouble playing the file, e.g internet issues, or the file is corrupted
Your browser has cancelled this episode stream.
- The browser (or possibly the computer) has deliberately terminated the stream, more likely to be a browser extension like an ad blocker or content blocker, proxy.
Your browser has cancelled this episode stream.
- The browser (or possibly the computer) has deliberately terminated the stream, more likely to be a browser extension like an ad blocker or content blocker, proxy.
Episode added through Files is unable to play
- The most common cause of this problem is that playback of the file was started from a mobile device, but the file has not yet been uploaded to the cloud. Since the file is not available for the web/desktop app, it fails to play. To solve this problem, in the app where you starting playing the local file, go to Profile > Files > tap on the three dot menu (…) > Files Settings and enable the “Auto upload to Cloud” setting. After the file is uploaded, you will be able to resume playback in the Web Player.
Note: Still not sure what could have gone wrong? Send us a console log so the experts here can take a closer look.
Just like browsers, sometimes the desktop app encounters an unforeseen event and will not play an episode or stop streaming during an episode, frequently resulting in an error message.
There are a few steps to try:
- Go to Help > Troubleshooting > Clear cache and reload — if you’re using the Windows app, press the alt key on your keyboard to reveal the help menu.
- Switch to a different WiFi or network connection. Public and corporate networks often have strict firewalls that can interfere with connectivity.
- Sign up with your account on another computer and see if the problem persists
- Sign up with a browser instead of the desktop app and check if the problem persists
- Disconnect or unplug external monitors and devices
