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Youtube periodically freezing for only firefox if I watch it in 720P (or higher)

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I use a multitude of browsers on my Laptop, and AdBlock Plus on Chrome with no issue, so I know for a fact that FF is the problem.

Whenever I watch youtube in high quality, that's 720p and above, the video freezes periodically while the audio plays as normal. Since my hardware is capable of running these videos in high quality on Chrome and Edge, I was wondering if there was a way for me to fix this for FireFox as I'm trying to completely migrate over to this browser.

I use a multitude of browsers on my Laptop, and AdBlock Plus on Chrome with no issue, so I know for a fact that FF is the problem. Whenever I watch youtube in high quality, that's 720p and above, the video freezes periodically while the audio plays as normal. Since my hardware is capable of running these videos in high quality on Chrome and Edge, I was wondering if there was a way for me to fix this for FireFox as I'm trying to completely migrate over to this browser.

Chosen solution

Try to install this addon.

Read this answer in context 👍 0

All Replies (8)

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Unless one knows what link your watching or can re-recreate to problem it can't just be assumed is a firefox issue.

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WestEnd said

Unless one knows what link your watching or can re-recreate to problem it can't just be assumed is a firefox issue.

Here's the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkXoVc6DuyE

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Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions ("3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Extensions) or if hardware acceleration is is causing the problem.

  • switch to the DEFAULT theme: "3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Appearance
  • do NOT click the "Refresh Firefox" button on the Safe Mode start window

If you use Adblock Plus then you can consider uBlock Origin as a replacement to see if that works better (lower memory footprint).

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cor-el said

Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions ("3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Extensions) or if hardware acceleration is is causing the problem.
  • switch to the DEFAULT theme: "3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Add-ons -> Appearance
  • do NOT click the "Refresh Firefox" button on the Safe Mode start window
If you use Adblock Plus then you can consider uBlock Origin as a replacement to see if that works better (lower memory footprint).


I started it into safe mode, and the exact same issue happened. Its safe to say that it isn't Adblock, right? And I already am on the default theme.

Modified by LuckyBoneHead

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Clicked link and changed to 720 and have no glitch watching it. Also went full screen and nothing happened it played without problem.

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WestEnd said

Clicked link and changed to 720 and have no glitch watching it. Also went full screen and nothing happened it played without problem.

So, my machine just can't handle youtube with Firefox? Do you think the HTML5 player thing is the issue?

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Chosen Solution

Try to install this addon.

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TyDraniu said

Try to install this addon.

Thanks, this helps! I had to use the "disable 60 fps" option, but that doesn't really matter with me.

Now I can continue my migration to this browser!