How do I get the volume to work on Facebook videos?

Having issues with getting the volume to work properly on Facebook videos can be frustrating. You may find the audio is too quiet, not playing at all, only playing in one earbud, or having other sound problems. There are several potential reasons why Facebook videos may not be playing audio correctly.

The most common causes include your device’s system volume being muted or turned down, the Facebook app’s audio settings needing adjustment, an outdated version of the Facebook app, incompatible video formats, device or browser configuration problems, and more. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to troubleshoot and fix many common Facebook video volume issues.

This guide will walk through the top troubleshooting tips and solutions to try if you are having problems getting the volume to work right on Facebook videos. We’ll cover adjusting your device and Facebook app settings, updating the app, verifying video formats, using headphones, checking browser configurations, restarting your device, re-uploading the video file, and contacting Facebook support if needed. With some systematic troubleshooting, you should be able to resolve most difficulties playing sound on Facebook videos.

Check Device and App Volume

The first thing to check is that your device’s volume is turned up high enough to hear audio played from apps. Use the volume buttons on the side of your phone or tablet to raise the main system volume to an audible level.

Next, open the Facebook app and play a video. If you still can’t hear audio, check for a volume control within the Facebook app itself. This may be accessed by tapping the video as it plays. Make sure the in-app volume slider is raised and not muted.

According to source, one of the most common reasons for no sound on Facebook videos is that the device or app volume is set too low or muted. Starting by turning these volumes up is an easy first troubleshooting step.

Adjust In-App Settings

One of the most common reasons for videos having no sound when played on Facebook is that the in-app sound settings are not properly configured. Facebook allows you to control whether videos autoplay with sound or are muted by default.

To adjust the video sound settings in the Facebook app:

1. Open the Facebook app on your mobile device and tap on the three-line menu button in the top right corner.
2. Go to “Settings & Privacy” > “Settings”.
3. Scroll down and tap on “Media”.
4. Under “Autoplay”, tap on the switch next to “Videos Start With Sound” to enable or disable sound for autoplaying videos.

Enabling this setting will make videos start playing with sound automatically as you scroll through your feed. You can always tap on a specific video to mute it as needed. If you prefer videos to be mute by default, make sure this setting is turned off.

For more details, refer to Facebook’s own instructions in their Help Center:
How do I turn automatic sound for Feed videos on or off?

Update the Facebook App

One potential solution is to update the Facebook app to the latest version. App updates often include bug fixes and patches that may resolve volume issues. According to Facebook’s Help page “How do I turn automatic sound for Feed videos on Facebook on or off?”, updating to the latest version of the Facebook app has helped some users fix problems with video sound not working properly.

To update the Facebook app on your device, open the App Store (iPhone/iPad) or Play Store (Android). Search for Facebook and check if there are any updates available. Tap ‘Update’ to download the latest version. Once updated, open the Facebook app and try playing a video again to see if the volume works properly now.

App updates roll out gradually, so the new version may not be available immediately. Checking for updates and upgrading to the latest release of the Facebook app is one of the easiest troubleshooting steps that can potentially fix quirky volume issues and bugs.

Verify Video Format

The recommended video format for Facebook is MP4. According to Facebook’s help center, MP4 is one of the best formats to use when uploading videos to Facebook.

MP4 is a common video compression format that allows videos to be compressed to a smaller file size while maintaining high visual quality. This makes it ideal for uploading and sharing on social media platforms like Facebook.

Other supported formats like MOV can also work, but MP4 is preferred. The MP4 video codec allows videos to be compressed efficiently while remaining visually lossless. This ensures your videos look great on Facebook while minimizing upload times and bandwidth usage.

When exporting your video, aim for MP4 format with H.264 video encoding and AAC audio encoding. This provides the optimal balance of quality and file size for Facebook. Avoid highly compressed formats like 3GP or excessive file sizes from uncompressed videos.

Sticking to the MP4 video format will help ensure your videos upload quickly and play back smoothly in Facebook’s video player. For the best Facebook video experience, MP4 is the top format to use.

Use Headphones

One way to troubleshoot issues with audio on Facebook videos is to use headphones. Plugging headphones directly into your device’s audio jack or connecting wireless headphones can help isolate whether the issue is with your device’s built-in speakers or with the audio output of the video itself. Source

Headphones provide a direct audio connection from your device to your ears. If you can hear the audio properly through headphones, then the issue likely lies with your built-in speakers, speaker settings, or hardware volume controls. However, if you still cannot hear any audio through headphones, then the problem is with the audio output of the Facebook video itself.

Trying headphones is an easy troubleshooting step to determine if the no sound issue stems from your device’s audio configuration or directly from the Facebook video feed. Rule out any speaker problems first before digging deeper into Facebook and app settings.

Check Browser Settings

The browser you use to access Facebook can impact the volume of videos. Most major browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge have settings to control media volume and autoplay.

In Chrome, go to Settings > Advanced > Content settings > Sound to adjust default volume and autoplay permissions. You can set volume levels for different websites here. For more granular control, install the Chrome extension MuteTab to mute tabs on an individual basis.

Firefox has similar autoplay blocking and per-site volume controls in Settings > Privacy & Security > Permissions > Autoplay and Settings > Privacy & Security > Permissions > Sound.

For Safari, enable ‘Stop autoplay videos’ in Safari > Preferences > Websites. Adjust the default volume under Safari > Preferences > Websites > Auto-play > When visiting other websites.

In Edge, access autoplay and default volume controls under Settings > Cookies and site permissions > Media autoplay and Settings > Cookies and site permissions > Website permissions.

Adjusting these browser settings can prevent videos on Facebook from autoplaying or set default volume levels on a per-website basis.

Restart Device

Restarting your device is a simple but effective troubleshooting step that can often resolve Facebook video sound issues. Restarting helps refresh the audio drivers and clears any software bugs that may be preventing sound from working properly.

To restart an iPhone or iPad, press and hold the side or top button until the power off slider appears. Drag the slider to turn your device completely off. Wait 30 seconds, then press and hold the side or top button again until you see the Apple logo to restart your device.

For Android devices, press and hold the power button for about 30 seconds until your phone or tablet restarts. You may see a restart option on the power off menu as well.

On a computer, click the Start menu and select Restart. This will restart your PC and refresh the audio components.

Once your device has fully restarted, open the Facebook app and try playing the video again. The sound should be restored after restarting clears any software bugs preventing audio from working properly.

Re-upload the Video

One potential cause of no sound on Facebook videos is an issue with the video file itself. Sometimes the audio track can become corrupted or separated from the video file during uploading. The simplest solution is to re-upload the original video.

To re-upload the video:

• Download the original video file from your computer or device.
• Open the Facebook app or website and start a new post.
• Select the video uploading option and choose the original video file.
• Upload the video and check if the sound is now working.

Facebook will create a new copy of the video file when you re-upload it. This often resolves any encoding or corruption issues that may have affected the audio. Make sure you are uploading the best quality version of the video with the highest resolution and bitrate.

According to a Reddit user, re-uploading the original video file fixed the issue of no audio on their Facebook videos (source). The new upload will recreate the video file from scratch and attach the audio correctly.

Contact Facebook Support

If you’ve tried all the other troubleshooting steps and the volume still does not work on your Facebook videos, you may need to contact Facebook Support directly to report the issue. This is likely a bug that Facebook will need to fix on their end.

To contact Facebook Support:

• Open the Facebook app on your device
• Tap on the Menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the top right corner
• Scroll down and tap “Help & Support”
• Tap “Report a Problem”
• Select “Something’s Not Working” and follow the prompts to report your video volume issue

Be sure to provide details on when the issue started, what troubleshooting you’ve tried, and what device/OS version you are using. The more info you provide, the quicker Facebook can investigate and resolve the bug.

Reporting volume bugs directly to the Facebook team is the best way to get this fixed if nothing else has worked. They may provide steps to workaround the issue in the meantime as they develop a permanent fix.