How to Turn off HTML 5 Video Player in YouTube

If you visit YouTube everyday to watch your favorite videos, chances are that you are using the HTML 5 video player to play the videos. Some users of latest supported browsers are automatically entered in to the HTML 5 video player trial. HTML 5 is a new browser technology that allows YouTube to show videos without the Adobe Flash plugin. This sounds great but if you are experiencing any problems while using the HTML5 video player for YouTube, then you may want to use the tried and tested the Adobe Flash player to watch Youtube videos. If you want to turn off HTML 5 video player, then you can do so easily using the following instructions :

  1. You must be logged on to your YouTube account before proceeding. If you are not logged on, then visit http://www.youtube.com/ and log on to your YouTube account.
  2. Next, point your web browser to http://www.youtube.com/html5 to open the HTML 5 Video settings for your YouTube account.
  3. Scroll down the HTML5 video setting page and you would find Use the default player button at the bottom of the page. Click on this button to turn off HTML 5 based video player for your YouTube account.Toogle HTML5 Player in Youtube
  4. If instead of the Use the default player you see the Request the HTML5 Player button, then you have already turned off the HTML 5 video player for your account and you do not have to worry about it.
  5. If later you decide that you want to re-enable the HTML 5 video player, then you can follow the same steps and click on the Request the HTML5 Player button as shown,Toogle HTML5 Player in Youtube

The basic difference between HTML 5 and Flash video players for YouTube is that more features are supported by the Flash version of the video player. For example, you can watch videos only in resolutions 360px and above in the HTML 5 video player. On the other hand, the Flash video player supports lower resolutions like 240px which is great for slower internet connections. If you are unsure which version of the video player to use, just turn off the HTML5 player and use the Adobe Flash player.

9 comments

  1. Still doesn’t work with Safari on iPad. No ‘use default player,’ no ‘request html5 player.’

  2. I am using safari and I have the same issue. It doesn’t show the option for using default settings.

  3. didnt work for me:( i clicked the link from step 2 while logged in, i DO see that title of in the page (5 YouTube HTML5 Video Player) but i dont see that whole text under it, and also no turn off option at the bottom:( i use google chrome

    1. I wrote this back in 2011 when HTML5 was in testing phase for Youtube. I have updated the article to show what you can do to turn off the HTML5 video player in youtube in the present time. Thank you 🙂

      1. tnx for updating the article, but i still have the same problem xD the page is all the same as on your pic but without the “use the default player” or the “request the html5 player”. instead i see this (i marked links with a * sign):

        Supported Browsers

        Many browsers support both the video element in HTML5 and either the H.264 video codec or the *WebM format. These include:

        *Google Chrome
        *Microsoft Internet Explorer
        *Firefox
        *Opera
        *Apple Safari

        1. Okay I forgot that you are using Chrome. In Chrome, you are not shown any choice. Only way you can watch videos in Flash is by using some other web browser.

          1. Firefox has add-ons like Youtube Flash-HTML5.

            For those who don’t know, Tools > Add-ons and then search it.

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