Video Not Playing? Troubleshooting Guide

If your SmartVideo videos aren't playing, showing a black screen, buffering endlessly, or just not loading at all, this guide will walk you through the most common causes and fixes. Work through each step in order - most playback issues are resolved within the first three steps.

Step 1: Is SmartVideo Installed Correctly?

Symptoms: Videos don't convert, no SmartVideo player appears, videos play from their original source (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.) instead of SmartVideo.

The SmartVideo JavaScript snippet must be present in the <head> section of every page where you want videos to play. Without it, nothing works.

WordPress Users

Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins in your WordPress admin.
Confirm that SmartVideo is listed and activated.
Go to Settings > SmartVideo and verify your CDN key is entered correctly. You can find your CDN key in your Swarmify Dashboard under Configuration.

If the plugin is active but videos still aren't converting, try deactivating and reactivating the plugin.

Guide: Install SmartVideo on WordPress

Non-WordPress Users (HTML, Squarespace, Wix, etc.)

Open the Configuration wizard in your Swarmify Dashboard.
Copy the generated JavaScript snippet.
Paste it into the <head> tag of your site, before the closing </head> tag.
Verify it's loading by right-clicking on your page, selecting "View Page Source," and searching for swarmcdnkey.

If you don't see the snippet in your page source, it's not installed.

Guide: Install SmartVideo on Other CMS

Quick Checks

Wrong API key? Make sure the swarmcdnkey value in the snippet matches the one in your dashboard. If you recently created a new account, your old key won't work.
Script in the wrong place? The snippet must be in the <head>, not the <body> or footer. Some page builders and themes place scripts in the footer by default.
Multiple snippets? Having more than one SmartVideo snippet on a page can cause conflicts. Make sure you only have one.

Step 2: Is the Video Still Processing?

Symptoms: You see the original YouTube/Vimeo player instead of SmartVideo, or you see a SmartVideo player with a spinning loader. The signal indicator shows the video is not yet optimized.

SmartVideo doesn't play videos instantly. When a video is first accessed through the SmartVideo player, our system begins importing and optimizing it. This process takes time.

How Long Does Processing Take?

A good rule of thumb: 2-3x the video's length. A 10-minute video may take 20-30 minutes to fully process. Longer videos can take significantly longer.

During processing, the video will stream from its original source (YouTube, Vimeo, your server, etc.). Once processing completes, it will automatically switch to streaming from the SmartVideo CDN.

How to Check Processing Status

Hover over the signal indicator in the SmartVideo player. It will show you whether the video is:

Importing - The video is being downloaded from its source.
Optimizing - The video is being encoded for multiple devices and quality levels.
Optimized - The video is fully processed and streaming from SmartVideo.

What to Do

Wait. Most videos complete processing within a few hours.
Make sure the source video is still accessible. If you've made the original video private or deleted it before processing completed, SmartVideo can't finish the import.
Check your dashboard. Visit files.swarmify.com/videos to see your uploaded videos or check the SmartVideo Library in your dashboard.

Step 3: Is the Source Video Accessible?

Symptoms: Black screen, video never loads, 404 errors in the browser console referencing video-node.swarmcdn.com.

SmartVideo needs to be able to access your original video to import and optimize it. If the source is private, restricted, or deleted, SmartVideo can't do its job.

YouTube Videos

The video must be set to Public or Unlisted. Private YouTube videos cannot be accessed by SmartVideo.
If the original YouTube video has been deleted or removed (copyright strike, channel termination, etc.), SmartVideo cannot re-import it. You'll need to re-upload the video or use a different source.

Guide: YouTube Auto-Conversions

Vimeo Videos

The video must be accessible via its URL. Private Vimeo videos (where only the owner can view them) will not work.
Set the video to "Anyone with the link" or "People with the password" (and configure your player accordingly).

Google Drive Videos

The file sharing must be set to "Anyone with the link" in Google Drive.
Google Drive has bandwidth limits on shared files. If a video gets too many views before SmartVideo finishes processing, Google may temporarily block access.

Guide: Google Drive File Sourcing

Dropbox Videos

The file must be shared with a public link ("Anyone with the link can view").

Guide: Dropbox File Sourcing

Other Sources (S3, Wasabi, Media Library, etc.)

Make sure the URL to the video file is publicly accessible.
Test by pasting the video URL directly into your browser. If it doesn't load there, SmartVideo can't load it either.

Guide: Where Should I Store My Videos?

Step 4: Is a Content Security Policy (CSP) Blocking SmartVideo?

Symptoms: Videos work in some browsers but not others, console errors mentioning "Content Security Policy," "Refused to load," or "blocked by CSP."

Add the following domains to your Content Security Policy:

*.swarmcdn.com *.swarmify.com blob:

Common Mistakes

Setting CSP in a "report-only" header while the restrictive policy is in a different header. Both headers need to allow SmartVideo domains.
Cloudflare security rules can add CSP headers that override your site's settings.
Server-level CSP (set in nginx, Apache, or your hosting panel) takes precedence over plugin-level settings.

After changing CSP settings, clear your browser cache before testing.

Step 5: Is a Caching Plugin or Minifier Interfering?

Symptoms: Videos work right after clearing cache but break again later, SmartVideo script appears modified or combined with other scripts.

Known Conflicts and Fixes

Autoptimize - Disable "Lazy-load iframes". Exclude swarmcdn.com from JavaScript optimization.

Guide: Fixing Compatibility Issues with Autoptimize

WP Rocket - Add swarmcdn to the "Delay JavaScript execution" exclusion list.

LiteSpeed Cache - Exclude SmartVideo scripts from JavaScript optimization.

Cloudflare - If using Rocket Loader, add data-cfasync="false" to the SmartVideo script tag.

General Rule

Temporarily deactivate the caching plugin.
Check if the video plays.
If it does, reactivate and add SmartVideo exclusions.
Clear all caches after making changes.

Step 6: Is It a Browser or Device Issue?

Symptoms: Videos work on desktop but not mobile, autoplay doesn't work on Safari/iOS.

Safari and iOS Autoplay

For a video to autoplay on Safari/iOS, both attributes are required:

<smartvideo src="https://example.com/video.mp4"
  class="swarm-fluid" controls muted playsinline
  width="1280" height="720">
</smartvideo>

Background Videos

Background videos need muted, autoplay, loop, and playsinline attributes.

Guide: How to Accelerate Background Videos

Step 7: Is It a Page Builder or Theme Conflict?

Symptoms: Videos break only with a specific theme or page builder active.

Elementor: Try the HTML widget with a SmartVideo tag instead of the Elementor video widget.
Divi: Test while logged out of WordPress. The builder can interfere with video rendering.
Other builders: Use the HTML/code widget to embed a <smartvideo> tag directly.
To exclude a specific video: Add the CSS class swarm-exclude to it.

Step 8: Are All Videos Down? (Service Outage)

Symptoms: Every video on your site is not loading. Console errors show 503 or 502 errors.

Check if it's just your site by visiting another SmartVideo-powered site.
Don't change your setup during an outage.
If it's just your account, check your subscription status in the Swarmify Dashboard.

Step 9: Is It a Video Quality or Encoding Issue?

Symptoms: Video plays but looks blurry or pixelated. Audio plays but video is stuck.

Source quality matters. Upload the highest quality source file you have.
Processing takes time. Wait for the signal indicator to show "Optimized" before judging quality.
SmartVideo supports MP4, MOV, WebM, and AVI. If your format isn't processing, convert to MP4 (H.264).

Quick Fixes Checklist

Clear all caches (browser, WordPress, CDN)
Test in an incognito/private window
Test while logged out of WordPress
Check browser console for errors (right-click > Inspect > Console)
Verify the source video is still accessible
Try a different browser
Deactivate other plugins one by one
Check your Swarmify Dashboard for subscription status

Still Not Working?

If you've worked through this guide and your video still isn't playing, contact our support team. To help us resolve your issue quickly, please include:

The URL of the page where the video isn't working.
The browser and device you're testing on.
A screenshot of any errors in the browser console.
What you've already tried from this guide.

Email: support@swarmify.com