My video uploaded but won't play
Right after upload, a video can take a little while to become playable. The original is already safe — the playback copy is still being made.
Try this first
- Wait a few minutes and reload the page. Most videos become playable shortly after upload.
- For a long video, give it longer — the playback copy for an hour of footage takes real time to prepare.
- Check that the upload itself finished. A video that never fully arrived can't be processed (see "My upload won't finish").
What's going on
When you upload a video (or audio), we keep your original exactly as it came in, then generate a separate copy that plays smoothly in any browser, plus a thumbnail. That processing happens after the upload, so there's a short window where the memory exists but the player isn't ready yet. It's the digital equivalent of photos at the developer's — the picture is taken; the print is coming.
Your original file is stored untouched the moment the upload completes. Processing delays affect playback only — never the memory itself.
If that didn't work
If a video still won't play the next day, something is genuinely stuck on our end. Write to [email protected] with a link to the memory and we'll sort it out — your original is safe the whole time.
Still stuck? [email protected] — a person reads every message.