Solution 1: Update Microsoft Edge
When there is a problem with the browser, the first thing you should think of is whether the browser is updated. When YouTube videos play slowly on Edge, you can also try to update Edge. If Edge is already the latest version, try other methods.
Solution 2: Modify the Cookie of Edge
Due to Google’s redesign of YouTube, Edge cannot currently run YouTube perfectly. However, Reddit user hamzah77 has found that they can make YouTube videos play more smoothly by modifying Edge’s cookies. Follow the steps below:
Step 01: Press F12 on your keyboard to open the Edge Developer Tools. Once a window pops up at the top right corner of the interface, choose Open DevTools. You can also press Ctrl + Shift + I on your keyboard to open theEdge Developer Tools directly.
Step 02: Make sure you are on the Debugger tab at the top.
Step 03: Choose Cookies on the left panel, double-click watch, and you can see the Value column.
Step 04: Find PREE in the Value column and replace the text in the corresponding space with al=en&f5=30030&f6=8.
Step 05: Close Edge and reopen it to enter YouTube.
Solution 3: Play YouTube Videos in InPrivate Mode
Edge’s InPrivate mode allows you to leave no data behind when you visit a website, such as browsing history, temporary internet files, and cookies. Therefore, you can use InPrivate mode to watch YouTube videos to check if the video plays smoothly.
How to access InPrivate mode? Here are steps:
Step 01: Press Ctrl + Shift + N on your keyboard to go to the InPrivate mode.
Step 02: Type www.youtube.com on the address bar and press the Enter key.
Step 03: Play any YouTube video to see if it lags.
If YouTube videos do not play slowly in InPrivate mode, it means the problem is with the cache and extensions. You can try to clear the browser cache or disable extensions.
Solution 4: Clear YouTube Cache in Edge
If you find you can watch YouTube videos smoothly in InPrivate mode, you may need to clear the YouTube cache. Edge caches some browsing information to ensure the page can be loaded faster the next time you visit the same website. However, sometimes the cached data is damaged and affects some browser functions. Therefore, when YouTube videos lag on Edge, you can try to clear the browser cache. Here’s how:
Step 01: Click the three-dot icon at the top right corner of the interface.
Step 02: Choose the Settings option.
Step 03: On the new page, click the Privacy, search, and services option on the left panel.
Step 04: Under Delete browsing data, find Clear browsing data now, and click the Choose what to clear button next to it.
Step 05: Tick on Cached images and files and choose Clear now.
Solution 5: Turn off All the Extensions on Your Edge
Running too many extensions on Edge may also affect YouTube video playback. So, when YouTube videos lag on Edge, we recommend turning off all extensions to see if it helps:
Step 01: Click the three-dot icon at the top right corner of the window.
Step 02: Choose the Extensions icon from the menu.
Step 03: Select the Manage extensions option.
Step 04: You can see all the browser extensions you added on the new page. Then, disable all the extensions by turning off the toggle behind every extension.
By the way, if the video is always slow to load, stuck, or has other problems, it will greatly affect the viewing experience. Why not try to download YouTube videos?
You can use MiniTool Video Converter to download your favorite videos, movies, podcasts, and playlists from YouTube for offline viewing. Moreover, this free app will not add any watermarks to the downloaded videos. Click the download button below to try it out!
MiniTool Video ConverterClick to Download100%Clean & Safe
Conclusion
How to deal with YouTube videos play slowly on Edge? This post gives you 5 methods. First, you can try updating Edge. If that doesn’t work, try changing Edge’s cookies.
You can also try watching YouTube videos in private mode. If you don’t find any videos freezing, it means that the cache and extensions are the cause. You can then follow the steps in this post to clear the YouTube cache on Edge or disable all browser extensions.
About The Author
Position: Columnist
Mia loves music and art, and likes to listen to music alone in her spare time. Now, Mia is the English editor of MiniTool. She is good at writing YouTube tips, video conversion, and video recording. She is committed to bringing more multimedia knowledge to readers.