10 Ways To Fix YouTube Spacebar Pause Not Working

Does your YouTube spacebar pause not working?

It’s a common issue that many users are currently facing.

Users are reporting that “when I press space bar it goes down instead of pausing” or “can’t pause YouTube videos when I press space bar”.

It’s an annoying issue that can’t be ignored because most of the users rely on the spacebar shortcut to pause the video.

However, there are fixes that you will learn in this guide on how to fix YouTube spacebar pause not working.

This issue can occur due to glitches or keyboard issues.

Let’s learn a little bit more about the factors responsible for this problem.

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Cause: Why Can’t I Pause On YouTube When I Press Space Bar?

1. Focus Problem – Check if the YouTube video player is focused, if it’s not, then it may not work as a pause command.

Click anywhere on the video player to keep focusing, if you click outside of it, then it may not work.

2. Browser Issues – Make sure your browser is working properly, sometimes there is a problem in the browser that can lead to such problems. Try restarting or using a different browser to make sure.

3. Keyboard Issues – Maybe your keyboard spacebar itself not working properly, in such a case it will not pause the video. Try pressing different keys to check if others are functioning accordingly.

4. Problem In YouTube Settings – Ensure in your YouTube setting that the Play/Pause feature is enabled.

5. Outdated Operating System – if you are using an outdated operating system, then there might be chances of compatibility issues. Update your operating system and try again.

6. YouTube Glitches – Sometimes, the spacebar pause did not work due to bugs/glitches, try restarting YouTube and try again to check if it’s really a bug or not, restarting can fix bugs.

You can also try to restart your computer if it does not solve the issue.

There are several factors responsible for such an issue, now let’s head to the solutions.

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How To Solve YouTube Spacebar Pause Not Working

#1. Refresh The Page

When you notice a YouTube video scrolling down instead of pausing when you press the spacebar, then the very first step you should try to refresh the page.

There might be some bugs/glitches causing the issue, therefore you don’t have to panic and check if it’s working well or not after refreshing.

#2. Clear Browser Cache & Cookies

It might be your browser cache & cookies get corrupted, in such a case clearing the corrupted cache will help you to get out of this issue.

Try clearing by following the below-mentioned steps.

Step 1 – On your keyboard, press Ctrl + H.

Step 2 – Now, choose Clear Browsing Data, then unmark the other ones and only choose Cached images and Files.

Step 3 – Lastly, click on Clear Data to confirm.

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#3. Check Your Keyboard

First, checking keyboard working properly or not can be effective before moving any further.

So, try your keyboard on other websites or programs, if it’s not working according, then you may replace your keyboard or you can even try to clean the dust and debris on it maybe it will work for you.

#4. Check Your Browser Extensions

Many of us use browser extensions to unlock further features that are not available without them, but simultaneously some extensions can conflict with YouTube functionality.

What to do to check which extension is causing the issue?

Try disabling your installed extensions one by one and identify which is causing the issue when it’s enabled.

If found any, then try removing it or finding an alternative one that doesn’t interfere with functionality.

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#5. Check YouTube Settings

There might be the Play/Pause feature is already disabled in your YouTube settings. In such a case pressing the space bar won’t let you pause the video.

These are some steps to check if enable/disable.

Step 1 – Navigate to YouTube Website > Profile.

Step 2 – Now, select Settings and click on Keyboard shortcuts.

Step 3 – Lastly, check if the Play/Pause feature is enabled, if not, then turn it on.

#6. Use “K” Button

If your keyboard’s space bar itself is broken or not working, then there is an alternative shortcut you can use if you are not willing to replace your keyboard.

Try using the “K” button to pause or play YouTube videos.

Doesn’t matter if it’s focused or not this shortcut is an official YouTube shortcut by Google.

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#7. Use Tampermonkey Extension

If your YouTube video scrolls down instead of pausing when you press space bar, then you can try using a Tampermonkey script to prevent it.

By using it, it disables the ability to scroll down when pressing the spacebar, which can be really effective.

These are the steps to follow.

First, add Tampermonkey extension and pin it to your Chrome before moving further.

Step 1 – Once you add it, click on the Tampermonkey extension and choose Create a new script.

Step 2 – Now, delete the code by highlighting it, then copy this code from Github JavaScript file.

Step 3 – Now, return back and paste the copied code on the Tampermonkey script.

Step 4 – After that, click on File followed by Save and ensure the script is enabled.

Step 5 – Lastly, try pausing any YouTube video by pressing the space bar.

That’s It!

#8. Update Your Browser

It might be your browser is outdated, in which there may be compatibility issues with the YouTube website. In such a case, keep updating the browser can fix compatibility issues.

We recommend you to use browsers such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Microsoft Edge. These are the most compatible browsers that you can try.

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#9. Use YouTube Spacebar Pause Extension

Another method is to use an extension to use the spacebar to pause any video. These are the steps to follow.

Step 1 – First, add YouTube Spacebar Pause extension to your browser by clicking Add to Chrome.

Step 2 – After that, a pop-up dialog box will appear, click on Add extension.

Step 3 – Now, play a YouTube video and click on the Extension Manager present at the top right corner of the screen, then click on the extension.

Step 4 – Lastly, pause any video by pressing the spacebar.

#10. Contact YouTube Support

If the issue still persists even when you tried all the methods mentioned above, then contacting YouTube Support is your last hope.

Report the issue by following the below-mentioned steps.

Step 1 – On YouTube Website, scroll down on the left control panel.

Step 2 – Now, select Send Feedback, then describe your issue in detail.

Step 3 – You can even upload the Screenshot of the issue by selecting Capture Screenshot; it will help them better understand the problem.

Step 4 – At last, click on Send button.

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Bottom Line

Here is the end of this guide, I hope you have learned new tricks and fixes to fix YouTube spacebar pause not working.

As of now, you can solve this problem whenever it happens.

If you think this article helps you to fix the problem, then you can share this post with others.

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Jasper Madison

Jasper Madison is a passionate technical writer with more than 9 years of experience. She has a keen interest in Android and iOS and everything surrounding it. She is a technology enthusiast and fascinated with technology since her childhood days.

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