How to Resolve the "Unable to Load Video" Error on iPhone: A Simple Guide

Begin by restarting your iPhone. If the issue persists, ensure that you’ve accepted the most recent iCloud terms and confirm there’s enough storage on your device. You can also try updating your iPhone, marking the video as a favorite, and checking your network connection.

Power off your iPhone, then turn it back on. Restarting can often resolve a variety of issues, including video playback glitches. To power off, press and hold the side/top button and volume button (on models without a Home button) or just the side/top button (on models with a Home button).

• After the phone shuts down, hold the side/top button for a few seconds until the Apple logo appears.
• If your phone fails to shut down, perform a force restart: press and release the volume up button, then the volume down button, and finally hold the side/top button until the Apple logo appears, then release the side/top button.

Accept the new iCloud terms and conditions on your iPhone. A number of users have reported that after accepting iCloud's updated terms and conditions, they were able to load their iCloud videos again. To accept these terms, go to Settings > Apple ID Suggestions, then tap on Terms and Conditions under the section labeled "New iCloud Terms and Conditions".

• If you don't see this option, you may have already accepted the new iCloud terms. In that case, try some of the other solutions listed in this article to resolve the video loading problem.

Ensure you have sufficient storage on your iPhone. When trying to load a video from iCloud, you must have enough space on your device to download the file. To check the available storage, go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage.

• To check the video file size, navigate to the video and tap the "i" icon at the bottom of the screen. Look for the size listed under "Main Camera", which will be in MB or GB. If the video file size exceeds the remaining space on your device, you won’t be able to download it.
• 1 GB (gigabyte) equals 1,000 MB (megabytes). If the video is in GB and your available storage is in MB, the video is likely too large to download. Conversely, if the video is in MB and you have GB of space left, there should be no issue.
• If your iPhone doesn't have enough space, refer to this guide for tips on clearing up storage.

Make sure your iPhone is running the latest version of iOS. Several users have mentioned that updating their iPhones fixed issues related to videos not loading. Regularly updating your iPhone is also a good practice to prevent bugs and security problems.

• To update your iPhone, go to Settings > General > Software Update. If an update is available, follow the instructions to complete the process.

Create a duplicate of the video. Some users have found that duplicating the video resolved the problem. You might notice that the new duplicated video works fine, while the original one doesn’t, or duplicating the video might cause the original video to load properly again.

• To duplicate the video, locate it and tap the three-dot menu in the top-right corner. Then select Duplicate.
• If duplicating the video resolves the issue, feel free to delete the duplicate. However, if the original video still won’t load, delete the original and keep the duplicate.
• If this method doesn’t work or you can't duplicate the video, explore the other suggestions in this article for potential solutions.

Send the video using a different app and re-download it. Occasionally, sending the video via a different app (such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, or Discord) and then downloading it again forces the video to function. Once sent, you can download the video from your own message.

• If downloading the video from another app resolves the problem, you can safely delete the original (non-working) video.

Open the video in your iPhone’s editor. Find the video and tap the Edit button in the top-right corner. Some users have reported that this action fixed the issue with the video not loading.

• If this doesn’t solve the problem or you’re unable to edit your video, try the other solutions provided in this article to fix the loading error.

Change the video format from Automatic to Current or Most Compatible. To do this, tap the share button under your video (the icon in the bottom-left corner that looks like an arrow coming out of a box). Then, tap the Options button at the top of the screen.

• Under the "Format" section, choose Current or Most Compatible instead of Automatic.
• When you’re done, tap Done, and close the share menu by tapping the "X" button in the top-right corner.

Tap the heart (favorite) icon to toggle it on and off. Some users discovered that marking a video as a favorite and then removing it from favorites caused the video to load. To do this, simply tap the heart icon below the video and tap it again to remove the favorite.

• If you wish to keep the video marked as a favorite, you can skip tapping the heart icon again.

Ensure you have a working cellular or internet connection. If you're in an area with weak reception, iCloud videos might not load properly. Since iCloud requires an internet connection to function, a weak network signal can interfere with video loading.

• If you are in a low-reception area, try switching to Wi-Fi. This will help resolve issues related to poor cellular service affecting your iCloud access.

Contact Apple Support if these solutions don’t resolve the problem. If you’ve tried all the steps in this article and are still unable to fix the issue, you should contact Apple Support for personalized assistance.

• To call Apple Support, visit Apple Support's website, type your issue in the search bar (under "Tell us what's happening"), then scroll down and click Call.
  • Choose Call Now or Schedule a Call, enter your information, and click Continue. Follow the instructions to schedule your call.
• For online support, visit Apple Support's website, type your issue in the search bar (under "Tell us what's happening"), and click Chat.
  • Enter your details and click Continue. Then follow the prompts to start a chat with an Apple Support representative.