11 Ways to Troubleshoot the "Unable to Load Video" Error on iPhone

Get your iCloud videos back with these error fixes and workarounds

Co-authored by Hannah Dillon Reviewed by Stan Kats

Last Updated: May 18, 2024 Fact Checked

Are you getting the "Unable to Load Video" error on your iPhone? This error usually happens with videos stored on iCloud, and the body of the error message reads, "An error occurred while loading a higher quality version of this video". While there is no single way to fix this issue, we've gathered all the best solutions in this article.

Ways to Fix Videos That Won't Load on iPhone

Start by restarting your phone. If that doesn't help, make sure you've accepted the latest Cloud terms and have enough storage space on your iPhone. You can also try updating your iPhone, toggling the video as a favorite, and checking your network connection.

1

Restart Your iPhone

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Turn your iPhone off, then back on again. Restarting your phone can fix many problems, including random glitches affecting your videos. To turn off your iPhone, either press and hold the side/top button and volume button (for phones without a Home button) or just the side/top button (for phones with a Home button).
- Once the phone is off, press the side/top button for a few seconds until the Apple logo appears on the screen.
- If your phone doesn't shut down, you can do a force restart by pressing and releasing the volume up button, then the volume down button, then pressing and holding the side/top button. Once the Apple logo appears, stop pressing the side/top button.^{[1]
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2

Accept iCloud Terms

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Accept new iCloud terms and conditions on your iPhone. Many users have stated that once they accepted iCloud's new terms and conditions on their iPhones, they could load their iCloud videos once again. To do this, go to Settings > Apple ID Suggestions, then tap Terms and Conditions under the "New iCloud Terms and Conditions" header.
- If you don't see this option, you've likely already accepted the new iCloud terms. Try the other suggestions in this article to fix the video loading issue.

3

Check Storage Space

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Make sure you have enough storage space on your iPhone. If you're trying to load a video from iCloud, you need enough space on your iPhone to download the file. To check your iPhone's storage, go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage.
- To check the file size of your video, navigate to the video and tap the "i" button at the bottom of the screen. Look for the number under "Main Camera", which should end with MB or GB. If the size of your video is bigger than how much storage is left on your device, you won't be able to load the video.
- 1 GB (gigabyte) is 1,000 MB (megabytes). If your video size is measured in GB and your remaining storage on your iPhone is measured in MB, your video is likely too big to be downloaded on your iPhone. However, if your video is in MB and your remaining storage is in GB, you should have plenty of room to download the video.
- If your iPhone storage is too full to download your video, check out this wikiHow on how to clear up iPhone storage space.

4

Update iOS

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Make sure your iPhone is up to date. Many users have stated that updating their iPhones to the newest version helped fix the issues with their videos not loading. In general, keeping your iPhone version up to date is a good idea to avoid bugs (as well as other things, like avoiding security vulnerabilities).
- To update your phone, go to Settings > General > Software Update. If there is a pending update, follow the on-screen instructions to update your phone.

5

Duplicate the Video

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Duplicate the video. Some users have found that duplicating the problematic video fixed the issue. You may notice that the new (duplicated) video works while the old one doesn't, or duplicating the video may make the old video work again.
- To duplicate a video, navigate to the video and tap the three-dot menu in the upper-right corner. Then, tap Duplicate.
- If duplicating fixes the original video, you can delete the duplicate, but if the original video still won't load, delete the original and keep the duplicate.
- If this doesn't fix the issue or you can't duplicate your video, try the other suggestions in this article to fix the loading error.

6

Send the Video via Another App

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Send the video in a different app and download it again. Sometimes, sending the video in another app (such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Discord, or any other app where you can send videos and re-download them) will force the video to work. You can then download the video you just sent from your own message.
- If downloading a copy from your message in another app fixes the issue, you can delete the original (non-functional) video.

7

Edit the Video

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Open the video in your iPhone's editor. Navigate to the video and tap the Edit button in the upper-right corner. Some users stated that this fixed the video load error.
- If this doesn't fix the issue or you can't edit your video, try the other suggestions in this article to fix the loading error.

8

Change the Video Format

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Change your video's format from Automatic to Current or Most Compatible. To do this, tap the share button under your video (in the bottom-left corner, with an icon that looks like an arrow coming out of a box). Then, tap the Options button near the top of the screen.
- Under the "Format" header, select Current or Most Compatible instead of Automatic.
- Tap Done when you're finished, then close out of the share menu with the "X" button in the upper-right corner.

9

Toggle Favorite Video

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Tap the heart (favorite) button to toggle it on and off. Some users have found that favoriting a video and then unfavoriting it got the video to load. To do this, simply tap the heart button under the problematic video and then tap it again to unfavorite it.
- If you want to leave the video favorited, you can skip tapping the favorite button again to unfavorite the video.

10

Check the Network Connection

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Make sure you have cellular service or an internet connection. If you're in an area with bad reception, iCloud videos may not load properly. iCloud requires a network connection to access, so a poor network connection could interfere with your videos.
- If you're in an area with bad reception, try to connect to Wi-Fi. This will help alleviate issues with your iCloud not working due to poor service.

11

Contact Apple

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Get in touch with Apple Support if none of these methods work. If you've gone through all the methods in this article and nothing fixes the issue, you'll need to contact Apple Support for further individualized help.
- Call Apple Support by going to Apple Support's website, typing your issue in the search bar (under "Tell us what's happening"), then scrolling down and clicking Call.
  - Select Call Now or Schedule a Call, then enter your information and click Continue. Follow the on-screen prompts to get your call scheduled.
- Chat with Apple Support online by going to Apple Support's website, typing your issue in the search bar (under "Tell us what's happening"), then scrolling down and clicking Chat.
  - Enter your information and click Continue. Follow the on-screen prompts to start chatting with an Apple Support representative.