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YouTube Captions or Subtitles Not Working? Turn Them On and Fix Missing Auto Captions

If there’s no CC button on a video, YouTube says captions simply aren’t available for it. For creators, YouTube lists clear reasons automatic captions don’t get made: the audio is still processing, the language isn’t supported, the video is too long, the sound is poor, there’s a long silence at the start, or people talk over each other. Live automatic captions have their own rules, including being English only.

Reviewed 4 min read 2 fixes Videos & playback

Quick answer

On a computer, click the CC icon at the bottom right of the player; in the app, tap the player once, then the Closed captions icon. YouTube says it only appears if captions are available. To change size, color or font, go to Settings > Subtitles/CC > Options. If you’re the creator and automatic captions are missing, YouTube says they may still be processing, or the language may be unsupported, the video too long, the audio poor, the start silent for a long time, or several people speaking at once. Check and edit captions in YouTube Studio > Subtitles.

What’s happening?

Does this match what you see?

  • There’s no CC button on a video.
  • Captions are hard to read.
  • Your uploaded video has no automatic captions.
  • Automatic captions don’t appear on your live stream.

iPhone & iPadAndroidComputer (browser)

Based on YouTube Help pages read directly from support.google.com, with steps for computer, iPhone, iPad and Android.

Why this happens: the possible causes

Why captions may be missing, according to YouTube.

Caption problem and reason
What’s happeningReason
No CC buttonNo captions available
No automatic captionsAudio, language or length
No live captionsLive caption limits
  • The video has no captionsCheck this first

    YouTube says the CC icon appears only if captions are available.

  • Automatic captions weren’t generatedCheck this first

    YouTube lists unfinished processing, unsupported language, length, poor sound, long silence at the start, and overlapping speakers or languages.

  • Live caption limitsPossible

    YouTube says live automatic captions are English only and need normal latency.

Try these 60-second checks first

  • Look for the CC icon at the bottom right of the player.
  • Just uploaded? YouTube says captions may not be ready yet.

How to fix it, step by step

Work through these in order. They start with the quickest, safest checks and only move to steps that sign you out or remove data later.

Fix 1: Turn captions on or off

Safe & reversible1 miniPhone & iPadAndroidComputer (browser)

YouTube says the Closed captions (CC) icon appears at the bottom right of the player when captions are available.

iPhone & iPad

  1. Tap the video player once to show the options.
  2. Tap the Closed captions icon to turn captions on or off.

Android

  1. Tap the video player once to show the options.
  2. Tap the Closed captions icon to turn captions on or off.

Computer (browser)

  1. Open the video.
  2. Click the CC icon at the bottom right of the player to turn captions on.
  3. Click it again to turn them off.

If there’s no CC icon, YouTube’s page indicates captions aren’t available for that video.

Did it work? Captions appear on the video.

Fix 2: Change caption size, color and font

Safe & reversible2 miniPhone & iPadAndroidComputer (browser)

YouTube lets you set a default caption style.

iPhone & iPad

  1. Open your device’s Settings app > Accessibility.
  2. Under Hearing, tap Subtitles & Captioning > Style (or Create New Style). Turn on Closed Captions + SDH to have them on by default.

Android

  1. In the YouTube app, tap your profile picture > Settings > Captions.
  2. Tap Caption size and style. Turn on Show captions to have them on by default.

Computer (browser)

  1. At the bottom right of the player, click Settings.
  2. Click Subtitles/CC, then Options.
  3. Change the font, color, opacity and size, the background and window color and opacity, and the character edge style.

YouTube says these become your default caption settings until you change them again or click Reset.

Did it work? Captions use your new style on other videos.

Why automatic captions aren’t on your video

YouTube says automatic captions are available for long-form videos and Shorts in many languages, but they may not be generated if:

  • Processing of complex audio isn’t finished yet. YouTube says processing time depends on how complex the audio is.
  • The language isn’t supported.
  • The video is too long.
  • The sound quality is poor, or YouTube doesn’t recognize the speech.
  • There’s a long period of silence at the beginning.
  • Several people talk over each other, or several languages are spoken at once.

YouTube also says that for videos with multiple audio tracks, automatic captions are in the default language.

Automatic captions on live streams

  • YouTube says live automatic captions are English only, turned on for individual streams, and don’t stay on the video after the stream ends.
  • They’re being rolled out gradually to channels with more than 1,000 subscribers.
  • Only normal latency streams are supported. Ultra-low latency, low latency and mobile live streams aren’t.
  • Poor sound, unrecognized speech, or overlapping speakers or languages can also stop them.

Review or fix automatic captions

  1. Sign in to YouTube Studio and select Subtitles in the left menu.
  2. Choose the video, then click More next to the subtitles.
  3. Review them and edit or remove anything that wasn’t transcribed properly.

YouTube says automatic captions are published automatically when available, but recommends reviewing them.

How to know it worked

  • Captions show on the video, in the style you chose.

Still not working? Your next steps

  1. Video won’t play at all? See YouTube videos not playing.
  2. Going live? See YouTube Live not working.

Official help routes

SocialAppFix can’t see or change your account. For account decisions, recovery and appeals, only the platform’s own tools can help. These links go to the official sites.

Frequently asked questions

Why is there no CC button on a YouTube video?

YouTube says the CC icon appears only if captions are available for that video.

Why doesn’t my YouTube video have automatic captions?

YouTube says audio may still be processing, or the language may be unsupported, the video too long, the sound poor, the start silent for a long time, or speakers overlapping.

How do I make YouTube captions bigger?

On a computer: Settings > Subtitles/CC > Options, then change the font size. YouTube keeps it as your default.

Does YouTube have live captions?

YouTube says live automatic captions are English only, need normal latency, and are rolling out to channels with more than 1,000 subscribers.

Sources and how we checked this guide

We base steps on the platforms’ own help pages and the phone makers’ official guides. Menu names change often and can differ by device, app version and region. Where a platform page could not be independently read, we link it so you can check the current wording yourself.

  1. Manage caption settings (external site, opens in a new tab)YouTube Help · checked 21 October 2026
  2. Use automatic captioning (external site, opens in a new tab)YouTube Help · checked 21 October 2026

Last reviewed 28 October 2026 by the SocialAppFix editorial team against the sources above. Next scheduled review: 28 April 2027. How we write and review guides.

What changed
  • 28 October 2026: First published.

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