[Issue] All Videos Lag on Brave Browser — Endless Loading Icon (YouTube & Others)

Hi everyone,

I’ve been having a persistent issue with Brave Browser where all types of videos lag heavily. Whether it’s YouTube or any other video platform, I constantly get the loading spinner, and it’s making videos nearly unwatchable.

Specific symptoms:

  • On YouTube, the video frequently pauses to load.
  • Skipping forward/backward (by 5 seconds or more) triggers a very long loading time.
  • This happens with all video platforms, not just YouTube.

What I’ve already tried:

  • Opened Brave in private/incognito mode → same issue.
  • Disabled all extensions → no improvement.
  • Toggled hardware acceleration on and off → no change.

Videos play just fine in other browsers like Chrome, Firefox, etc., so it seems to be specific to Brave.

Has anyone else experienced this? Any ideas on what could be causing it or how to fix it?

Thanks in advance :folded_hands:

Please edit your Original Post (“OP”) above, in order to include:

  • Brave Browser version numbers
  • Operating System version numbers

Re your question “Has anyone else experienced this?” Yes, there are several reports that use words:

  • lagging
  • laggy
  • poor performance

Might be worth some study of the graphics performance (examples: ANGLE, D3D11ON12, OpenGL) issue(s) and replies at:

Why does Hardware Acceleration Slow Down Brave so much - #4 by flasher777

Also:

Issue with spotify canvas - #2 by 289wk


Take a look at your settings that might allow Windows OS operations to pause:

  • Sleep
  • Hibernation
  • Energy Saving
  • Screen Saver.

Examine: Optimze Ethernet Adapter Settings for Maximum Performance:

https://helpdesk.flexradio.com/hc/en-us/articles/202118518-Optimizing-Ethernet-Adapter-Settings-for-Maximum-Performance


And, some issue with the quality (intermittent?) of your network connections anywhere between your computer and the websites.