Looping a video on YouTube is one of those features that feels essential once you discover it, yet it remains surprisingly hidden for many users. Whether you are trying to master a difficult guitar riff, fall asleep to white noise, memorize a language lesson, or simply enjoy a favorite music track on endless repeat, knowing how to repeat a YouTube video saves you the annoyance of manually clicking the replay button every few minutes. The platform offers native solutions for both desktop and mobile devices, alongside a few clever workarounds for specific situations like playlists or smart TVs Less friction, more output..
The Native Desktop Method: Right-Click Loop
The most direct way to loop a video on a computer requires no extensions, no account login, and no third-party websites. It is built directly into the YouTube video player interface.
- Open the video you want to repeat in your browser.
- Right-click anywhere on the video player itself (not the title, description, or comments section—specifically the moving picture).
- A context menu will appear. Look for the option labeled "Loop".
- Click it. A small checkmark will appear next to the word, and the video will now restart automatically upon reaching the end.
To disable it, simply right-click the player again and uncheck Loop. This method is instantaneous and works on Windows, macOS, and Linux across Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. It is the gold standard for desktop users because it preserves video quality and keeps your watch history clean within the official app environment.
Looping on Mobile: The App Interface
For years, the mobile app lacked a simple loop button, forcing users to create playlists as a workaround. Thankfully, YouTube has since added a dedicated toggle inside the player settings, though it is tucked away inside a menu Small thing, real impact..
- Play the video in the YouTube app (iOS or Android).
- Tap the video once to reveal the on-screen controls.
- Tap the Settings gear icon (usually in the top right corner of the player).
- Select Additional settings (sometimes labeled just "Settings" on older versions).
- Toggle the switch for Loop video.
Once enabled, the video will cycle continuously. Which means you will know it is active because the loop icon (two arrows forming a rectangle) often appears near the playback speed or quality indicators, or the toggle simply remains "On" in the menu. This works for both standard videos and Shorts, though Shorts loop by default unless you swipe away.
The Playlist Workaround: A Reliable Classic
Before the native "Loop video" toggle arrived on mobile, the playlist method was the only reliable way to achieve continuous playback on a phone or tablet. It remains a powerful technique, especially if you want to loop a specific section of a video or group several videos together But it adds up..
- Under the video player, tap the Save button (the icon with three lines and a plus sign).
- Instead of adding to an existing list like "Watch Later," tap + New playlist.
- Name the playlist (e.g., "Loop Queue") and set privacy to Private so it doesn't clutter your public profile.
- Tap Create.
- Go to your Library tab (bottom right) and open the new playlist.
- Start playing the video. Tap the Loop playlist icon (two arrows forming a circle) located in the playlist control bar. It usually sits next to the Shuffle icon.
Why use this over the native toggle?
- Queue Management: You can add multiple videos to loop in sequence.
- Background Play (Premium): If you have YouTube Premium, a playlist continues playing with the screen off or while using other apps more reliably than a single video loop sometimes does.
- Editing: You can reorder or delete videos from the loop queue instantly.
Looping on Smart TVs and Game Consoles
The "Leanback" interface used on Smart TVs (Samsung Tizen, LG webOS, Android TV), PlayStation, Xbox, and streaming sticks (Roku, Fire Stick, Chromecast with Google TV) differs significantly from the desktop and mobile apps. There is rarely a right-click equivalent, and the settings menu is navigated via a remote or controller.
The Universal TV Method: Playlists Just like the mobile workaround, creating a playlist is the most consistent way to loop on a TV.
- Add the video to a playlist using your phone or computer (it syncs instantly to your TV app).
- On the TV, deal with to Library > Playlists.
- Select your playlist and hit Play all.
- With the playlist playing, handle to the playback controls (usually pressing "Up" or "Down" on the remote).
- Highlight the Loop playlist icon (circular arrows) and select it.
Casting from Phone/Desktop If you are casting from your phone to a Chromecast or Smart TV:
- Enable Loop video on your phone app (using the mobile steps above) before or during casting.
- The loop command is sent to the receiver device. This is often the easiest method because navigating TV menus with a remote is tedious.
Third-Party Tools and Browser Extensions: Proceed with Caution
A quick search reveals dozens of browser extensions ("Looper for YouTube," "Auto Replay") and websites (youtubeloop.com) designed specifically for this purpose. net, listenonrepeat.While they offer advanced features—like A/B looping (repeating only a specific 10-second segment), speed control presets, or keyboard shortcuts—they come with trade-offs.
Risks of Third-Party Tools:
- Privacy: Extensions often request permission to "Read and change all your data on youtube.com." This allows them to track viewing habits or inject ads.
- Security: Malicious extensions can be sold to adware companies after gaining a user base.
- Stability: YouTube updates its code frequently. Extensions break, causing the player to freeze or the loop to fail.
- Terms of Service: Using external sites to stream content technically violates YouTube's ToS regarding unauthorized access, though enforcement against individual users is rare.
Recommendation: Stick to native features for 95% of use cases. Only install a highly-rated, open-source extension (like "Enhancer for YouTube" or specific userscripts via Tampermonkey) if you need A/B loop functionality for music practice or video editing reference Simple, but easy to overlook..
Keyboard Shortcuts for Power Users
If you are on desktop and prefer keeping your hands on the keyboard, you can toggle the loop state without touching the mouse—provided you have the video player focused.
- Click the video player once to focus it (the border usually highlights).
- Press Shift + . (Period) to increase playback speed (optional, but good to know).
- There is no default single-key shortcut to toggle Loop in the standard YouTube player.
Correction: YouTube's default shortcuts cover Play/Pause (K/Space), Seek (J/L), Volume (Up/Down), and Fullscreen (F), but Loop is not mapped by default. You can achieve this using browser extensions like "Shortkeys" or "AutoControl" to map a custom key (e.g., L) to click the "Loop" menu item via JavaScript, but this is advanced configuration.
Troubleshooting: Why Isn't My Video Looping?
If you have enabled the loop feature but the video stops at the end or jumps to the next "Up Next" recommendation, check these common culprits:
- Autoplay is ON: The "Autoplay" toggle (switch icon near the Up Next list) overrides the single video loop. If Autoplay is on, YouTube prioritizes the algorithm's next suggestion over your loop command.