You’re trying to focus. Maybe you’re studying for a huge exam, or perhaps you’ve finally found that one "lofi hip hop radio" track that actually helps you get through your spreadsheets. Then it happens. The song ends. Silence. Or worse, an upbeat ad for a car you can't afford blasts through your noise-canceling headphones. It ruins the vibe instantly. Honestly, knowing how to make a youtube video on repeat is one of those tiny digital survival skills that everyone thinks they know until they're actually staring at the screen wondering where the button went.
Google knows we want this. YouTube knows we want this. Yet, for years, they made it surprisingly annoying to find. They finally baked it into the native player, but the steps change depending on whether you’re on a dusty old laptop, a shiny new iPhone, or a smart TV that barely understands its own remote. It’s not just about clicking a button; it’s about understanding why the loop feature sometimes disappears or why your playlist refuses to cooperate.
The Desktop Secret: Right-Clicking Your Way to Sanity
If you're on a computer, you've got it easiest. But there's a catch. If you right-click the video player once, you might see the standard YouTube menu. If you right-click again (or if you're on certain browsers), you might get the browser’s native context menu instead. It’s a bit of a dance.
To get a how to make a youtube video on repeat setup working on Chrome, Safari, or Firefox, you need to right-click directly on the video frame. A black menu pops up. The very first option is usually "Loop." Click it. A tiny checkmark appears next to it, and you're golden. That video will now play until the heat death of the universe or until your laptop dies, whichever comes first.
But what if you're using a trackpad? Or what if you're one of those people who refuses to use a mouse? You can actually use keyboard shortcuts to navigate some of these menus, though the loop function is stubbornly mouse-heavy. Also, keep in mind that if you have an ad-blocker that’s acting up, it can sometimes break the "return to zero" trigger that makes the loop work. If your video just stops at the end despite the loop being on, try refreshing the page or checking your extensions. It’s usually a script conflict.
Why does the loop button hide?
Sometimes it feels like YouTube is playing hide-and-seek. If you’re in a playlist, the loop behavior changes. You have two different "repeat" modes in a playlist: one that repeats the entire list and one that repeats the single video you’re currently on. If you've ever accidentally looped a 50-video playlist of "Top 10 Fails" when you just wanted to hear one song, you know the frustration. In the playlist control panel (usually on the right side of the screen), look for the two arrows forming a circle. Click it once for the whole list. Click it again—a small "1" will appear in the center—to loop just that one video.
Mobile Maneuvers: Loop on iPhone and Android
Mobile is where things get slightly more "kinda annoying." For the longest time, the mobile app didn’t have a loop button. You had to create a private playlist with one video and loop the playlist. It was a mess. Thankfully, we live in the future now.
To figure out how to make a youtube video on repeat on your phone, open the YouTube app and start your video. Tap the screen once to bring up the overlay. See that gear icon in the top right corner? Tap it. That opens the "Settings" menu for that specific video. Look for "Additional settings" or just "Loop video" in the list. Toggle it to "On."
It’s tucked away. Why? Probably because YouTube wants you to keep moving to the next video so they can show you more ads. A looped video is a captive audience, sure, but it's not "exploring" new content. If you're using the mobile browser instead of the app, you’re in for a rough time. Most mobile browsers (like Safari on iOS) don't show the right-click menu. You’ll have to force the "Desktop Version" of the site in your browser settings to get that right-click loop functionality to appear. It's a clunky workaround, but it works when the app is acting buggy.
The Background Play Problem
Here is the kicker: looping a video usually requires the app to be open. If you don't have YouTube Premium, the second you lock your phone or switch to Instagram, the video stops. The loop stops. Everything stops. If you’re looking for a way to loop audio in the background for free, you might want to try opening YouTube in a browser like Brave or using the "Picture-in-Picture" mode if your OS supports it. It’s a cat-and-mouse game between users and Google's subscription model.
👉 See also: Accessing Pornhub: What Most People Get Wrong About Privacy and Safety
Smart TVs and Consoles: The Final Frontier
Using a Roku, Apple TV, or a PlayStation? This is where how to make a youtube video on repeat becomes a genuine test of patience. The interface on TV apps is simplified to the point of being restrictive.
- Use the remote to bring up the video controls.
- Navigate to the "More" or "Three Dots" menu.
- Search for the loop icon.
On many older smart TV apps, the loop feature simply doesn't exist. It’s devastating. If you’re stuck in this situation, the "Single Video Playlist" trick is your only hope. Create a new playlist on your phone or computer, name it "Loop," and put just that one video in it. Open that playlist on your TV and hit the "Repeat Playlist" button. It’s a workaround that has survived every UI update because it relies on the playlist logic rather than the player logic.
When "Repeat" Just Won't Work
There are times when no matter what you do, the video won't loop. Usually, this happens with "Made for Kids" content. YouTube has strict data and interaction rules for content aimed at children (thanks to COPPA regulations). Often, the "miniplayer" and certain playback features are disabled on these videos. If you’re trying to loop a "Baby Shark" video to keep a toddler quiet and the loop button is grayed out, that’s why.
Another issue is Livestreams. You can’t loop a livestream while it’s live. You can "clip" a portion of it, but the loop functionality only kicks in once the stream is archived and processed as a standard VOD (Video on Demand).
Third-Party Websites: Are They Safe?
You’ve probably seen sites like "YouTubeLoop" or "ListenOnRepeat." Back in 2015, these were the gold standard. You’d just change the URL from youtube.com/watch... to youtuberepeat.com/watch... and it would work. Nowadays, these sites are a bit of a gamble. Some are fine, but many are cluttered with aggressive pop-up ads or weird redirects. Honestly, with the native loop feature now available on almost every platform, these third-party sites are mostly obsolete. Stick to the official app or browser tools to keep your data safe.
Why Do We Even Loop?
Psychology says we loop things for "cognitive ease." When we hear a familiar song or sound on repeat, our brain doesn't have to process new information. This is why white noise, rain sounds, or a specific 10-second meme video can be so soothing or hilarious. It’s a way of controlling our environment.
For creators, knowing that people loop your videos is a huge deal for the algorithm. While YouTube's "Watch Time" metric is complex, a video that gets played four times in a row by the same user signals high engagement. However, don't try to "game" the system by looping your own videos on twenty different tabs. Google’s "Invalid Traffic" filters are smarter than that. They track IP addresses, account patterns, and even hardware IDs. They can tell the difference between a student looping a lo-fi track and a bot farm trying to inflate views.
Technical Troubleshooting for Loop Failures
If you’ve followed the steps for how to make a youtube video on repeat and it’s still failing, check these three things:
- Browser Cache: Sometimes a corrupted cookie makes the player forget your settings halfway through. Clear your cache for the last hour and try again.
- Autoplay Settings: Surprisingly, if "Autoplay" is toggled on, it can sometimes override the loop command at the very end of a video, especially on mobile. Try toggling Autoplay off.
- Account Sync: If you’re signed into multiple devices, sometimes the "Watch History" settings conflict. Ensure "Pause Watch History" isn't turned on, as this occasionally messes with how the player handles video endings.
Putting It Into Practice
Don't overcomplicate it. If you're on a laptop, just double right-click the video and hit Loop. If you're on your phone, hit the gear icon. Those two actions cover 90% of use cases.
For those who need a more permanent solution—like a business wanting to loop a promotional video on a lobby tablet—the best bet is to use the "Embed" trick. You can take the video's embed code and add &playlist=VIDEO_ID&loop=1 to the URL. This forces the player into a permanent loop state that doesn't require manual input every time the page refreshes.
Actionable Steps for Immediate Success:
- Desktop: Right-click the video player (twice if a different menu appears) and select Loop.
- Mobile App: Tap the Gear Icon > Additional Settings > Loop Video.
- Playlist Method: For devices without a loop button, create a playlist with a single video and toggle the Playlist Loop icon.
- URL Hack: For specialized needs, add
repeatafteryoutubein the URL (e.g.,youtuberepeat.com/...) to use a dedicated looping service, though native is usually better. - Check Restrictions: Ensure the video isn't "Made for Kids" if the loop option is missing.