If you have been facing issues with streaming YouTube videos on Microsoft Edge, you may not be alone. Reports have been pouring in about users facing constant browser crashes when streaming videos on YouTube. Reddit threads detailing the issue (spotted by Techdows) date back to 15 days ago, with more users running stable version 90 builds seemingly starting to be plagued in the recent days.
A response from a Microsoft engineer in the forums two weeks ago urged users to try disabling hardware acceleration as a workaround. However, the same engineer confirmed yesterday on Reddit that the bug is likely more significant and that there are a “couple of situations around this”. The individual added that those facing browser crashes can try downloading and running the latest Canary builds to check if their issues have been addressed via the bug fix that’s implemented in that version of the browser. Additionally, the company is also requesting feedback and crash reports from those that have been affected.
To be clear, the Redmond firm has been tracking issues with YouTube playback caused by some ad blocking extensions in the Dev channel builds. However, the mentioned problem reported by users seems to be a different one, where YouTube begins loading the video in full-screen and then freezes the browser, often causing a crash. One of the workarounds mentioned in the posts was to head to the browser’s task manager (by hitting shift+esc) and ending the task that is consuming the most resources. However, this workaround too has been a hit and miss.
With a partial fix already heading to Canary channel builds, it wouldn’t be surprising to see it propagate through the Dev and Beta channels quickly before eventually being introduced to the stable channel. However, those interested can head to the Insider downloads page here and download Edge Canary.