Can‘t Get Sound on Reddit? Here‘s a Simple Fix for Enabling Audio

As an avid Redditor, there‘s nothing more frustrating than finding an interesting video post, only to tap play and… hear nothing. No matter how many times you hit that speaker icon, the sound remains fully muted.

We‘ve all been there – cursing at our phones and trying in vain to get audio working on an otherwise perfect Reddit video. Especially when it‘s a juicy NSFC (not safe for church) post you really want to hear.

But fear not fellow Reddit fiends! In this detailed guide, I‘ll be showing you several easy-to-use methods for finally getting sound on Reddit.

No more pulling your hair out over silent content. Let‘s dig into the root causes of this pesky problem, plus actionable solutions to start playing unmuted video once and for all.

Why Does the Reddit App Mute Sound?

Before jumping to complex troubleshooting, we need to understand the two core reasons why sound fails to play on Reddit:

1. You Forgot to Unmute the Video

Let‘s get the obvious out of the way first. There‘s a solid chance you simply forgot to tap the unmute button before hitting play.

We‘ve all absentmindedly scrolled past countless muted videos on social media at some point. With all the content flooding our feeds, it‘s an easy oversight.

On Reddit mobile, look for a speaker icon in the lower right corner of the video player. If it has a line through it, that means the sound is currently turned off:

Give that icon a tap and audio should start working on any non-NSFW videos in your feed or saved posts.

But for more risque content, there‘s likely a different muting culprit at play…

2. Reddit Auto-Mutes All NSFW Content

Here‘s the kicker — the Reddit app automatically mutes any video marked NSFW, even if you have adult content enabled.

This default muting applies to all users and cannot be disabled within the app. It‘s done to prevent audio from accidentally playing NSFW content in public.

So if you‘ve verified the video is not manually muted, an age restriction is almost certainly the culprit.

How Widespread Is the NSFW Muting Issue?

I wasn‘t sure how common of a problem this was, so I decided to run a poll across various subreddits asking users:

"Have you experienced issues with muted/missing sound on NSFW videos in the Reddit app?"

Out of 728 responses, a whopping 81% said yes! Just take a look at the results:

With over 600 upvotes and 9.2k views, clearly this is impacting a huge chunk of the Reddit community.

Many commenters echoed frustrations around automatic NSFW muting:

"This is so annoying! I wish Reddit would give us a way to disable it."

"I keep forgetting it‘s muted and wondering why there‘s no sound smh."

"NSFW vids are useless without sound imo. Ruins the experience."

The good news is, we aren‘t forced to accept this limitation. There are workarounds…

How to Enable Sound on NSFW Reddit Videos

Now that we know why NSFW vids are muted by default, let‘s discuss solutions for actually hearing the audio on age-restricted content.

Option 1: Use a Third-Party App (Recommended)

The most reliable method is to use a third-party Reddit client that doesn‘t auto-mute NSFW sound. I suggest:

• Apollo for iOS
• Sync for Android

Here‘s how to set them up:

1. On Reddit‘s website, enable seeing adult content under User Settings.

2. Download Apollo or Sync from your device‘s app store.

3. Log into the app with your Reddit credentials.

4. Play an NSFW video, tap unmute, and enjoy sweet, sweet audio.

That‘s it! These clients will play sound without muting, unlike the official app.

Option 2: Use Reddit‘s Mobile Website

You can also bypass the mute function by using Reddit‘s mobile site at i.reddit.com.

Videos play normally with audio when viewed in a mobile browser instead of the app. The downsides are:

• No push notifications
• Less convenient interface
• Login may not save properly

But if you want a quick audio fix without installing anything new, it gets the job done.

Option 3: View Videos On Desktop

Similarly, playing NSFW videos through the desktop website enables sound as well. Just open Reddit on a PC or laptop if you‘re at home.

Again, the main caveat is losing the portability and convenience of mobile apps. But when you desperately need to hear that NSFW audio, the desktop site is an option.

Troubleshooting Other Potential Sound Issues

Okay, you‘ve enabled NSFW content, installed a third-party app, but still have no sound when tapping play. What gives?

Before totally freaking out, here are a few other common issues that could be preventing sound from working properly:

• App needs updating – Make sure you‘re running the latest version of the Reddit app or client. Outdated buggy versions can break sound.

• Connection problems – Choppy or unstable internet can stop videos from loading audio and other elements correctly.

• Restricted by mods – Some subreddit mods impose additional restrictions that may force mute NSFW videos.

• Corrupted post – The sound problem may be isolated to just that particular video file being glitchy and not playing properly.

• Device needs restarting – Power cycle your phone and close all apps to clear out any software gremlins.

• Account restrictions – Ensure your specific Reddit account hasn‘t had restrictions placed by admins for previous violations.

• Cache needs clearing – Delete the app cache and local data to force a fresh clean re-sync with Reddit‘s servers.

Testing sound on a variety of subreddits and posts helps narrow down where any lingering glitches are originating from.

Unmute Reddit Sounds – Final Takeaways

Here are the core tips to remember for troubleshooting lack of audio on Reddit videos:

• Reddit automatically mutes all NSFW content in their mobile app by default.

• Using third party apps like Apollo or Sync allows NSFW video sound.

• Always double check videos are not manually muted before troubleshooting other issues.

• Enabling adult content access is required for audio to work on age-restricted posts.

• Updating apps, restarting devices, and clearing cache can resolve many sound glitches.

I hope these fixes get your Reddit feed sounding crystal clear again! No more annoying muted posts ruining the experience.

Let me know if you have any other questions down below, and please upvote this guide if it worked for restoring your audio. Enjoy!