How to Fix It When Chrome Flash Is Not Working

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Updated May 08, 2019

Trouble playing animations, videos, or games in Google Chrome is typically due to Adobe Flash not working on Chrome.

While Adobe announced plans to stop supporting Flash in 2020 because its usage has become decreasingly less common, it is still currently available as a Chrome plugin and should work properly.

In Chrome, Flash not working likely means one of a handful of issues. Either changing a setting, correcting a problem, or resolving an error could be the solution.

Cause of Flash Player Not Appearing in Chrome

If Flash has been disabled within your Chrome browser, it will not be available on any website.

How to Fix Flash Player Not Appearing in Chrome

Enabling Flash in Chrome's settings will make the plugin available for use.

Open a Google Chrome browser window.
Select the ellipsis in the upper-right corner to access the Chrome menu.
Select Settings. Chrome Settings will open.
Select Advanced at the bottom of the page.
Select Content Settings under Privacy and Security.
Select Flash.
Ensure that Ask first (recommended) option is toggled to On.
Restart the browser.

Cause of Flash Not Working on Websites

Even if you previously enabled Flash to work on a site you visit, every time you close out of Chrome the settings are reset. You must change the settings manually each time you want to enable Adobe Flash on a website you trust that requires Flash to work properly.

How to Fix Flash Not Working on a Trusted Site

Changing the setting to enable Flash on the site will resolve the issue until you close the window. You must change the settings manually each time you want to enable Adobe Flash on a website you trust that requires Flash to work properly.

Go to the website on which you want Flash enabled.
Select the Lock icon on the left end of the address bar. A menu will appear with multiple options and information, including a Flash section.
Select the Flash drop-down menu and select Allow.
Close the window. A message stating, "To apply your updated settings to this site, reload this page" will appear. Select Reload.
Wait while the page refreshes. When it reloads, Flash will be enabled.

Cause of Flash Errors in Chrome

One of several errors might appear if the Flash plugin is not up-to-date or is corrupted. A required Chrome update could cause an error, as well. You may see any of these messages when your Flash plugin needs updated:

Adobe Flash has been blocked because it's out of date

Couldn’t load plug-in

The following plug-ins were blocked on this page

This plug-in is not supported (or not responding)

How to Fix Flash Errors in Chrome

If you see an error message when attempting to use Flash, the plugin might need to be updated or reinstalled. Updating Chrome could also resolve the issue.

Open a Chrome browser window.
Type or copy and paste chrome://components in the address bar and press Enter. Chrome Components will open.
Find Adobe Flash Player and select Check for Update. Any update available will be applied.
Go back to the content you were trying to view or hear and reload the page. If it is still not working, continue troubleshooting.
Select the ellipsis in the upper-right corner to access the Chrome menu.
Select Update Google Chrome if it is listed in the menu. (If this does not appear, you are using the most recent version.)
Choose Relaunch after Chrome is updated.
Go back to the content you were trying to view or hear and reload the page. If it is still not working, continue troubleshooting.
Go to adobe.com/go/chrome.

Only install Flash from Adobe's website
Select your computer's operating system in the Step 1 window.
Select the option listing PPAPI in Step 2.
Clear the check boxes for any default software you do not want to install and then select Download Now to reinstall Flash.

Flash Plugin Crashing

If you see an error message stating that the Flash plugin has crashed or you see the Flash icon in your address bar, force the plugin to close and then reload it.