[Updated] Google Slides 'Unable to play video: Error 150' reportedly acknowledged, but no ETA for fix

Here’s the crux of the article in video form:

New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….

Original story (published on May 12, 2023) follows:

Google Slides is a free and easy to use presentation program that makes it possible for one to work on the go. Lately, some users have been experiencing some issues with it.

According to reports (1,2,3,4,5,6,7), multiple Google Slides users are experiencing difficulties while playing videos on a presentation. It has been alleged that users get ‘Unable to play video: Error 150’ message.

Apparently, this only happens when one tries to play an embedded YouTube video on their slides. It’s noteworthy that users also cannot play such videos from older slides like they earlier could.

And to add to their troubles, users get an error on inserting another video into a slide which already contains a video from YouTube.

They have tried creating a new page in the document or using different videos all with not success.

This is quite annoying for those who utilize Google Slides for lecturing their students or giving presentations to their office staff.

But luckily, you can play videos attached from Google Drive or hard drive without any hiccups.

I put videos into a google slide. they work on Youtube but not in the slide it self. I keep getting an unable to play video Error 150. What do I do?
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Unable to play video. Error 150.
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Some even speculate that this might be happening because of copyright or video restriction issues preventing them from inserting and using it in their slide. However, the exact reasons for this problem are not known.

Luckily, a Platinum Product Expert says that Google is aware of the issue. However, no official ETA for the bug fix has been provided. So, it looks like users might have to wait for a while before the problem is resolved.

Until then, we’ll keep tabs on the issue with Google Slides users getting ‘Unable to play video: Error 150’ and update the article.

06:33 pm (IST): Once again, users are reporting the issue that they are unable to play videos on Google Slides as they are getting error 150 and 151.

We have come across a workaround that may fix the issue:

Ways to Fix the Problem
Disable the VPN or the proxy server.
Use a media player that supports all region code”
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05:13 pm (IST): Here’s a workaround that seems to fix this issue. Adjusted YouTube settings from the default, which is ‘Strict’ to ‘Unrestricted’. Follow these steps to do so:

1. Sign in to your Google Admin console. Sign in using an administrator account, not your current account
2. In the Admin console, go to Menu and then Apps> Additional Google Services> YouTube.
3. Click Permissions.
4. To apply the setting to everyone, leave the top organizational unit selected. Otherwise, select a child organizational unit or a configuration group.
5. Select Unrestricted YouTube access.
6. Click Save. If you configured an organizational unit or group, you might be able to either Inherit or Override a parent organizational unit, or Unset a group.
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06:23 pm (IST): Google is aware of this issue as per a Platinum Product Expert:

06:20 pm (IST): If you are experiencing problems while trying the workaround mentioned in the second update, then it is possible that your account does not have sufficient privileges.

In such a situation, it is recommended that you contact the account administrator. And if even the administrator has concerns, then they should contact Google Workspace support via their Workspace Admin Console.

06:20 pm (IST): There are individuals who were able to fix the problem with the browsers on Windows but were unable to do so on Mac for unknown reasons.

I’m having the same issue and nothing seems to fix it. The Google Systems Administrator at my college was able to get them to play in Microsoft Edge and Firefox. (He’s on a Windows machine.) I am on a Mac, and they won’t work for me in any browser. I also posted a question to the Google help community, but I added a lot more information. Hopefully we’ll get an answer there!
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06:34 pm (IST): Since age restriction is also one of the reasons people are encountering Video error 151/150 in Google Slides, changing the permissions on age restrictions might help fix the issue.

This started happening at the University where I work. We discovered the age restrictions on permissions needed to be changed. Location: Apps> Additional Google Services>Settings for YouTube> Permissions. We originally had it at Strict restricted YouTube access. We are changing it to Moderate restricted YouTube access. Talk with your IT. Hope this helps!
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09:40 am (IST): The issue with Google Slides where it gives an error when embedding a YouTube video is reportedly limited to music focused videos.

05:19 pm (IST): According to a user, even after changing the age restrictions to ‘Moderate restricted YouTube access’ the error continued to appear on some videos.

The only definitive ‘fix’ was tweak age restrictions to ‘Unrestricted’. However, this will make the entire YouTube platform accessible to students from the institution (even non-educational videos).

In case anyone else reads this past today. Some videos still got Error 151, even on moderate. The videos tested all worked under “unrestricted” so this fix still does work, but use best judgement on whether you can make that change.
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06:20 pm (IST): Recently, a user contacted YouTube about this issue. They were recommended to consult the Google Docs Editor Help Center or contact the experts, regarding the use of YT videos in Slides.

When you log in, do you receive any error messages? Regarding the use of YT videos in Slides, we recommend that you consult the Google Docs Editor Help Center or contact the experts through the forum for more information
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05:48 pm (IST): A user speculates that the ‘Allow embedding’ option, which when turned off restricts embedding videos on Google Slides, may be the cause of the problem.

Although it has not yet been proven, the user raises the possibility that Google has retrospectively enabled that feature on some type of prior YouTube content.

05:46 pm (IST): Google has confirmed through their official ‘known issues’ page that ‘Error 150’ is copyright-related and ‘Error 151’ is related to content filtering/restrictions. So, everything indicates that it is a change that is here to stay.

A user also reported receiving a response from Google support that points to intended behavior.

Google has gotten back to me about this issue.
Basically the gist of it is this:
If you get Error 151, your admin can fix it by loosening the youtube restrictions on your account.
If you get Error 150, your admin cannot fix it because the video has copyright restrictions.

My understanding is that Google plans to add a more detailed message for users, but does not plan to change the behaviour of the embedded player.
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Note: We have more such stories in our dedicated Google section, so be sure to follow them as well.

Featured image source: Google Slides.

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