With over 50 million daily active users, Reddit is home to a massive range of viral videos covering everything from cute pets to shocking CCTV footage. However, many users are frustrated that Reddit videos have no sound when viewed on the platform. Unlike YouTube or TikTok, audio doesn’t play automatically when viewing Reddit videos in the app or browser. Enabling sound on Reddit requires manually unmuting or downloading the video.
In this post, we’ll cover how to get sound working on Reddit videos across platforms. Read on to learn the steps for turning on audio in the Reddit mobile app, desktop site, and third-party clients.
Why Don’t Reddit Videos Have Sound by Default?
There are a few reasons why Reddit defaults to silencing videos instead of playing sound automatically:
- Prevent audio from blaring – With videos autoplaying on feeds, leaving sound off prevents a disruptive audio blast.
- Data savings – Silent autoplay uses less data when browsing on metered mobile connections. Sound has to be intentionally enabled.
- User preference – Many users browse Reddit publicly, where audio might disturb others. Muting puts control in users’ hands.
- Hosting limitations – Reddit has stricter limits on video file sizes than dedicated platforms like YouTube. Keeping videos upload-friendly contributes to this.
While the soundless default makes sense for Reddit’s format, it can be annoying for users wanting to hear what’s happening in videos. Let’s look at how to enable audio when desired.
How to Get Sound on Reddit Videos in Mobile App
The Reddit mobile app makes turning on sound for videos easy:
- Tap on the Reddit video post to open it.
- In the top right corner, tap the “speaker” icon.
- This will unmute the video and enable sound.
- Adjust the volume using your device’s volume buttons as needed.
Now you can hear the audio for that video while scrolling Reddit mobile! You will have to manually unmute each video, but this method lets you control which clips play sound.
Troubleshooting Tips
If you still can’t get audio in the mobile app, try:
- Updating the app in case it’s a bug causing issues with unmuting.
- Go into your device’s Settings app and confirm that the media volume is turned up.
- Tapping around different areas of the video to ensure the unmute icon isn’t offset.
- Viewing the Reddit video in a mobile browser to test if the issue is app-specific.
How to Get Sound on Reddit Videos on Desktop Site
The Reddit desktop site also keeps videos muted by default for data usage and autoplay considerations. But you can easily enable audio:
- Navigate to the Reddit video post you want to unmute.
- Hover your mouse pointer near the bottom right corner of the video.
- Click the “speaker” icon to unmute and enable sound.
- Use your computer’s volume controls as needed to adjust loudness.
Now, the video will play with sound enabled on a loop while browsing Reddit on the desktop. Like mobile, you have to manually unmute each clip. But this gives control over which videos play audio.
Troubleshooting Tips
If you still aren’t getting sound on the desktop site, try:
- Reloading the page in case the mute icon glitched.
- Check your computer’s system volume to see if the video won’t unmute.
- Clicking different spots around the video frame if the icon is misaligned.
- Using a different browser to rule out browser-specific issues.
How to Download Reddit Videos with Sound on Mobile
Manually unmuting each video can get tedious. To save Reddit videos with audio embedded, you need to download them directly:
On iPhone
- Tap and hold the Reddit video post thumbnail to bring up the menu.
- Tap “Save Video” to download the clip to your Photos app.
- The saved clip will have sound embedded.
On Android
- Tap the three-dot menu icon at the top right of the video post.
- Select “Download” from the dropdown menu.
- The video will be saved to your local storage with audio included.
Downloading is the only way to get Reddit videos with sound baked in on mobile. You can then watch them with full audio playback enabled.
How to Download Reddit Videos with Sound on Desktop
Similarly, downloading Reddit videos on a desktop is the only way to get clips with audio embedded:
On Chrome
- Right click on the Reddit video and choose “Save video as”.
- Select a download location and save the video file.
On Firefox
- Click the video to open it in the built-in player.
- Right click the player and choose “Save Video As”.
- Pick a download folder to save the clip with audio.
On Safari
- Option + Click the video, which will download it.
- Locate the downloaded video file in your Downloads folder.
The downloaded copies will have audio baked into the video file itself, unlike the muted streamed versions.
Why Reddit Videos Don’t Have Sound in Third-Party Apps
Many Reddit users prefer third-party apps like Apollo, Relay, or Boost over the official one. However, an issue with many popular third-party Reddit clients is they don’t play sound for Reddit videos. This is because most third-party apps load the video streams directly from Reddit’s servers. And since Reddit mutes videos by default, the audio-less versions are what end up loading in the apps, too.
Trying to unmute in a third-party Reddit app likely won’t work. The video file itself has no embedded audio stream. Only downloading the clip will provide the sound. The developers would have to modify their apps to either load or convert the videos differently to enable sound playback within the clients. But added complexity for audio likely deters most.
Workarounds to Get Audio for Reddit Videos
While most Reddit videos will be muted by default, here are some workarounds power users employ to get audio:
- Use a downloader bot like SaveVideo on a muted clip to get a version with audio.
- Copy the direct video file link and run it through a third-party site to add audio.
- Upload your own video natively instead of cross-posting a mute clip if you want built-in sound.
- Screen record muted videos on your device to capture system audio output.
- Install a Reddit video downloader browser extension to save clips with audio embeds.
- On the desktop, inspect the page source to find the direct video file URL to get the version with audio.
Though extra steps are required, experienced Reddit users have found ways to extract audio when desired.
Why Adding Sound to Reddit Videos Matters
Enabling audio on Reddit videos provides some benefits:
- Immersion – Sound adds engagement, context, and dramatic effect to videos.
- Accessibility – Users with visual impairments rely on audio cues to understand video content.
- Clarity – Important dialog or details may be conveyed solely through audio.
- Intent – Music choice, sound effects, and vocal inflections convey nuanced intent.
- Memory – Audio boosts information retention and memorability for video content.
- Performance – Vocals, ASMR, and other sounds add engagement for performance videos.
While keeping videos muted by default makes sense for Reddit, empowering users to turn on sound when desired can elevate the viewing experience.
The Future of Audio on Reddit
It’s unlikely Reddit will change its fundamental approach of keeping videos silent by default unless iOS and Android alter mobile video autoplay behaviors. However, Reddit could develop smarter audio cues on its platforms, like briefly playing sound on hover to indicate a clip has audio available. As it stands, the manual unmuting process on desktop and app is the most straightforward system that balances user control, data usage, and preferences. But improvements may come, giving users more discretion over audio.
For now, following the steps outlined here will enable sound on the desktop, or tap the speaker button in the app to hear what’s happening in viral Reddit videos when desired.
Conclusion
While muted by default, getting audio for Reddit videos only takes a tap or click. Just look for the unmute speaker icon in the app or website video players. For permanent access to sound, downloading videos is required. But for quick in-browser previews, enabling audio is easy across Reddit platforms.
Hopefully, Reddit will continue improving video capabilities to balance the safety of silent autoplay with users’ desire for sound when relevant. But with these tips, sound on Reddit videos is just a tap away!
