Why Does Video Playback Fail With Error Code 232011 on Some Browsers?

[Freya]

Certain videos won’t load and instead show error code 232011. Is this caused by browser extensions, cache issues, or the video platform itself?

 

[Emmawoods]

I have experienced this severally and in my case, the biggest culprits have been network interruptions and security settings of the browsers, notably Chrome. Majority of the videos that present 232011 are delivered via adaptive streaming (HLS or DASH) and in the event that the browser prevents access to a resource, it simply fails.

Try this first:

• Clear cache + cookies
• Deactivate all extensions.
• Privacy in Incognito/ Private mode.

When it operates in incognito, then you are actually aware that it is extensions or cache data interfering with the stream.

 

[AnnP111966]

To appendix, certain ad blocks (uBlock Origin, Ghostery) and privacy shields will filter the tracking calls or CDN hosts related to videos, of which the player relies. This frequently causes a 232011 error in the network since the player attempts to receive chunks received but receives nothing in response.

Block those particular plug-ins or allow the video site. Worked for me on Firefox.

 

[megamind]

This is not necessarily your browser, however at times this is on the server/hosting side itself. Unless the video provider has unhelpfully configured CORS headers, odd SSL/TLS configuration, or is a slow network, your browser will reject portions of the stream, and you have the unhelpful error code 232011.

You may normally check with DevTools:
F12 → Network tab → reload the page.
Find failed requests (.m3u8, .ts or .mp4). In case the server side is shown in 403/500 errors, then it is probably the server side.

 

[captainghost]

This sincerely reminds of a cache problem in most instances. There are also instances where a video that attempts to retrieve an old and stale manifest file, as a result of the cache, never recovers and results in that error. It is normally fixed by just clearing the cache (not the entire browser) of the video site:
Chrome: Settings Choose Privacy Clear Browsing Data Only Cached Images/files and Cookies (that site)
Then reload, no extensions and notice what will occur.

 

[jimmy]

I observed it occurring more in Firefox with protection tracking being configured to strict. The video is loaded by third-party scripts which are blocked by Firefox. I had to go to:

Options → Privacy & Security → Enhanced Tracking Protection → Custom
Then temporarily allow scripts from the video domain.

When I did so the 232011 error was gone completely.

 

[TaylorTravels]

Fast stupid query is this only on particular platforms (such as embedded You Tube) or any video? I suppose that the video files can be blocked by the extensions of browsers but are they what violate the code, or just the content?

 

[ethanwalker]

A good clarifying question, the error of 232011, does not arise due to extensions as such. It is an error message that is generic on the video player that it is not able to retrieve/stream the necessary files.

So:
Extensions can trigger it
cache corruption will cause it.
It can be caused by server misconfig.
It can be instigated by network issues.

But the player only reports failure, it is unaware of the reasons. This is why it has the same code of lots of different issues.

 

[ArthurMex]

Pro tip: Make sure you clear your cache and disable everything; however, even that fails to work, switch to another network (mobile hotspot). And in case that fixes it, your ISP or local router is possibly blocking something (e.g. some CDN endpoints). It was a long time before I figured that out.