Reddit is a widespread content sharing and aggregator social media platform where people share related content in various niches. Oftentimes, a lot of this content is or contains a video that typically comes with the option of listening with sound. This article will help you learn how to enable sound on a Reddit video.
Enabling sound on Reddit
Reddit allows users to upload videos as long as the recipient subreddit will enable videos. You can ideally upload the videos by clicking the + icon on the screen and selecting the video you want to upload from your gallery.
However, the primary challenge is that sometimes, sounds do not accompany videos that you or others upload. For example, when you click on a video to watch, the video’s sound is muted. This is typically due to Reddit’s default setting, as it is sufficient to touch the speaker icon at the bottom of the screen to enable the sound.
The sound issue
You may encounter the Reddit sound error in two situations. First, this might result from the video not having an audio file to play. This is different from the Reddit no sound error as the video itself is without sound. Nevertheless, there are several cases where the sound error does not mean the video is without an audio file to play.
If you face the latter issue, it is probably while watching videos in an NSFW (Not Safe For Work) community. This is because the platform automatically mutes the videos that users watch in NSFW communities.
Reddit mutes such videos because NSFW videos commonly contain adult content. As such, the website marks videos with such content as NSFW and automatically mutes them. However, this does not mean that the original video does not have an audio file to play. As such, you and other users may still be able to watch such videos with audio.
Fixing the issue
Enable NSFW Content
Here is how to enable NSFW content, depending on the platform you use for Reddit.
Desktop Website
After logging into the Reddit desktop website and signing in, enter the account settings section to enable adult content. Locate the dropdown icon at the top right corner of the screen, next to your username icon. Clicking on the dropdown will reveal links, including your “online status,” your profile, and a link to your avatar. Below these links is the “user settings” link.
Clicking on user settings will take you to a page with multiple options, including “account,” “profile,” “safety and privacy,” “feed settings,” “notifications,” “subscriptions,” and “chat and messaging.” Ideally, you will arrive at the “account” section, so click on the “profile” instead.
Locate the NSFW segment by scrolling down below the avatar and banner image segment. Simply toggle the icon next to “This content is NSFW (may contain nudity, pornography, profanity or inappropriate content for those under 18)” to enable sound.
If you use the old Reddit, you can enable NSFW posts by clicking on “preferences” at the top right corner of your screen.
After clicking on it, locate the “media” section where you will find the NSFW option: “Hide images for NSFW/18+ content (Don’t show thumbnails or media previews for anything labeled NSFW)”. Simply click on the box before the text to enable it.
Because the functionality is unavailable on the iOS Reddit app, you will require doing the above from the desktop site. However, the android app retains this functionality. You can access it by clicking your image icon at the top right corner of the screen. This will reveal a panel that displays “my profile,” “create a community,” and others. Click on “Settings” at the bottom of the panel.
The relevant section is below “reduce animations” and “blur NSFW images.” Simply toggle the switch beside “Show NSFW content(I’m over 18)” to enable NSFW content on your android app.
Mobile website
You can also access the functionality via the Reddit mobile website. Begin by clicking on the three-line icon on the top right corner of your screen. It will reveal a panel that discloses your user name, link to your inbox, coins, premium, powerups, and your communities. Under these, you will find “settings”. Clicking on this will subsequently reveal a dropdown, including “dark mode”, “ask to open app”, “language”, “request desktop site”, and “account settings”. Clicking on account settings will direct you to a page.
The page includes multiple options including “account”, “profile”, “safety and privacy”, “feed settings”, “notifications”, “subscriptions”, and “chat and messaging”. Ideally, you will arrive at the “account” section, so click on the “feed settings” instead. When you get here, toggle the adult content slider to enable NSFW content.
However, unlike the desktop version, this is not sufficient to enable sound. As such, you still need to download a third-party Reddit reader application. The best option for iOS users is Apollo, while Android users can download the Sync app instead.
After downloading the app, log in to it with your Reddit account, search for the video you wish to watch with audio, and expand it. Lastly, click on the speaker icon as you do to unmute standard videos.
Apollo is a Reddit client that users describe as one of the best Reddit apps for iOS devices. The app aims to simplify Reddit’s complex nature, making it more accessible to subscribers using iOS. One of the reasons for this reputation is that the app features a good design while also being modern and fast. Apollo allows users to browse Reddit more quickly.
Another important factor in its popularity is its powerful features. For example, the app features a Jump Bar that lets users directly open the search bar. This enables users to quickly move from one subreddit to another with a click.
Another reason you may be unable to hear sound when watching videos on Reddit may be because Reddit keeps the video and audio in separate tracks. As such, there are occasional problems with playing them simultaneously. Sometimes, you may need to re-code the video if you want to download the streaming video on Reddit.