How to Fix Cannot load M3U8: Crossdomain Access Denied

Cannot load M3U8: In technical terms, a file with the M3U8 file extension is a UTF-8 Encoded Audio Playlist file. But what does that actually mean? In simple terms, M3U8 files are plain text files that serve as references for both audio and video players to locate media files.

An M3U8 file can contain references to various media files, such as a YouTube video or a playlist created on your system. It provides absolute paths, relative parts, or URLs to media files or sets of media files, enabling players to access and play the specified content.

How to open M3u8?

Most text editors, such as Notepad, can be used to open and edit M3U8 files. However, opening these files in Notepad only allows us to view the file references since text editors are not media players and cannot play the content specified in the file.

Various media players can open and utilize M3U8 files, including VLC media player, Windows Media Player, Songbird, Apple’s iTunes, and M3U player. On Linux, XMMS can open M3U8 files (mainly used for audio but also supports videos), while on Mac, Coco ModX (an audio player) can be used to open them.

For online M3U8 files (where the referenced files are online and accessible via URLs), you can use HSLPlayer.net to open them. Additionally, the Chrome extension “Play HLS M3u8” allows you to play M3U8 files found online. This extension can also be helpful in fixing video loading errors like Hulu.

Cannot Load M3U8 error: What is it?

Source: Twitter

This kind of error may occur while you try to play a video on the internet. The error doesn’t allow the user to play a video. “Cross-domain access denied“, “No levels to play” and “404 not found” are three different messages that the error displays on the screen.

Causes 

The error can be caused by three of the most common reasons as follows:

1. Firewall: It occurs when the file is blocked via a firewall or proxy server. The error displays the message  “Cannot load m3u8: Crossdomain access denied” on the screen.
2. Cookies: This error displays the message  “No levels to play “ on the screen. This error occurs when content privacy settings are set to block third-party data and cookies.
3. Removal: If the content that you are looking for was removed by the platform or the uploader then “404 not found” is shown on the screen.

Fix Cannot Load M3U8

The firewall might be the cause of blocking your apps. Although it usually blocks suspicious behavior, a specific unknown application can trigger it to block access to the firewall. Manually allowing the application through the firewall can resolve the issue of “cannot load M3U8.”

Solution 1: Granting Firewall Access

1. Use the search bar and type in “Firewall“.
2. Choose Firewall & network protection from search results.
3. Now, tap on “Allow an app through firewall” option.
4. A screen with checkboxes against some programs appears. Now make your browser checked in both Public and Private networks.
5. Restart the browser.

Solution 2: Allow cookies

Google Chrome

1. Open the browser and click on the three dots in the top right-hand corner.
2. A drop-down list appears, click on the option settings.
3. Scroll down and click on Advance.
4. On the new list that appears click on Content Settings.
5. Now, select Cookies.
6. Make sure the Block Third-Party Cookies are unselected.

Mozilla Firefox

1. First, you need to launch Mozilla Firefox.
2. Next, click on the menu button(≡) in the top right corner and choose Options.
3. Head over to the Privacy & Security panel and then visit the History section.
4. On the right side of the “Firefox will” entry, you can see a drop-down box. From the drop-down menu select the “Use custom settings for history” option.
5. Confirm that the “Accept third-party cookies” option is set as always.
6. Now, restart Mozilla Firefox and try logging in to the Ubisoft website and check if the issue persists.

Microsoft Edge

1. Open the browser and click on the three dots in the top right-hand corner.
2. From the drop-down list that appears, click on Settings.
3. Select the Privacy and security settings to form the left pane.
4. Now, under cookies, there will be a “Don’t block cookies” option. Make sure it is selected.
5. Now, restart the browser and check the error status.

Solution 3: Disable AdBlock

Google Chrome

1. Open google chrome and open extensions. You can either do this by selecting more tools from the drop-down list obtained by clicking the three dots on the top right corner and then clicking on extensions or by opening settings from the same drop-down list and selecting extensions from the left pane. (Or, just type the following in the URL bar – chrome://extensions/)
2. Now look for the Adblock extension and after finding it, toggle it off.
3. If you want to remove it permanently, then click on the Remove option.

But if you want to pause AdBlock for a particular site, then click on the AdBlock icon on the top right-hand corner of the screen near the three vertical dots and click on Pause on this site.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Launch Firefox and type the following in the URL bar – about:addons
2. Locate your AdBlock extension and tap on its setting(three horizontal dots).
3. Finally, select remove and that’s it.

Microsoft Edge

1. Open the Edge browser. Click the three-dot setting icon on the top right-hand corner and select extensions from the drop-down list that appears.
2. There might be several extensions. Find the Adblock extension from this and click the geared setting icon.
3. Toggle the AdBlock from on to off if you want to temporarily disable the AdBlock. If you want to remove it permanently then click on the uninstall button below.

Solution 4: Enable flash

Cannot load M3U8 error typically arises with certain Flash players on specific websites. Enabling Flash in the browser can resolve this problem and allow you to play the video without any further issues.

Google Chrome

1. Click on the three dots on the top right-hand corner of the screen and select settings from the drop-down list.
2. Now select advanced settings from the left pane.
3. Under the privacy and security section, search for content settings and click it.
4. Now you can see the flash option, click it.
5. Make sure you have disabled Block sites from running first.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Launch Firefox and type the following in the URL bar – about:addons
2. Navigate to Plugins section from the left menu.
3. Find Shockwave Flash from the list of plugins.
4. Make sure you enable it as Always Active.

Microsoft Edge

1. Open Edge browser and click on the three dots in the top right-hand
2. From the drop-down list that appears, click Settings near the bottom of the menu.
3. Click on view advanced settings under the Advanced Settings
4. Toggle Use Adobe Flash Player to On.

Wrapping up,

I hope you now have a clear understanding of the fundamental meaning of an M3U8 file and its purpose. When a specific video fails to load, it can be quite frustrating as we search everywhere for a solution or look for alternatives. However, by following the solution provided above, you can effectively fix the “cannot load M3U8” error and enjoy seamless video playback.