Troubleshooting: Video Won't Play, Quiz Won't Save, and Other Common Issues
Most issues clear up in less than a minute with one of the steps below. If you are still stuck after trying these, open a support ticket and tell us which step you tried.
Video issues
The video player is a blank black box
- Reload the page. A short network hiccup can leave the player in a stuck state. A fresh reload usually fixes it.
- Sign out and back in. Old session data is sometimes the cause. Sign out from the top-right menu, sign back in, and try again.
- Try a different browser. If you are on Safari, try Chrome or Firefox. If you are on Chrome, try Safari. This narrows the issue down quickly.
- Disable browser extensions. Ad blockers, privacy extensions, and download helpers sometimes block the player. Open the lesson in a private window (no extensions load there) to test.
The video plays but there is no sound
- Check the player's volume slider. It is separate from your device volume.
- Check your device's audio output. Are headphones still connected from earlier? Is the volume turned down to zero?
- Try another video on the same site. If you have sound on a different lesson, the issue is with that one lesson — message the creator.
The video keeps buffering
- Check your internet speed. A speedtest at the same time as the video can confirm.
- Lower the video quality. Most players have a quality picker in the bottom-right. Drop it from HD to a lower setting and the video plays through.
- Move closer to your Wi-Fi router or switch to a wired connection if you have one.
The video plays fine but does not mark as complete
- Watch to the end. Many video lessons require you to reach the last few seconds before they are marked done.
- Click the Next button at the end of the video. Some players use the click on Next as the signal to mark complete.
- Reload after watching. A reload picks up the latest completion status.
Quiz issues
My answers are not saving
- Stay on the page until you click Submit. Closing the tab or hitting Back before submitting throws away your answers — quizzes do not auto-save partial attempts.
- Make sure you are signed in. If your session expired (browser was open for a long time, you closed your laptop), the submit will fail silently. Sign in again before submitting.
I can not start the quiz
- You may be out of attempts. Look for the attempts-remaining count next to the Start button. If it shows zero, ask the creator to reset attempts.
- An earlier lesson may be locked. If the quiz is part of a sequence, you may need to finish the lesson before it first.
The quiz finished but the grade says "Pending"
- You have a long-answer question. Long-answer questions need to be reviewed by the creator. You will get a notification when they are done.
Login and access issues
"Email or password incorrect"
- Double-check the email address. Many students sign up with a personal address and forget about it later. Try every address you might have used.
- Use the password reset. Click Forgot password and follow the email link.
- Reset link not arriving? Check spam. Look for an email from CourseFriendly or your creator's domain. If it is genuinely missing, request a new one and watch for it; the previous reset link may have expired.
I bought a course but I do not see it in my dashboard
- You may be signed in to a different account. Check the receipt email — it shows which email the purchase was made under. Sign out and sign in with that one.
- Refresh the dashboard. A fresh page load sometimes does it.
- Check the spam folder for an "access" email. Some purchase flows send an extra invite email with a direct enrollment link.
If after all of the above you still do not see the course, contact the creator with your receipt — they can manually enroll you.
I keep getting signed out
- You may be using private/incognito mode. Private browsing forgets the session when you close it. Use a regular browser window.
- Cookies may be blocked. Many course-site features rely on cookies. Allow cookies for the course site in your browser settings.
Certificate issues
The certificate button is missing even though I finished
See Download Your Certificate or Request a Refund — the section "If the certificate is not appearing" walks through the most common reasons.
The name on my certificate is wrong
- Update your profile. Open the top-right menu, click My Profile, fix your name, Save. Then download a fresh certificate — the name updates.
When to open a support ticket
If none of the above fixed your issue:
- Click the help button in the bottom-right corner of the course site.
- Tell us which course and lesson you are on, what you tried, and what you saw (a short description or a screenshot). The more specific, the faster we can help.
- We will respond as soon as we can. If we need information from you to keep going, we will tell you exactly what to send.
We work through every ticket. You will hear back.