Website Sound Not Working

Music embedded into an HTML webpage is not working

Sticky Note Sound Errors
Problem:. Sound not working, or not working as expected, either on your local computer hard drive or once it has been published and FTP uploaded to your hosting area.

See Also…

Sound plays at wrong speed
This could be caused by your mp3 sample rate. 44100hz or 44.1hz will be the correct sample rate. Or, try re-saving your mp3 files at a different sample rate, or try saving your mp3 files using other save options or different software.

Sound not working on computer hard drive
This could be caused by your mp3 sample rate or a quality setting. Or this could be a file name problem.
  1. Some web browsers will not play sound files unless uploaded to a hosting area. Test in different browser software.
  2. Try re-saving your mp3 files at a different sample rate or with different options on save.
  3. Try saving your mp3s in a range anywhere from 128kbps to 320kbps (128Kbits/s to 320Kbits/s), 44100hz or 44.1hz sample rate, 16 bits stereo at medium quality. The higher the kbps you save at, the higher the quality of playback, however it will also increase the file size.
  4. Be sure to select mp3 as the file type when saving.
  5. Tip: You can hover over any mp3 to see information about the file.
  6. Some versions of Firefox and Opera do not support mp3 and mp4 file types, try another browser like IE, Chrome or Safari.
  7. Try saving your mp3 files using other software.
  8. Try testing one of the default mp3 files included with the template download.
  9. This could be a file name or folder problem, or zipped folder issue. See: files not updating after an edit.
  10. This could be a code error. If you have changed the mp3 file name or folder location, be sure to edit any webpage HTML code with the correct file and folder names. You may need to edit the name in 2 places or more. Check the help.html included with your template download for the correct support info and links.
  11. The browser you are testing in may not have the application installed to allow for sound. Test in different browser software.
  12. The volume is down on your computer or is muted.
  13. Your speakers are not working.

Sound not working after uploading
This could be caused by an mp3 setting when you are saving or it could be a hosting "mime" setting, or a file name or folder name issue. Hosting is case sensitive so check all file names.
  1. Check in your hosting control panel under "mime" settings and be sure the "mime" types (mp3, ogg, ogv) for the music files you're using are installed and/or enabled. Contact your hosting support for more info on "mime" types.
  2. It may be a file or folder name problem. Website hosting is case sensitive. See: areas of the template are missing after uploading.
  3. Software upload settings. FTP upload sound files in automatic or binary mode, not in ASCII mode. Check your software settings.
  4. This could be a browser cache problem. See: website is not updating after uploading.
  5. Possible code errors. If you have changed the mp3 file name or folder location, be sure to edit any webpage HTML code with the correct file and folder names. You may need to edit the name in 2 places or more. Check the help.html included with your template download for the correct support info and links.
  6. Try re-saving your mp3 files at a different sample rate or with different options on save.
  7. Try saving your mp3 files using other software.
  8. The volume is muted or set too low on your computer.
  9. Your speakers are not working.

Sound does not work in some browsers
If you find that the sound is not playing only in some browsers.
  1. Some browser software can not play some music file types. You may need to setup your music using mutiple file types and fallback code for mp3 and ogg.
  2. Your browser version may be out of date. Download new browser software or update your current software.
  3. The browser you are testing in may not have the application, plugin or addon installed to allow for sound. This may be a missing Flash, Quicktime, Windows Media or other sound addon.

Sound only works when browser is refreshed
This is a problem only on some computers. This is most likely a Windows or browser software problem. No solutions are available at this time for this type of error, but the problem may be solved once the webpages are uploaded.