WatchUp opens, but your video does nothing?
Chrome may have switched off WatchUp for that video website. You can still look connected to a room, but WatchUp cannot see or control the video until you allow access again.
Turn WatchUp back on for the video website
- Leave the video website open.
- Look at the top-right of the browser, next to the long box that shows the website address. Click the Extensions button (usually a puzzle-piece icon). If you cannot see it, open the three-dot menu first and choose Extensions.
- Look for Access requested. Click WatchUp underneath it to allow access.
- If you do not see Access requested, find WatchUp in the same menu, open its three-dot menu, choose This can read and change site data, then choose On this site. You can also choose On all sites if you want WatchUp to work automatically on every supported website.
- Return to the video and click the browser’s reload button (the circular arrow).
- Open WatchUp and select the video tab again.
You do not need to wait for a WatchUp update. These steps work immediately.
Open Google’s official step-by-step instructions for changing an extension’s website access
Chrome changed how it handles an extension’s existing access to websites. This change can switch WatchUp off for a website even though WatchUp itself was not updated. Allowing WatchUp on the video website turns it back on.
Where to click
- Keep the video tab open so the browser knows which website you want to allow.
- Open the Extensions menu at the top-right of the browser.
- Under Access requested, click WatchUp.
- If your browser shows the older menu, open WatchUp’s three-dot menu and choose This can read and change site data → On this site.
- Reload the video page, open WatchUp, and select that tab again.
Chrome changed this without a WatchUp update
Chrome is gradually giving people a new extensions menu. It can arrive on one computer today and on another computer later. That is why WatchUp can suddenly stop working in one browser while it still works in another.
Your room can still show as connected because the room connection and access to the video are two separate things. WatchUp cannot control the video until Chrome allows it on that website again.
Run these checks in order
- Update WatchUp in both browsers. Friends using different releases should update before testing again.
- Reload the video page after granting access. An already-open page may still have the old blocked state.
- Open WatchUp and reselect the exact tab containing the player.
- Confirm the debug report says Video Found. A page without a standard player may need site-specific support.
- Temporarily test without another extension that also modifies the player.
- If it still fails, collect a debug report from each participant before leaving the room.