Last verified: November 2026
YouTube CC Not Showing Up? Why, and What to Do
The CC button only appears when a video has captions. If it's missing, the video has no caption track you can turn on yet. Here is why that happens and how to still get the words.
No CC button in the player, or Settings > Subtitles/CC has no language to pick.
Described, not a screenshot. YouTube Help: on a computer, the Closed captions icon is visible at the bottom right of the player "if captions are available".
Why there is no CC
You can only turn captions on for videos that have them. A video has captions when the creator uploaded them or YouTube made automatic captions. YouTube's help page lists the reasons automatic captions may be missing:
They are not ready yet
Automatic captions may not be ready when a video is uploaded. YouTube says processing time depends on how complex the audio is.
The language is not supported
Automatic captions only exist for the languages YouTube supports, and they are made in the video's default language.
The audio is hard to recognize
Poor sound, a long silence at the start, people talking over each other, or several languages at once can stop automatic captions. So can a very long video.
It is a live stream
Automatic captions for live streams are English only.
How to fix it
Check the player
On a computer, look at the bottom right of the player for the Closed captions icon and click it. Then check Settings > Subtitles/CC for other tracks. No icon and no tracks means there are no captions.
Wait if the upload is new
For a fresh upload in a supported language, automatic captions may appear later. For an old video, waiting usually will not help.
Get a transcript from the audio
Paste the link into YouTLDR. When there are no captions it transcribes the audio (videos up to 5 hours), and you can read along or download SRT or VTT.
What YouTLDR can and cannot do here
YouTLDR can't add captions to YouTube's player. What it does is give you the words: when a video has no captions, it transcribes the audio and gives you a timestamped transcript you can read, search, translate or download as Text, Doc, SRT or VTT.
If the video does have captions and they were just switched off, you don't need YouTLDR. Click the CC icon.
Pro costs $12/month and is required to process a new video (up to 10 transcripts and 10 summaries a day). There is no free plan; public transcript pages are free to read.
Frequently asked questions
Why is CC not showing on YouTube?
The CC button only shows when the video has captions. If it's missing, the creator didn't upload captions and YouTube has no automatic captions for it, usually because they aren't ready yet, the language isn't supported, or the audio is hard to recognize.
How do I turn on captions on YouTube?
On a computer, click the Closed captions icon at the bottom right of the player. To change their size and style, click Settings, then Subtitles/CC, then Options.
How long do automatic captions take to appear?
YouTube doesn't give a fixed time. Its help page says captions may not be ready at upload and that processing time depends on how complex the audio is.
Why are there no captions on a live stream?
YouTube makes automatic captions for live streams in English only, so streams in other languages have none unless the creator adds them.
Can I get a transcript of a video without captions?
Yes. YouTLDR transcribes the audio of videos without captions, up to 5 hours long. It requires YouTLDR Pro.
Related fixes
YouTube CC Not Showing Up? Why, and What to Do
The CC button only appears when a video has captions. If it's missing, the video has no caption track you can turn on yet. Here is why that happens and how to still get the words.
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