Audio won't play or cuts out

Turn the media volume up, press Play once more, then reload the page. Those three steps fix almost every silent lesson. If not, the list below goes from most to least likely.

Fix a lesson with no sound

1. Volume and silent mode. On an iPhone the ringer switch doesn't matter, but the media volume does: press the volume-up button while the clip plays. On Android, check the media slider, not the ringtone one.
2. Bluetooth. If earbuds or a car are still connected, the sound is going there. Turn Bluetooth off or reconnect the earbuds.
3. Press Play again. When the feedback line says "Something interrupted this step. Please try again.", the clip didn't load the first time. A second press usually works.
4. Reload the page. A reload gets a fresh copy of the clip. Your typed answer for the current clip is lost, but finished clips and scores stay.
5. Try another accent. Use Accent for this clip inside the player, if the clip has more than one recording.
6. Try another browser. Safari, Chrome, Firefox and Edge all play our clips; a browser extension that blocks media can stop them.

When the audio cuts out partway

• Background tabs. Phones pause audio in tabs you've switched away from. Come back to the tab and press Play.
• Low-power mode. It can stop audio a few seconds in. Turn it off while you practise.
• A weak connection. Clips are small, but on a patchy signal they stall. Download lessons for the train with Practising offline.

Nothing to do with you

Very occasionally a clip is missing on our side. When the block says the audio is still being prepared, the transcript is still there and you can come back later.

Write to us

If none of this works, tell us the lesson name, the accent you chose and your phone or browser from the contact page with "A lesson or its audio seems wrong" selected: Contact us about audio. A person will look at that clip.