How to fix no subtitles in VLC player on Windows 10
VLC player is a feature rich app. Given how complex it is, you might think that the app is unstable or prone to breaking but that’s actually rare. It does run into problems on occasion but rarely is it a massive bug. If you’re using the app to watch videos but there are no subtitles in VLC player when there should be, you can try the following fixes.
Before we get down to it, check at least two or three different videos to see if the subtitles appear or not. While rare, it may be that a video is blocking subtitles in VLC but if the problem persists for multiple videos, try the steps below to fix it.
Disable/Enable subtitles
Open VLC player and play the video that is supposed to have subtitles. Right-click inside the player and go to Subtitle. The sub-menu will have a disable option. If there is no subtitle file selected then that is why you’re not getting any subtitles.
In that case, select the Add Subtitle file option, and select the subtitle file.
Check SRT file
Check the subtitle file. It should have the SRT file extension. If the extension has been changed, VLC player will not be able to play it. Additionally, check the contents of the subtitle file. You can open an SRT file in Notepad. Look inside to make sure the contents are in fact for the file in question and you don’t just have a blank SRT file.
Check subtitle appearance
In VLC player go to Tools>Preferences. Go to the Subtitles/OSD tab and make sure the subtitle color is set to white with a black outline. The Font size should be set to Auto and the position to 0px. If these settings don’t match, change them so that they do.
Restart VLC player and check if the subtitles appear.
Different subtitle file
While we have checked the subtitle file already, it is worth checking to see if a different SRT file will work. Sometimes, the SRT file in question might not be loading correctly in VLC so trying a different one might do the trick. Additionally, make sure the file’s name doesn’t have any unusual characters in it. It’s best to rename the file to something user friendly. There is also a small possibility that the SRT file you’re using is digitally protected so again, try a different subtitle file.
Reset VLC preferences
VLC player has a lot of different settings and if you tend to tinker with them a lot, it is possible that you might have enabled something that is interfering with subtitles. You can manually dig through the changes you’ve made to the preferences and undo them, or you can reset VLC’s preferences.
To do that, go to Tools>Preferences. At the bottom of the window, click the Reset Preferences button.
