Why You Can't Download a Facebook Video and How to Fix It

If a Facebook video won't download, it's almost always one of these causes: the video is private or in a closed group, the content was deleted or is no longer available, Facebook blocked it over music rights, or you copied the wrong link. Most of them are fixable in seconds. Here's every cause along with its fix.

This guide is specific to Facebook. For problems that can happen on any platform (the file won't play, slow download), check the general guide on why you can't download a video.

1. The video is private or in a closed group

This is the number-one cause. Facebook only lets you download videos from public posts, public pages, and open groups. If the video has restricted privacy (friends only), is in a closed group, or on a private profile, no tool can download it because it requires your session and permission. We explain this in downloading private or closed-group Facebook videos.

Fix: check that the video is public (that you can watch it without logging in, in an incognito window). If it's public but still fails, move on to the next points.

2. The content is unavailable or was deleted

If the author deleted the video, the page was removed, or Facebook disabled the account, the video no longer exists and can't be recovered. You'll know because opening the link shows "This content isn't available right now."

Fix: open the link in your browser. If Facebook itself doesn't show the video, no downloader will be able to get it.

3. Facebook blocked the video over music rights

Facebook detects copyrighted music and sometimes mutes or blocks the video fully or partially (especially live streams and videos with commercial songs). If the video appears muted or with a rights notice on the platform itself, that limitation comes from Facebook and affects the download too.

• Fix: there's no legitimate way to get around a copyright block; it's a platform restriction. If the video plays normally on Facebook, you'll be able to download it.
• If you only want the sound from a video that does play, see how to download the audio from a Facebook video.

4. You copied the wrong link or the fb.watch expired

PullVid needs the link to the specific video, not the link to the profile post. Facebook uses several formats: facebook.com/..., m.facebook.com/..., and the short fb.watch/....

• Open the video, tap the three dots (⋯) on the post, and choose Copy link.
• If an old fb.watch link fails, open the video in your browser and copy the full long URL from the address bar.
• More detail in how to copy the link of a Facebook video.

5. A temporary network or Facebook glitch

• Wait a minute and paste the link again.
• Try a different connection (mobile data instead of WiFi, or the other way around).
• Check that the video plays on Facebook before trying to download it.

If the problem isn't the download but that the already-downloaded file won't open, that's covered in a downloaded video that won't play.