Editor Troubleshooting Tips

As a web-based editor, Kapwing leverages the power of your device, internet, and the cloud.

Users may experience issues on the platform if their device and internet set up is not optimized to support a browser based product. This article will walk you through the most common issues we’ve seen and the steps to take to work around them.

What is the best browser to use Kapwing with?

Google Chrome is the most compatible with our platform and is recommended for when editing your video or project.

How can I get Kapwing to run more smoothly?

Kapwing is a very memory intensive application, due to the nature of editing video and adding effects or having many layers. If you are experiencing issues editing your project, the best recommendations we can make at this time are to:

1. Use Kapwing in Chrome and ensure that it is up to date
2. Close any other applications or Chrome tabs while using Kapwing
3. Regularly clear your browser cache and site data
   
   When using Google Chrome, user the following steps to clear your site data:
    a. Click the lock to the left of the URL
    b. Select "Site Settings" from the dropdown menu
    c. Click "Clear data"
4. Allow your projects 5-10 minutes to fully load within the browser before editing for smoother playback
5. Free up as much memory on your device as possible
6. Give your device the recommended "downtime" it needs to remain performant (shutting it down frequently, clearing memory so that your computer has plenty of memory to use for your browser).

Why does Kapwing lag or freeze while I am editing?

Typically when users report problems with playback, there are a few main reasons this could be occurring: internet speeds, available memory/power, or browser limits.

Internet Speed: Kapwing is constantly sharing file information from your device back to our servers, with every edit that you make. Keeping in mind the size of the files, complexity of your project, and effects being added, this can be a lot of information. In general, we would most recommend having 30mbps upload speed and 60mbps download speed at minimum. If your internet speed is below this, it's possible that a browser based video editor isn't the right solution for you, in which case, we would recommend a desktop editing software.

We also recommend running a speed test in the area where you're working and at various times of day. Often the internet speed that your provider cites is the maximum they will provide and may not be consistent throughout your home or office. Finding the right spot to work from or use a hard wire connection can improve playback performance.

Available Memory & Power: While we strive to make Kapwing accessible for users on all levels of devices, there may be a correlation in the loading time of a project and how well it plays back, with your computer's internal specifications which indicate how well it can handle large files and video. In general, we recommend using a device with at least 8 GB (RAM) memory and a minimum of 30GB available space on your hard drive.

Browser Limits: Different browser have different limits on how much power and memory any single application can use before it will limit it (causing it to slow down or crash). For example, Chrome has a 4 GB memory limit. In some browsers, you can manually increase this limit, but in others you cannot. I'd recommend reading more about this if you feel that your project is hitting this limit. Our engineering team is constantly seeking ways to improve the efficiency of our system to stay below this limit. You can help by clearing your cache regularly and ensuring no other tabs or applications are open while editing.

Additionally, every browser has permissions that may need to be toggled on for Kapwing, such as auto-play, ad blockers, and so on. You can access these permissions in the Preferences or Settings of your browser. These are some of the most important ones to toggle onto Allow.

The best recommendations we can make at this time are to:

1. Use Kapwing in Chrome and ensure that it is up to date
2. Close any other applications or Chrome tabs while using Kapwing
3. Regularly clear your browser cache and site data
   
   When using Google Chrome, user the following steps to clear your site data:
    a. Click the lock to the left of the URL
    b. Select "Site Settings" from the dropdown menu
    c. Click "Clear data"
4. Allow your projects 5-10 minutes to fully load within the browser before editing for smoother playback
5. Free up as much memory on your device as possible
6. Give your device the recommended "downtime" it needs to remain performant (shutting it down frequently, clearing memory so that your computer has plenty of memory to use for your browser).