How to Fix Whatsapp Picture-In-Picture Not Working

Not long ago, Samsung launched multitasking feature for phones with multi-window mode. Google’s introduction of native split-screen mode on Android 7.0 Nougat served as a stepping stone to picture-in-picture (PiP) mode on Android 8.0 Oreo.

Now many popular apps like YouTube, Facebook, Netflix, WhatsApp and many more support picture-in-picture mode.

However, WhatsApp on Android was late to the iPhone game, only supporting picture-in-picture in the first quarter of last year. Although this feature is coming out late, it will likely not work smoothly for some Android phone users.

If you are also struggling to get it to work on your phone, then we will help you do it with proven solutions.

Start.

WhatsApp Compatibility Check

WhatsApp’s picture-in-picture mode works with all phones running Android 4.4 KitKat or later. Anything less will not support this mode. You can check your Android version by going to Phone Settings > System > About > Android Version.

Time to update the app

Now that you have verified your app’s compatibility, you also need to check the app version. Previously, picture-in-picture mode was limited to beta. However, that changed in December 2018 when the picture-in-picture feature also appeared on the stable version. Now all WhatsApp versions above 2.18.380 support picture-in-picture mode. If you haven’t updated your app yet, this is a good time to do so. To do that, navigate to the Play Store and update WhatsApp.

Supported videos

WhatsApp does not support PiP mode for videos created on WhatsApp or sent from the gallery. It only works with external links like YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.

Waiting for video preview

For example, if you’re trying to send a third-party link from YouTube and picture-in-picture doesn’t work, you’ve missed a very important step.

Whenever you hit share on the link and it opens in WhatsApp, you need to wait a second or two for its preview window to load. Only when the external video has a preview window, it will play in picture-in-picture mode for both sides.

If you receive the video link without preview, the video will not play in PiP mode. There’s not much you can do but ask the person to resend the video with a preview if you want to watch it during chat.

Clear application cache

Still no sign of photo mode in pictures? Ah! Then it would be a smart move to clear the app cache right for WhatsApp. Doing so will not delete your chats, media files, or settings, it only deletes temporary files. Note that if you hit clear memory/data, this will erase everything. So, be careful when pressing the buttons in the steps discussed below.

Step 1: Open Device Settings and go to Apps & notifications/Application manager/Installed apps depending on the option available on your device.

Step 2: Tap WhatsApp in All Apps.

Step 3: Tap Storage, then Clear Cache. Restart your device.

Using Picture-In-Picture properly

As they say, ‘If it’s too good to be true, it’s not true.’ Something similar is happening with WhatsApp. Picture-in-picture only works in chat windows with video links. If you return to the WhatsApp home screen or leave WhatsApp, the floating video window will also disappear. So if you’re trying to use PiP mode outside of WhatsApp, we’re sorry to say that it’s still not possible on Android phones.

Beta users, beware

Beta version of WhatsApp or any app is buggy. While this feature is initially only available on beta, it may not work as you expect. So if this doesn’t work for you, switch to the stable version.

How to Use WhatsApp’s Picture-in-Picture Mode

Tap the video preview in WhatsApp. The video will then start playing in a floating window that you can move across the screen by dragging it. You can also resize it with pinch in and out gestures. To watch the video in full screen, tap the full screen icon in the top right corner. You can also control the video with the progress slider which is only available in full screen mode.

To close picture-in-picture, press the back button or use the diagonal button on the video to close.

Disable Picture-In-Picture mode

PiP mode doesn’t live up to your expectations or is the floating window bothering you? No need to worry because you can play videos normally without picture-in-picture on WhatsApp.

Unfortunately, a direct way to disable this mode does not exist. However, we know of two workarounds that can do the job perfectly.

Method 1: Click on the Link

When you receive or send a video that you want to play in the respective app/website, tap the link itself instead of the video. That will open the video outside of WhatsApp just like any other link.

Method 2: Send without preview

As mentioned earlier, the video preview feature is essential for picture-in-picture mode. When sending a video, share it just before the preview appears, or tap the diagonal button in the top right corner of the message to remove the preview.

Is WhatsApp’s Picture-In-Picture mode different from other apps

Correct. Much. For starters, it works on all Android devices starting from Android 4.4 KitKat. That’s not possible with other apps that typically require Android 8.0 Oreo or later.

Second, it doesn’t work outside of WhatsApp or even in another chat, as mentioned before. That is a limitation for someone who cannot enjoy PiP mode to its fullest. However, this works for video calls outside of WhatsApp where you need to tap the Home button.

WhatsApp can do better

WhatsApp still needs to do a lot of work for picture-in-picture mode on Android. We hope they remove the above restrictions and the video also works outside of WhatsApp or at least in different chats. People also want the picture-in-picture feature to work for original WhatsApp videos, a function that is oddly available in the WhatsApp web, which also recently added support for external links.

In the meantime, we hope you can watch the video in picture-in-picture mode using the fixes above. Have anything to contribute to the article? Let us know in the comments below.

Next up: Want to take your WhatsApp experience to the next level? Check out these 17 cool WhatsApp tips and tricks for Android.

Categories: How to
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/