Why can I not play a video I just attached?

Reviewed October 17, 2026

On updated native iOS and Android apps, a video can show a thumbnail and play icon before its preview is ready. Tapping it then does nothing, and it is skipped while browsing the other composer previews.

Answer

Send can become available once the video is prepared for sending while its upload continues. You can still remove it. Open the delivered message to play it once processing and upload finish. Videos already ready to play and GIF previews keep their normal behavior.