How to prevent "The play() request was interrupted by a call to pause()" error?

javascript

async-await

error-handling

media-controls

byAlex Kataev·Jan 9, 2025

To prevent the "The play() request was interrupted by a call to pause()" error, manage play and pause with promises. Allow pause() to chain off a successful play().then() promise to maintain sequence:

var videoElement = document.getElementById('videoElement');

// Quote of the day: "Errors are meant to be logged, not ignored!"
videoElement.play().then(() => {
  // Playback success
}).catch(error => {
  // Error: Ignore 'AbortError'
});

// Remember: "Life is a race, but pause() doesn't have to win!"
videoElement.pause();

This ensures that pause() doesn't interrupt a pending play() command or vice versa, effectively avoiding the error.

Exploring the play-pause race conditions

Working with media in JavaScript, race conditions may arise if pause() is called immediately after play(). The asynchronous play() function returns a Promise, which the browser needs time to fulfill. If pause() interrupts the process, it may lead to undesired errors.

Play it only if it's paused

To prevent unneeded play requests, check if videoElement.paused is true before calling play().

// "Only play when it's paused; make video controls lazy!"
if (videoElement.paused) {
  videoElement.play().catch(error => {
    // Error handling here
  });
}

Thinking asynchronous with async/await

Leverage the async/await paradigm in scenarios that demand complex media controls:

async function managePlayback(video) {
  try {
    // "With async/await, it's now or never, there's no in between!"
    await (video.paused ? video.play() : video.pause());
  } catch (error) {
    // Handle those pesky errors
  }
}

Handling timeouts gracefully

If a pause() call soon after a play() is unavoidable, introduce a setTimeout function:

// Note: "setTimeout is JavaScript's way of saying 'hang on a sec'"
videoElement.play();
setTimeout(() => { videoElement.pause(); }, 100);

Implementing advanced error handling

Robust error handling is crucial to manage media interruptions effectively.

Catch 'em gracefully!

Catch the promises and handle them gracefully. After all, unhandled promise rejections aren't fun:

// Note: "Catching errors is not as fun as catching Pokemons, but it's necessary!"
videoElement.play().then(() => {
  // Playback commenced successfully
}).catch(error => {
  if (error.name !== 'AbortError') {
    // Handle Exception (but it's not a Pokemon!)
  }
});

Try to catch 'em all!

Use try...catch blocks when working with async functions to conveniently manage promise rejections:

async function playVideoElement(video) {
  try {
    await video.play();
  } catch (error) {
    // "In programming, it's crucial to try... and also to catch"
  }
}

Working through the edge cases

Knowing your way around edge cases can come handy in tricky situations.

Setting volume to silent before pause

Mute the video element right before pausing if error messages still appear:

// "Can't handle the noise? Mute it!"
videoElement.volume = 0;
videoElement.pause();
videoElement.volume = 1;

Ensuring media is loaded properly

Sometimes, the error could be due to the media not being fully loaded. Ensure loadeddata event is emitted before play():

// "Be patient, let's wait for the video to load!"
videoElement.addEventListener('loadeddata', () => {
  videoElement.play().catch(error => {
    // Error handling
  });
});

Looking into alternative audio playback

If issues persist, test with a more robust audio playback method:

function playAudioBuffer(audio) {
  // "In life, there are alternatives. So are in audio playback!"
  if (audio.paused) {
    audio.play().catch(err => {
      // Error handling
    });
  }
}