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Heroes of Might and Magic 3Playback Speed
Change YouTube's speed in the player's Settings gear under Playback speed, from 0.25x to 2x for everyone (up to 4x with YouTube Premium), press and hold the video for 2x, or use Shift + > and Shift + < on a keyboard.
To speed up or slow down a YouTube video, click the Settings gear in the player, then Playback speed, and pick a speed; on a keyboard, Shift + . (the > key) speeds up and Shift + , (the < key) slows down (Keyboard shortcuts). For a quick burst, click and hold (or touch and hold) anywhere on the video to play at 2x until you let go (Speed up or slow down YouTube videos). Everyone gets 0.25x to 2x; YouTube Premium members can go up to 4x.
Quick facts
| Menu | Settings (gear) > Playback speed |
| Preset speeds | 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, Normal, 1.25, 1.5, 1.75, 2 |
| Custom slider | 0.25x to 2x in 0.05 steps (free); up to 4x with Premium |
| Hold for 2x | Click and hold the video (computer), touch and hold (app) |
| Faster / slower keys | Shift + . (>) / Shift + , (<) |
| Double tap (app) | Left side back 10 seconds, right side forward 10 seconds |
| Android | Needs Android 5.0 or later |
Speeds and slider read from the player on youtube.com on Nov 6, 2026, signed in without Premium.
How do I change the speed on YouTube?
On a computer (Speed up or slow down YouTube videos):
- Hover over the player and click the Settings gear.
- Click Playback speed.
- Drag the slider, use - and +, or click one of the speed chips under it.
On Android, iPhone or iPad, tap the video once, tap the Settings gear, tap Playback speed, and choose. On smart TVs and streaming devices, select Settings > Speed on the watch page; YouTube Help says not every TV has it.
On Nov 6, 2026 the computer menu showed a large readout (such as "1.00x"), a slider from 0.25 to 2 that moves in steps of 0.05, so 1.15x or 1.85x are possible, and chips for 1.0, 1.25, 1.5, 2.0 and 3.0, the 3.0 chip carrying a Premium badge for an account without Premium.
Press and hold for 2x
Click and hold anywhere on the video on a computer, or touch and hold it in the app, and it plays at twice the speed until you release (Speed up or slow down YouTube videos). It is the quickest way to skim a slow part without changing your setting. With Premium, holding can also offer Jump Ahead, which skips to the part most viewers go to.
Keyboard shortcuts for speed
YouTube's own Pro Tips video on keyboard shortcuts ends on speed: hold Shift and press the period key to speed a video up, or the comma key to slow it down.
| Keys | What they do |
|---|---|
| Shift + . (>) | Faster |
| Shift + , (<) | Slower |
| . and , without Shift | Step one frame while paused, not speed |
Source: Keyboard shortcuts, YouTube Help. Click the player once first so it has the keyboard. The rest are on Keyboard Shortcuts, and the frame keys on Frame by Frame with Comma and Period.
Faster than 2x with Premium
On Sep 26, 2025 YouTube made speeds up to 4x, in 0.05x steps, a standard Premium feature on Android, iPhone, iPad and the web, after testing it with Premium members on youtube.com/new. Premium on Android also has Auto speed, which adjusts the speed automatically for English videos (YouTube Premium benefits). Without Premium the limit is 2x. See YouTube Premium.
What creators say
In an Aug 23, 2019 vidIQ video, its presenter ran through the speed keys, Shift + period up to double speed and Shift + comma down to a quarter, then said he watches most YouTube videos at 1.5x or 2x "so I can get through more video content", and recommended it most for educational videos. Slow speeds, in his view, are mostly for comedy.
Mike Murphy, in a Jun 15, 2020 tutorial, made the same case by comparing YouTube to podcasts, which many people already play faster, and showed the custom speed slider the menu had then.
Frequently asked questions
How do I watch YouTube at 2x speed? Open the Settings gear, choose Playback speed and pick 2, or simply click and hold the video, which plays at 2x until you let go. On a keyboard, Shift plus the period key steps the speed up.
Can I set a custom speed on YouTube? Yes. The Playback speed slider moves in steps of 0.05, from 0.25x to 2x without Premium, so YouTube can play at 1.15x or 1.85x.
Can YouTube play faster than 2x? Only with YouTube Premium, which allows up to 4x on the web, Android, iPhone and iPad since Sep 26, 2025. Without Premium, 2x is the maximum.
What are the YouTube keyboard shortcuts for speed? Shift + > (Shift and the period key) makes a YouTube video faster and Shift + < (Shift and the comma key) makes it slower. Without Shift, the same keys step one frame while paused.
Sources
- Speed up or slow down YouTube videos, YouTube Help, read Nov 6, 2026
- Keyboard shortcuts, YouTube Help, read Nov 6, 2026
- YouTube Premium benefits, YouTube Help, read Nov 6, 2026
- YouTube Premium rolls out HQ audio, more playback speeds, 9to5Google, Sep 26, 2025
- YouTube: How To Change Playback Speed, Mike Murphy, Jun 15, 2020 (video)
- How To Adjust The Speed Of A YouTube Video, macmostvideo, Sep 11, 2023 (video)
- Keyboard shortcuts, Pro Tips from TeamYouTube, YouTube Viewers, Oct 18, 2018 (video)
- 30+ YouTube Keyboard Shortcuts, vidIQ, Aug 23, 2019 (video)
- The Playback speed menu on youtube.com, read Nov 6, 2026
Moments
YouTube: How To Change Playback Speed
Mike Murphy | AI Handyman
How To Adjust The Speed Of A YouTube Video
macmostvideo
Keyboard shortcuts | Pro Tips from TeamYouTube
YouTube Viewers
30+ YouTube Keyboard Shortcuts
vidIQ
Related
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Hidden YouTube Studio PagesYouTube Studio pages can be opened directly by address, studio.youtube.com/channel/YOUR_CHANNEL_ID/ followed by a path such as content/inspiration (saved ideas), copyright/history (copyright removal requests) or monetization/affiliate_hub (Shopping affiliate offers).
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Link to an Exact TimeTo share a YouTube video from a set time, click Share under the video, tick Start at, enter the time and copy the link, or add &t=90 (seconds) to the address yourself; embeds use start= and end= instead.
- Loop a VideoTo loop a YouTube video on a computer, right-click the player and click Loop; in the app, tap Settings, Additional settings, Loop video; a playlist loops with the Loop button in its playlist box.
- Open a Video's TranscriptTo open a YouTube video's transcript on a computer, click "...more" under the video to expand the description, scroll to the Transcript section and click Show transcript; it works on any video that has captions.
-
Right-Click Twice to Copy a Video FrameOn YouTube in Chrome on a computer, pause the video, right-click it once for YouTube's menu, then right-click again for the browser's own menu, which offers Copy video frame and Save video frame as.
- See a Video's Hidden TagsYouTube hides a video's tags from viewers, but on a computer anyone can read them in the page source: open view-source: before the watch address and search for name="keywords".
- See Which Shorts Used a VideoThe address youtube.com/source/VIDEO_ID/shorts lists the YouTube Shorts made from a video, such as remixes that used its sound or a cut of it; creators can also see remix traffic in YouTube Studio.
-
Share the Live LinkShare youtube.com/@yourhandle/live instead of one stream's watch link: while the channel is live, YouTube opens the current stream, and when it is not, the channel page.
See also
-
Jump AheadIn the YouTube app, double tap the right or left side of a video to skip 10 seconds forward or back. With YouTube Premium, a Jump ahead button then appears that skips to the next point most viewers fast forward to.
-
Keyboard ShortcutsYouTube's main keyboard shortcuts on a computer are k to play or pause, j and l to jump 10 seconds, f for full screen, m to mute, c for captions, and comma and period to step frames; Shift + ? shows the full list in the player.
-
Frame by Frame with Comma and PeriodOn YouTube on a computer, pause the video, then press the period key to step one frame forward and the comma key to step one frame back.
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YouTube PremiumYouTube Premium is YouTube's paid plan: videos without ads, background play, downloads, YouTube Music Premium, an enhanced-bitrate 1080p, Jump ahead and more. In the US it costs $15.99 a month for one person and $26.99 for a family as of Nov 6, 2026; Premium Lite is a cheaper, mostly ad-free plan without music.
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Find a Channel IDFind any YouTube channel's ID on its channel page by opening the description (the About panel), then Share channel > Copy channel ID; your own is also under Settings > Advanced settings, or at youtube.com/account_advanced.
- Get a Video's Full-Size ThumbnailAny YouTube video's thumbnail opens at img.youtube.com/vi/VIDEO_ID/maxresdefault.jpg, 1280 by 720 pixels when the video has one, with hqdefault.jpg (480 by 360) as the size every video has.