How it works
A Video block plays from one source: an Alva-hosted upload, or an embed from YouTube, Vimeo, VdoCipher or Loom. Playback fails when that source is unavailable, the lesson is unpublished or dripped, or a Shopify-hosted file exceeds the 1 GB / 10-minute cap. Each check below isolates one of those causes.
Fix the playback issue
1. Preview the lesson in the storefront player
In the Shopify admin, open Alva Courses, select the course, and use the storefront preview to play the lesson. Confirm whether the Video block fails for you too, rather than for one student on a slow connection.
2. Check the video source and embed link
Open the lesson editor and the Video block. For an Alva-hosted upload, confirm the file finished processing. For YouTube, Vimeo, VdoCipher or Loom, re-paste the share URL and make sure the source video is public or embeddable, not private or deleted.
3. Confirm the lesson is published
A Draft or scheduled lesson, or a section held back by drip scheduling, will not play for students. Set the lesson to Published and confirm the student's enrolment date has passed any drip delay.
4. Check Shopify file limits for large uploads
Shopify-hosted video is capped at 1 GB and 10 minutes per file. If your upload exceeds that, switch to Alva Video Hosting on Unlimited Pro, or embed the video from an external platform instead.
5. Save, re-test and contact support
Click Save, then re-test in the storefront player using a different browser or device to rule out a local network or cache problem. If the video still will not play, email courses@alvaapps.com with the course and lesson name.
What learners see
Once the source, publish state and file size are correct, the video plays in the branded storefront player alongside the sidebar lesson list, progress bar and completion ticks — with no second login or external platform.
See also
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Last updated 2026-05-28