TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS
WHAT SHOULD I DO? MY VIDEO WON'T PLAY.
1. Refresh the Web Page:
As basic as it sounds, try refreshing your web page.
2. Try a New Web Browser:
Sometimes lesser-known (or out-of-date) web browsers can cause issues when playing course videos. We always recommend using an updated version of Chrome or Firefox.
3. Test Internet Speed:
Sometimes a slow Internet connection can cause videos to not play properly. Visit www.speedtest.net to see if your internet connection speed is the culprit. Or, try connecting to another Wi-Fi network to see if the problem resolves.
Ping Speed - the speed of your connection's response time after you send out a request.
Download Speed - how fast data moves from the server to you. In most cases, download speed will be much faster than upload speed.
Upload Speed - how fast you can send data to others — e.g. sending files via email, uploading photos, etc.
If your internet connection is to blame, consider restarting your modem, upgrading your internet plan, or going somewhere with a better connection. If you reside in a place with notoriously poor internet, like Australia, you may want to opt to upgrade the course to include Digital Downloads of the files. It will ease issues so you don't have to live stream video.
The minimum viable connection speed to stream our videos reliably is about 768 kilobits per second (equal to .768 megabits per second). We recommend a connection speed of at least 5 megabits per second for an optimal experience with HD capability.
4. If on Mobile, Switch to a Computer:
While Rebel Writers' course videos can play on mobile devices, it is not a fully mobile-friendly experience at this time. It will not work the same as it does in a web browser. For instance, videos will not autoplay on mobile devices as they will on a desktop browser.
5. Disable and/ or Uninstall Third-Party Browser Extensions:
While third-party browsers can be extremely useful, some have been known to cause problems on Rebel Writers' school websites. Lessons may not load properly, videos won't play, etc.
Before doing anything, use another browser (step 2) to test the web page experiencing problems. Ideally, use one that does not have any third-party extensions installed. If the issue still occurs, an extension is probably not the cause. However, if the issue does not occur, an installed extension in your other browser may be to blame.
Once you know that an extension may be responsible for the problems, test it by disabling it and reloading the page. If disabling the extension stops the issue, you can pinpoint the extension as the culprit and either remove it, or keep it disabled while using Rebel Writers. Disabling an extension will turn it off without removing it, while deleting an extension will remove it entirely.
Popular extensions that cause issues for some Rebel Writers' users:
-Adblock
-Security extensions (like HTTPS Everywhere)
-Grammarly
-Dingo
-Testing Your Internet Speed
6. RESTART YOUR COMPUTER
Computers should be restarted frequently to optimize performance and system health. "Turn it off and on again" is often tech support's favorite piece of advice.
To restart a Mac/MacBook, select the Apple menu and click Restart. To restart a PC using Windows 10, open the start menu and then click Power. From there, select the Restart option from the submenu.
WHY CAN'T I LOG INTO MY ACCOUNT ?
This is a list of common issues that create log-in problems.
1. Duplicate Accounts:
Sometimes a student may have created multiple accounts under different email addresses, and are attempting to log in with the wrong email/password combination. Be sure to login with the same email you used to enroll in the course.
2. Forgot/ Wrong Password:
Before resetting your password, make sure to log out of all pages and browsers where you are logged in on your Rebel Writers' account.
Directions to Rest Your Password:
- Go to www.RebelWriters.com and click the Log-In button in the upper right corner.
- Click the "Forgot password" button underneath the login area.
- Enter your email address. Then, click the "Send recovery info" button.
- After you click the button, you should see a notification that says an email was issued to the address provided.
- Check your email and follow the directions to assign a new password to your account.
- You're done! You can now access your courses.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Rebel Writers' videos will work on any browser that supports Adobe Flash and/or HTML5 (in the form of MP4 video with an h.264). Wistia (and most of the internet, really) defaults to HTML5 in most cases.
Known issues with MS: There's some nuance to what and how we support different Windows browsers and environments, so we want to be as clear as possible. Microsoft has abandoned support for Windows XP as of 2014. They have also decided to abandon support for IE. Our videos will still play in many Windows environments, but we are not actively supporting play back in browsers outside of IE9, 10, and 11 as well as Edge.
IE8 will still work outside of Windows XP.
Your courses will work in the latest version of most major browsers. These include:
-Google Chrome (which auto-updates)
-Safari
-Firefox (which auto-updates)
-IE9, 10, 11
-Microsoft Edge
We do not support IE8 in conjunction with Windows XP (for security reasons), but IE8 should work fine with our videos on other Windows operating systems.
Mobile OS Support
Most mobile devices only support HTML5 playback, which is our default for mobile. This includes Android phones and tablets (4.1 and up), and iOS devices like iPhones and iPads.
In the odd instances where mobile devices do not support HTML5, we'll serve a Flash version. Our embedded codes are designed to seamlessly flip between HTML5 and Flash, based on the type of device and OS detected.
For video playback we work with all of the major browsers and versions of Internet Explorer (as far back as IE8), Firefox, Safari, and Chrome.
Just so we say it: we have found the most consistent support on all iOS devices, and Android devices running version 2.2 or later.
If you're still one of the lost souls using a Blackberry they do support HTML5 video playback. Our videos should work great in this environment, but let us know if you're seeing something different.
Keep in mind that a mobile device will generally force video playback through its native player. Make sure to familiarize yourself with how controls work on mobile.
The minimum viable connection speed to stream our videos reliably is about 768 kilobits per second (equal to .768 megabits per second). We recommend a connection speed of at least 5 megabits per second for an optimal experience with HD capability.
