Dailymotion video not downloading? Every cause, and the fix

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When a Dailymotion link will not download, the cause is almost always one of the ten below. The downloader names the specific one in its error message, so the quickest route is to match that message to a heading here.

Jump to a cause

• The link is a channel, playlist or search page
• The link is from a different website
• The video is private or password-protected
• The video is restricted to certain countries
• The rights holder has protected the video
• The video was removed, or the link has a typo
• It is a live broadcast
• The results page was open too long
• Too many lookups in a short time
• Dailymotion is slow to respond

The link is a channel, playlist or search page

What you see: The downloader says the link does not point at a single video.

Channel pages (dailymotion.com/name), playlists (dailymotion.com/playlist/…) and search results hold many videos, and this tool saves one at a time. Open the video itself and copy its link — it contains /video/ followed by an id starting with x, or is a short dai.ly link.

The link is from a different website

What you see: The downloader says the text does not look like a Dailymotion link.

If the video is embedded on a news site or a blog, the address of that page is not a Dailymotion link. Use the embedded player's Share option, or click the Dailymotion logo in the player to open the video on Dailymotion and copy the link from there.

The video is private or password-protected

What you see: The video plays for you when signed in, or asks for a password, but the lookup fails.

Private videos, videos shared through a private link, and password-protected videos are deliberately not served publicly. This tool does not get around that. Check by opening the link in a private browser window: if it will not play there, it is not public.

The video is restricted to certain countries

What you see: The message says the video is not available in this region.

Uploaders can limit where a video plays, and Dailymotion decides from the location of whoever is asking — for a lookup made here, that is our server, not you. So a video that plays for you can still be refused here. There is no setting that changes this, and we do not route around regional restrictions.

The rights holder has protected the video

What you see: The video plays normally on Dailymotion, but the lookup says it cannot be downloaded.

Some partners — often broadcasters and film distributors — protect their videos so they only play inside Dailymotion's player. Those protections are a deliberate choice by the rights holder, and this tool does not circumvent them.

The video was removed, or the link has a typo

What you see: The message says the video could not be found.

Videos are removed by their uploader or by Dailymotion, and a single wrong character in the id points at nothing. Open the link in your browser: if Dailymotion shows an error page there too, the video is gone. We keep no copies, so there is no backup to fall back on.

It is a live broadcast

What you see: The message says live streams cannot be downloaded.

A broadcast in progress has no finished file to save. If the channel publishes a recording once the stream ends, that recording has its own link and downloads like any other video.

The results page was open too long

What you see: The video was found, but pressing Download says the link has expired.

Dailymotion's stream addresses are signed and time-limited. If the results sat on screen for a while, the links behind the buttons go stale even though the page looks fine. Run the lookup again to get fresh ones.

Too many lookups in a short time

What you see: The message says there have been too many lookups from your address.

There is a cap of twenty lookups a minute per address, so one scripted client cannot get the service blocked for everybody. Wait for the time the message gives. Downloads from results you already have do not count against it.

Dailymotion is slow to respond

What you see: The message says Dailymotion took too long to respond, or the service is unavailable.

Each request to Dailymotion is abandoned after about twelve seconds so you are not left watching a spinner. This is almost always temporary — try again in a minute. If it persists for a long time, the problem is upstream rather than with your link.

The file downloaded, but I cannot find it

The download went wherever your browser saves files. On iPhone that is Files → Downloads (use Share → Save Video to put it in Photos). On Android it is the Downloads folder. On a computer, open your browser's downloads list — it shows the file and where it went.

Before you write to us

If none of the above fits, a report we can act on includes:

1. The exact Dailymotion link you pasted.
2. The message the downloader showed, word for word.
3. Whether the video plays in a private browser window, signed out.
4. Which browser and device you used, such as "Firefox on Windows 11".

Send it through the contact page.