Many users have encountered the error message ‘this plugin is not supported’ while browsing specific media content on websites. It can include certain web pages, videos, animations or other file formats. According to some experts, users on Google Chrome’s browser have a higher tendency to see this error notification. The reason is that some web browsers including Chrome don’t support the plugins for NPAPI (Netscape Plugin Application Programming Interface).
NPAPI is quite effective in supporting other plugins for content streaming, printing, scripting, and other requirements. Hence, discontinuing the usage of such a multipurpose tool can bring in more plug-in errors than solutions. So, if you are finding this error alert annoying and it appears on almost every webpage or website, check out this article.
Here, you will get to learn why your browser can’t display specific media content due to lack of plugin support. Also, you can go through the technical methods discussed here to fix this plug-in error.
Reasons Behind Getting ‘This Plugin Is Not Supported’ Error On Web Browsers:
The notification regarding ‘this plugin is not supported’ can occur due to many kinds of errors. Hence, if you want to troubleshoot this problem, check out the following points to understand the causes first.
If your system is running an outdated Adobe Flash Player or software causing conflict with plugins, it can produce this error.
In case, the web browser consists of corrupted data or accumulation of caches, the plugins can misbehave and generate this issue.
Often, the pages you are trying to access on Chrome is having a technical problem and gives this error code. Otherwise, any kind of server or Internet problem can also interfere with the loading of plugins on your browser.
Methods to Remove ‘This Plugin Is Not Supported Chrome’ Error Message:
In order to get rid of the error alert regarding ‘this plugin is not supported’, there are some specific technical hacks. So, let’s take a look at a few methods, which can resolve the plug-in compatibility issue on Chrome or any other web browser.
Method 1- Make Sure That the Flash Player Plugin is Up-to-Date
Often, when the plug-in for Flash Player gets corrupt or not up-to-date, it can prevent Chrome from launching any media content. This is when you can receive the error message stating ‘This plugin is not supported Chrome’. Hence, the best method to deal with this problem is by updating your Flash program on PC to its latest version.
To apply this fix, launch the web browser application of Google Chrome on your computer. Then, go to the address box, write ‘chrome://components/’ and click on the ‘Enter’ button.
This will display each and every component installed on your browser on the screen. Hence, you need to select the ‘Adobe Flash Player’ option from the list of components.
After that, select the ‘Check for update’ tab and Chrome will immediately begin the search process for the latest updates for Flash program. Then, relaunch the Chrome browser on your computer and check the status of this error code.
Now, if you are still getting this plugin compatibility issue, move on to the next solution for resolving it.
Method 2- Delete Browsing Data from Chrome
Sometimes, the accumulation of a huge amount of browsing data and cache can also generate this error message. Hence, if you observe that Chrome or other web browser is not responding, this can be a major reason. You will also notice that some content or media files are not loading properly on the browser. So, it is advisable to the users to clear their Google Chrome browser data and resolve this plugin error. Now, let’s check the steps to clear the cache and browsing data from Chrome in the points below.
Start with hitting the tabs for ‘Ctrl’, ‘Shift’ and ‘Delete’ altogether on your keyboard while accessing the Chrome page. This will display the ‘Clear browsing data’ window on your screen.
Now, select the ‘Advanced’ tab and make sure to tick the checkboxes present on that page. Also, select ‘Clear browsing data’ button and wait for Chrome to delete all the cache and browsing files.
At the final step, simply reboot your PC and try to launch any app on web browser to see if it’s generating ‘This plugin is not supported Chrome’ error message. In case the issue persists, move on to the next method and check whether you can fix this plugin problem.
Method 3- Utilization of Tab Extension for Internet Explorer (IE)
On some machines, the actual reason behind this problem can be due to Chrome. Hence, if you are sure that there is no issue with the Internet Explorer (IE), you can install an extension of this tab. By including this IE tab extension, it will enable the features of Internet Explorer even on Chrome. Here, you can easily browse or add the website that is giving the plugin error. Furthermore, this will enable you to load websites with the help of this extension, which will now be accessible through the IE tab automatically.
Instructions to Add IE Tab Extension
To apply this solution, visit the official website of Google and search for IE tab installation files. Then, hit the ‘Add to Chrome’ tab, which you can easily locate at the top-right corner of your screen.
Next, you need to go through the list of system requirements for adding the extension in Chrome. Once it matches the criteria, you need to click on the ‘Add extension’ button and wait for Chrome to install it.
When the installation of this extension is over on your system, look for the small icon of IE on the Address bar. You can view this logo at your Address bar’s right side and click on it. This will start the loading process for pages after enabling the IE tab on the browser.
Now, in order to set the feature of IE tab, it is quite important that websites that are giving this error, it can be loaded properly. Hence, choose the ‘IE Tab Options’ feature and select the ‘Options’ tab. After that, go to the list of items under the Settings and locate the ‘Auto URLs’ option.
In the space provided for Auto URL, you can write the website address that you desire to open using Chrome. After that, hit the ‘Add’ button and relaunch Chrome into order to apply the changes that you have just made.
Method 4- Use A New Browser Version or Application
Sometimes, using a specific web browser for longer can create various issues while running certain plugins. Hence, the users can switch to a new version or just install another browser for testing the condition of plug-ins. So, this way it will be easier to know if the same media file is operable in a new browser flawlessly. Hence, if you are getting this exclusive error code in Chrome, then try to run the same content on Firefox or another browser.
Also, go through the technical specification and background of the plugins that is giving this error message. It will tell if the media content you want to open requires Java or some other kind of plugin. Because, in that case, you will need to install those specific plugins for fixing this error notification. To know more about this issue and advanced methods to fix plugin error, you can consult an expert.
