Porn Video Won't Download? What Goes Wrong and How to Fix It

In NSFWDL's own records for the last 30 days, about 85 out of 100 downloads finished on the first try. This guide goes through what happens to the other 15 – from a phone that never saves the file to a site that turns the request away – and what to do about each.

Open the downloader

Nothing happens after you press Download

On an iPhone the browser only saves a file after you tap something yourself, so NSFWDL shows a Tap here to save the file button when the video is ready – tap it. The video then sits in the Files app under Downloads. iPhones finish fewer downloads than computers (79 in 100 in Safari, against 90 on desktop), and this one tap is most of the difference.

If you opened the page from Telegram, Reddit, Instagram, X or the Google app, you are in that app's built-in browser, and most of those can't save files at all. Open the menu (⋯ or ⋮), choose Open in Safari or Open in Chrome, and download there.

On Android, some browsers – Opera among them – open the video in their own player instead of saving it. Use Chrome, Samsung Internet or Firefox, where the MP4 goes straight to Downloads.

The download stops part-way

One download in ten here ends because the browser closed the connection before the file was complete. On a phone, the usual cause is leaving the browser or locking the screen during a long download: stay on the page until the file has started saving, and pick 480p or 720p on mobile data – a 20-minute video in 1080p can be several hundred megabytes.

Switching from Wi-Fi to mobile data in the middle is fine; the browser picks the download up again. If it doesn't, start it again from the same link.

Download managers such as IDM

Download managers split a file into many parts and run several files at once. Free downloads allow three files at the same time from one connection, so a manager that starts a fourth one gets it refused. Let the first files finish, or limit the manager to three downloads at once. The NSFWDL userscript queues extra downloads by itself and starts them when a slot frees up.

"This source is not currently supported"

About one link in ten pasted here comes from a site NSFWDL can't read. For a site without its own downloader page, try the universal downloader, which handles many public video pages. It can't work with sites that only stream to paying members.

Also make sure the link is the video page itself – the address in the browser bar – and not a link copied from inside the player. Those player links are temporary and stop working within minutes.

"No video was found at this link"

The page exists, but it isn't one video: a model or channel page, a playlist, a search result or a category. Open the single video and paste that page's address. Some sites also keep the page of a removed video online with a notice where the player was; NSFWDL then finds no video either.

Removed, private and login-only videos

Removed: the uploader or the site deleted it, and no downloader can bring it back.
Private or friends-only: on ThisVid, for example, about one link in six pasted here was private and only plays for approved members.
Premium, paid or members-only: behind a login, so out of reach for any downloader.
Blocked in your country: some sites, PornHub among them, don't serve certain videos everywhere; NSFWDL tells you when the site says so.

"Over the 500 MB Free limit" and the daily limit

Free downloads go up to about 500 MB per file and 30 files a day per browser. Over the size limit, pick the next quality down – 720p is usually about half the size of 1080p. The daily count frees up gradually over 24 hours, counted from each download, not all at once at midnight. Supporter raises both limits, to about 2 GB per file and 300 a day.

The site turned the request away

Sometimes the source site itself refuses for a while. RedTube's video servers turn requests away for a few minutes at a time, and SpankBang occasionally answers so slowly that the request times out. NSFWDL retries once with a fresh link where that helps; if the download still fails, wait a few minutes and paste the same link again.

The download is slow

The speed is set by the source site, not by your NSFWDL tier. TNAFlix and ThisVid deliver each connection slowly, so NSFWDL fetches their files over several connections at once – a long video still takes a few minutes. A lower quality is the quickest fix when you're in a hurry.

Questions about this guide

Why won't the video download on my iPhone?

Tap the Tap here to save the file button when it appears, and use Safari rather than the browser inside another app. The file is then in Files → Downloads.

Why does my download stop halfway?

Usually because the browser was closed, the screen locked or the app was switched during a long download. Stay on the page and pick a smaller quality on mobile data.

Why does it say the site is not supported?

The link comes from a site NSFWDL can't read, or it isn't a video page. Try the universal downloader and make sure you paste the video page's address.

When do my free downloads come back?

Gradually, 24 hours after each download – not all at once at midnight.