I'm guessing if your reading this you, unfortunately, have gotten the very discouraging Ecode 20 "this player is restricted from playing videos" error. If you are seeing this error you have been temporarily banned from watching paid videos. Again this is only a temporary or soft ban which will last for a limited amount of time. Usually between a few days or weeks but could only last a few hours. The same error is known to pop up on InstaGc, Swagbucks, and EarningStation video sections. Maybe other GPT sites as well but those 3 for sure. As far as I can tell its because they have common advertisers. And it's the advertisers that are banning you not the site you are watching the videos on. Which means you should not have trouble doing other tasks or even watching videos that have different advertisers such as EngagMe TV videos. The cause of the temporary ban is not known for sure. However, its most likely a result of 3 things.
1. Watching videos from a single site on multiple devices at the same time. For instance, running videos on your PC and Tablet at the same time.
2. Watching videos from multiple sites at the same time that have a common advertiser. InstaGc, Swagbucks (Toolbar TV), and EarningStation are likely using a common advertiser. So playing videos on more than one at the same time may throw the Ecode 20. Rember there may be more GPT sites too that I am unaware of.
3. The advertiser no longer finds it profitable to advertise to you for the time being.
Now we know what caused the issue it's now time to figure out what to do about it. The following 4 tips from my experience are the best ways to get those videos back playing.
1. Install an extension to clear out your cookies and cache before trying to play videos. I like using CC Cleaner but if you have another already installed it should be fine. They all do the same thing. Clearing cookies and cache daily is actually a good practice to help any type of offer credit by the way.
2. Restarting your router may also help remove the soft ban as well. You may need to leave your router off for 10 or 15 minutes in order to get this to work. Or maybe even unplugging it and leaving it overnight before you plug back in your router. Depending on your setup these steps may result in you getting a new IP address. Since the soft ban is tied to your IP address this will help you regain access to whichever videos you were trying to watch. However, sometimes I have seen this work only to be banned again hours later.
3. Another more extreme method would be using a different internet connection altogether. Again with a different IP address, you will no longer be soft banned. The problem is likely the only other internet connection you have is your mobile data plan. But if your phone is able to tether and you have an unlimited data plan this may work well for you.
4. Just waiting it out may be your best option. Once the soft ban has expired be careful not to do the first 2 causes listed above. The 3rd is out of your control.
Hope these tips helped you guys prevent and get past that frustrating error Ecode 20! If you guys have any additional tips that I did not cover please comment below and educate us.
Possible Causes For Ecode 20
1. Watching videos from a single site on multiple devices at the same time. For instance, running videos on your PC and Tablet at the same time.
2. Watching videos from multiple sites at the same time that have a common advertiser. InstaGc, Swagbucks (Toolbar TV), and EarningStation are likely using a common advertiser. So playing videos on more than one at the same time may throw the Ecode 20. Rember there may be more GPT sites too that I am unaware of.
3. The advertiser no longer finds it profitable to advertise to you for the time being.
Fix "this player is restricted from playing videos" Error
Now we know what caused the issue it's now time to figure out what to do about it. The following 4 tips from my experience are the best ways to get those videos back playing.
1. Install an extension to clear out your cookies and cache before trying to play videos. I like using CC Cleaner but if you have another already installed it should be fine. They all do the same thing. Clearing cookies and cache daily is actually a good practice to help any type of offer credit by the way.
2. Restarting your router may also help remove the soft ban as well. You may need to leave your router off for 10 or 15 minutes in order to get this to work. Or maybe even unplugging it and leaving it overnight before you plug back in your router. Depending on your setup these steps may result in you getting a new IP address. Since the soft ban is tied to your IP address this will help you regain access to whichever videos you were trying to watch. However, sometimes I have seen this work only to be banned again hours later.
3. Another more extreme method would be using a different internet connection altogether. Again with a different IP address, you will no longer be soft banned. The problem is likely the only other internet connection you have is your mobile data plan. But if your phone is able to tether and you have an unlimited data plan this may work well for you.
4. Just waiting it out may be your best option. Once the soft ban has expired be careful not to do the first 2 causes listed above. The 3rd is out of your control.
Hope these tips helped you guys prevent and get past that frustrating error Ecode 20! If you guys have any additional tips that I did not cover please comment below and educate us.
