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Loop YouTube Videos on iPad and iPhone: What Works, What Doesn't

• 8 min read

The honest answer first

Chrome extensions do not run on iOS or iPadOS - Apple does not allow browser extensions in Mobile Safari the same way Chrome desktop allows them, and third-party browsers on iPhone and iPad all use Apple's WebKit engine under the hood. If you need full A-B loop with keyboard shortcuts, you need a desktop or Chromebook. For iOS, the best you can do is the built-in YouTube loop (whole video) plus a few clever workarounds. This guide walks through all of them, honestly.

On a desktop later today?

YouTube Looper Pro is the proper A-B loop tool for Chrome desktop. Install once, your loops save and sync.

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Method 1: YouTube's built-in loop (iOS app)

The official YouTube app on iOS supports looping the entire video. This is the easiest, always-works method.

  1. Open the video in the YouTube app.
  2. Tap the video to show the controls.
  3. Tap the three-dot menu at the top right.
  4. Tap Loop video.

The video now repeats. It keeps looping through backgrounds (if you have YouTube Premium) and across screen locks. This is a full-video loop only. You cannot loop a section.

Method 2: Playlist loop trick

Add the video to a playlist with itself as the only entry. In the playlist player, turn on loop. This is functionally identical to Method 1 but more persistent across app restarts.

  1. Tap Save under the video.
  2. Create a new playlist (name it whatever).
  3. Open Library - your playlist - play.
  4. Tap the loop icon in the playlist controls.

Method 3: Third-party looping websites (A-B style, limited)

Websites like ListenOnRepeat and LoopTube let you paste a YouTube URL and define loop start/end times. They load the YouTube iframe, then use JavaScript to seek back to the start time when the end time is reached.

The honest pros:

  • No install - works in any browser on iPad and iPhone.
  • Lets you set approximate A-B loop points.
  • Free.

The honest cons:

  • You have to copy the YouTube URL, switch apps, paste it, re-enter loop times. Every single time.
  • The loop doesn't survive closing the tab. No saved loop points per video.
  • Accuracy is lower than a proper extension - these sites seek by timestamp, and Safari's iframe behavior on iOS can cause a noticeable "jump" at loop boundary.
  • Ads in the YouTube iframe (if any) mess up the timing.

If you're a casual user looping one video for fun, this is fine. If you're practicing guitar and need the loop to restart at exactly the right eighth-note, you'll feel the imprecision quickly.

Method 4: Shortcuts + Safari (advanced, approximate)

Apple Shortcuts can automate "pause, seek to X, play" actions. This is the closest thing to an extension on iOS, and it's fiddly. You build a Shortcut that opens a YouTube URL at a specific timestamp, then re-triggers itself after N seconds.

Honest take: this works, but setup takes 10+ minutes and the result is janky. Unless you already use Shortcuts heavily, the time cost isn't worth it for most users.

Why iOS can't have real extensions

Apple's App Store policy has historically required all browsers on iOS to use Apple's WebKit engine, even if they're branded Chrome, Firefox, or Edge. That means the Chrome extension ecosystem, which depends on Chromium's extension APIs, does not run on iOS. Apple began loosening this requirement in the EU in 2024, but the change affects rendering engines more than extensions, and no full-featured Chrome extension runtime has shipped for iOS users outside Europe. Background on WebKit.

Safari does have its own Safari Web Extensions system, but only a handful of YouTube-focused tools have been ported to it. None we've tested match the feature depth of desktop A-B loop extensions.

If you're already on desktop: use the proper tool

Most people asking "how do I loop YouTube on iPad" also use a desktop or laptop at some point in the day - for homework, work, or home. If you use Chrome on any desktop, installing a proper looper extension gives you the fast, precise, keyboard-driven A-B loop that iOS can't match.

YouTube Looper Pro is free on the Chrome Web Store. Install once on your laptop, and:

  • Press [ to mark loop start at current timestamp.
  • Press ] to mark loop end.
  • Press L to toggle loop.
  • Loop points auto-save per video, so next session it's ready.

Get the proper tool on desktop Chrome

Real A-B loop, keyboard shortcuts, saved loop points, 0.25x to 4x speed. Free.

download Add to Chrome - Free

The "practice on desktop, review on iPad" workflow

A workflow that many of our musician and student users land on:

  1. Set up loop points at home on desktop using YouTube Looper Pro.
  2. Loops save automatically to your browser profile.
  3. On the train with your iPad, open the same video in the YouTube app.
  4. Use the iOS built-in loop to play the full video while you review.

You don't get the precise A-B loop on mobile, but you've already done the focused work at home. The iPad becomes a low-friction review tool, not a practice tool.

What about Android?

Android allows full Chrome extensions on Chrome for Android (desktop site mode), though support is limited and many looper extensions don't render their UI correctly on mobile. If you're on Android, the built-in YouTube app loop is still the most reliable option.

Bottom line

For iOS, the honest answer is: loop full videos with YouTube's built-in loop, use a third-party website for approximate A-B looping in a pinch, and save the serious practice work for a desktop or Chromebook with a proper extension. There's no magic iOS-native A-B looper, and any listing that claims to be one is worth reading reviews on carefully before trusting.

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