OneNote Web - links not opening when clicked and Embedded thumbnail/preview for YouTube is blank

[robintech]

Happens for all users in Web OneNote

Sometimes works in Desktop OneNote ok but intermittent

Gave all permissions possible in the browser, popups etc

Tried on an off domain laptop on 4G connection and default browser settings and have the same issue

 

 

Before half term is was working but not now, clicking hyperlinks sometimes works on first attempt , then only double click sometimes then only right click "open link" so seems to get worse

 

YouTube Videos show a grey background instead of a preview or thumbnail with the message "uploading content in the background" which never completes

 

 

 

 

Edited February 25 by robintech

[robintech]

Seems to be working now with no changes for thumbnail/preview, hyperlinks intermittent on opening but probably  Microsoft issue

 

 

[thimon]

We’ve been having this for a while! Been driving various staff nuts. If we get anywhere I’ll update on here. 

[JohnBShalefield]

Same problem here in our 40'000+ employees organization. Started noticing on Feb 24th 2026. 

[thimon]

I've got a ticket open with Microsoft, no joy yet. I have found that if I copy the link, delete the embedded video, then reinsert it, it works. However after a certain amount of time it goes back to saying the below.

 

[JohnBShalefield]

3 hours ago, thimon said:

I've got a ticket open with Microsoft, no joy yet. I have found that if I copy the link, delete the embedded video, then reinsert it, it works. However after a certain amount of time it goes back to saying the below.

 

I don't know if the video embedding issue is an issue separate from mine. For my part (hyperlinks not clickable) I can say that I've raised a ticket with Microsoft and got the confirmation from the OneNote product team that this was indeed a bug. 
The bug was very probably actually caused by the transition in OneNote from the classic hyperlink experience to a new experience where hyperlinks always first show a preview bubble pop-up when clicked on - and clicking the hyperlink in the preview bubble then opens the hyperlink. Has been some time like that already in Excel - now for OneNote too. 
The bug was only that during the transition (several weeks for our tenant) neither the old nor the new hyperlink experience worked.