WebVTT troubleshooting
WebVTT captions appear in the wrong cue order
Compare cue start times after the export rather than relying on labels or row numbers.
Compare cue start times after the export rather than relying on labels or row numbers.
Reproduce the condition
The WebVTT sample below is a small synthetic file. It carries no active media source or account data.
WEBVTT
00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:05.000
Later
00:00:02.000 --> 00:00:03.000
EarlierWhat the local check found
| Expected signal | Observed signal |
|---|---|
| Cue starts are out of order | Cue starts are out of order |
What to do next
Sort by the actual start times in the authoring tool. Keep the correct text and timings together.
What to share if the problem continues
- The exact parser result and version of the importer or player.
- A minimal redacted sample with dates, IDs or segment names retained as needed.
- The output after checking the source export separately from the viewer app.
Sort cues by start time
WebVTT cue identifiers label entries for the editor. The timing line gives the start time. If a subtitle exporter places a cue starting at 00:07.400 before one starting at 00:06.800, inspect the sort or edit that produced the timing lines. Reorder by start time while keeping each cue’s end time and text together.
Check that the end of each cue is after its own start. Two cues can overlap in normal subtitle or caption tracks. A speaker caption beginning at 00:06.800 can overlap a separate sound cue beginning at 00:07.400 without the file being out of order. Chapter cues have additional restrictions, so check what kind of track you are exporting.
| Cue order as stored | Result for a subtitle track |
|---|---|
| 06.800 to 08.000, then 07.400 to 09.000 | Starts are sorted. The two cues overlap |
| 07.400 to 09.000, then 06.800 to 08.000 | Starts are out of order |
| 06.800 to 06.800 | Cue has no duration |
| 06.800 to 08.000, then 06.800 to 07.100 | Equal starts are allowed for subtitle cues |
Retest at the boundary that exposed the error
Save a separate UTF-8 copy with the WEBVTT header and reopen it in a supported player. Replay just before the first affected cue and through the overlap. Confirm that the intended two pieces of text appear and disappear on their own timings. If a title has two editions, compare the exact cut you are editing before moving timestamps.