P: Audio "can't be read quickly enough" from storage

[tranhoangcalvin]

Just started getting this error window today while working on a very simple project that only has a couple After Effects motion graphics clips, and three tracks of audio: VO, music, and light SFX:

Event Details:

Can't access audio

the audio for _____.wav can't be read quickly enough from storage. Please check your storage and try again.

Build:

Windows 11 Pro 26100.3624

12th Gen Intel i7-12700K 3.60 GHz

32 GB of RAM

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 

The local C drive is an NVME SSD, but the file in question is stored on a Synology NAS with IronWolf HDDs. Both the computer and the NAS were built from new parts this year.

Premiere: 25.2, installed this week.

The same error happened on a second computer (same build, also connect to the NAS).

[indian_7282]

mine too

[Andrew251801670jel]

I just opened CC. It did an update that took a while but was not explained. Looking at the "Updates", it wants to update Premiere Pro to v 25.2.1. This appears to be one of two versions with the same debilitating audio bug.
For those who joined this discussion late, if you (1) uninstall Premiere Pro, (2) install v 25.1 and (3) turn off automatic updates on Premiere it seems to fix the problem.
Fives days is a long time to wait for a fix!

[hunain_8319]

I'm having the same issue on my Macbook M1 pro. 

The file i created is not even compatible with older versions of Premiere pro so i'm literally just stuck with an unedited video. 

I imported some video files in mp4 format and some jpeg pics. It was working fine until i added one last video (also mp4). After that, it just kept getting worse and now the video won't playback at all even after re-opening the application. It's very frustrating being a paying customer to have to face this issue. 

[Lwrig]

Confirming same issues in 25.2 and higher -- All sorts of failing to read errors not just in premiere but extending to my Maxon/RedGiant plug-in and in After Effects 25.2 as well. If you try to reinstall, it doesn't fix the error. I even tried to manually delete the plugins to reinstall and messed up my Red Giant stuff further. Wish I had know it was an adobe issue before doing this.

[ThioJoe]

@jamieclarke I think it might be failing to decode video files that have a small amount of corruption. It's certainly not every file. I have two copies of the same video file that I copied from my memory card - and I've had issues in the past of it not copying exactly correctly (the video plays, but premiere gives occasional frame error messages, and the hash of the copied file doesn't match the on on the card) and I've had to copy the file a second time. That happened this time and the 'bad' video copy causes the problem and the 'good' one does not. If I run it through FFMPEG with debug logging, for the 'bad' copy (which causes the issues in premiere), there are errors like this:

[h264 @ 0000020d0e43c700] Changing field mode (3 -> 3) between slices is not allowed
[h264 @ 0000020d0e43c700] decode_slice_header error
[h264 @ 0000020d0e43df00] Frame num change from 4 to 5
[h264 @ 0000020d0e43df00] decode_slice_header error
[h264 @ 0000020d0e43df00] Frame num change from 4 to 6

---

If anyone wants to check if their video file has any corruption even if it plays, you can use this ffmpeg command. I would be curious if it reveals a pattern. If the error.log file it outputs is empty, there isn't any issues.

ffmpeg -v error -i whatever_video.mp4 -f null - 2>error.log

I was able to get Premiere Pro to at least import the bad file by using this FFMPEG command to remux the video (just repackages it without re-encoding), which didn't fix the underlying stream corruption, but apparently fixed enough of the header stuff where Premiere imported it without causing the problem.

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c copy output.mp4

The output video still shows errors when doing the other ffmpeg error log command, but there are fewer and they are different. So it might be worth a try if you don't have access to a 'good' copy of the video.

-------------- Original Post Below -----------------

Reposting my reply from another similar thread, but same issue here.  Never had this problem before. After importing a video file, my CPU spins up to like 70% and just sits there. My waveform looks like it processed a tiny amount then stopped:

The first time I opened the project and tried to add the file, it said the storage wasn't fast enough or something similar. I cleared the cache and re-imported it as a different name. It spun up the CPU for like 5 minutes then it stopped, but the waveform never generated.

In ProcMon it looked like it was slamming some temporary audio file the whole time. 

System specs:

Premiere Pro Version: 25.2.1 (Build 2)
Windows Version: Windows 11 Pro for Workstations 24H2 (Build 26100.3476)

System Hardware:
CPU: Intel 13900KS
GPU: Nvidia 5090 FE
GPU Driver Version: 572.83
RAM: 128GB
Storage: NVMe SSD - Optane 905P 1.5TB

[LeHerissonCrea]

It worked perfectly for me! And better, my Premiere is no longer laggy! Thanks 🙂

[rachelcenter]

i have 128gb ram computer and im getting this error too.

[Whispering_view9004]

I too am having this issue despite over 200gb available. 

[Bryan333461396zww]

I too have the same issue.  Premiere Pro 25.2.1 on a decent MacBook Pro.  Definitely a bug, as I am using sequences that worked fine before, and now they exhibit this error, and eventually the audio in the sequence becomes useless during playback (stops playing back completely even though playhead is still rolling.)  Same hardware and files as with no issues previously.

Thank you to the users on this forum for posting your solutions.  Rolling back to 25.1 solved the issue for me.

[Paul Styler]

Description:
After updating to Adobe Premiere Pro 25.2.0 (Build 147), I frequently encounter the following error when working with a multicam sequence:

"Can't access audio"
Event Details:
The audio for PS1_0184.MP4 can't be read quickly enough from storage.
Please check your storage and try again.

However, this issue did not occur in previous version of Premiere Pro under identical conditions.

System Configuration:

CPU: Intel Core i9-13900K

RAM: 64 GB DDR5 @ 6000 MHz

Storage: All drives are Samsung 990 Pro 4TB NVMe Gen4 SSDs

GPU: NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti

OS: Windows 11 (Version 24H2)

File Information:

Format: XAVC (XAVC/mp42/iso2)

Bitrate: 50 Mbit/s

Chroma Subsampling: 4:2:0

Frame Rate: 50 FPS

Additional Notes:

I have checked the SSD for any errors — none were found.

This is one of the fastest consumer SSDs available ( Samsung 990 Pro 4TB NVMe Gen4 SSDs )

The issue seems specific to version 25.2.0, as everything works fine in earlier versions under the same workflow and hardware setup.

This problem severely impacts editing performance when dealing with multicam footage.

Please investigate, as this appears to be a regression introduced in the latest update.

[vlinchong]

Ugh, I also am getting this issue. I just edited all the VO for a sizzle reel, putting them in time to music - and then Premiere suddenly stopped being able to read the VO audio. Do I really have to start over? 

[romanm7529720]

Same issue for me on MacBook M3 Pro. Definitley a bug! It happened in Version 25.2.1 and 25.2. Downgraded to Version 25.0 and it's working fine.

[Lucy Roxe]

Hi, I'm also having the same problem.

Premiere version: 25.2.1 build 2

SO: Windows 10

Hardware:
Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 5950x
Video: Geforce RTX 3080 TI 12GB
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 64 GB DDR4 3200 MHz C16
SO drive: NVMe WD_BLACK SN850X
Project drive: NVMe WD_BLACK SN850X (another one)
Cache drive: SSD Samsung Evo

[Francesco27687153l17k]

where can I find the pinned post?

[SteveBlacker]

Had the same bug, but after deleting cache, installing 25.1 (rolling back), and restarting my PC the issue went away and I could continue working. Just turn off automatic updates and wait til they have a fix for the latest version, I guess

[Matias Melo]

I have the same error dude.

[Matias Melo]

I had to downgrade to Version 25.1 and it was fixed.

[Old Jack Burton]

Same issue here.

Main drive with footage is an nvme with 7000+ MB/s read speed.
Seperate scratch is nvme with 5600+ MB/s read speed.

Might try reverting to an earlier version (if I can)

[bobw111]

Same error here, mine are on the audio track of a 4K video from a Canon XC-15.  Pretty certain it is not a problem with lack of computer power. Computer is a brand new Dell Precision 3680, 14th Gen i7-14700 (20 core, up to 5.40Ghz, 33mb cache), 64GB 5600 MHZ DDR5 Ram, 2TB M2 SSD C:, 8TB 7200RPM SATA III Seagate data drives with sustained read rates > 250mbs, NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada 16GB GDDR6 (4 mDP to DP).  Also had a problem with audio dropout during timeline playback on my old computer even with 1080P files so when it crashed completely I bought this system.  Unfortunately PrPro update hit right during my conversion over to new computer.

[Paul2971790848zl]

I'm having the same issue as many others over the past couple weeks with choppy audio and the "can't render audio" issue

[kglad]

in the future, to find the best place to post your message, use the list here, https://community.adobe.com/

p.s. i don't think the adobe website, and forums in particular, are easy to navigate, so don't spend a lot of time searching that forum list. do your best and we'll move the post (like this one has already been moved) if it helps you get responses.

<"moved from using the community">

[Lara Moreno]

I'm having the same issue on my Nitro V15 (Acer)

[LetsEditThis]

Seeing this behavior as well. 

[andre_3633]

that's me 10 minutes ago before reading this. Mine would play for a couple of seconds and then that thing pops up, audio gone. It's at random places too. 

[intelligent_reporter9331]

Same here. Every project. Audio can be wav or mp3 or linear PCM in ProRes footage, doesn't make any difference. Using attached SSDs over USB-C on an M3 Macbook Pro. This is a new issue with this version of Premiere.