YouTube is the largest online video platform in the world with over 1.5 billion monthly visitors. About 400 hours of content are uploaded every minute and more than a billion hours of video are viewed every day. So what do you do when you find YouTube not working?
Google does a very good job maintaining and operating YouTube, but sometimes when the service shuts down. Unfortunately, the Google Apps status dashboard doesn’t include YouTube, so it’s hard to tell if it’s just you. We usually recommend going straight to the horse’s mouth – at least on Twitter. The official Twitter account for @TeamYouTube usually provides advice on issues as they arise.
It’s up – I need help
Assuming everything is up and running, there are some common issues that could interfere with your service. Most common problem? Video cannot be played. This can be a real problem for obvious reasons, especially for those who regularly use YouTube.
If you have trouble accessing YouTube and watching videos, continue reading. Below are a number of fixes for Android devices as well as computers (Chrome browser) for the most common problems you may encounter with YouTube.
YouTube not working – Fixes for Android devices
Fix number 1: Restart your device
Many smartphone problems are resolved by restarting the device. Among other things, it closes apps that are running in the background and those that might be causing the problem.
This is an easy and quick fix that takes about a minute. If you find that YouTube is not working, simply hold down the power button on your device and tap the restart option that appears on the screen. After restarting the smartphone, open the YouTube app and see if the problem is solved.
Step by step instructions:
Step 1: Press and hold the power button on your device.
Step 2: Tap the restart option that appears on the screen.
Step 3: Try playing a YouTube video after the device turns back on.
Fix number 2: Check your internet connection
The reason the video won’t play on YouTube may be due to connection issues. If you see that YouTube is not working, the first thing to do is to check if you are connected to the internet by opening the settings menu – Wi-Fi or Cellular.
If not, you’ve just discovered the problem. However, once you are connected, do a search on Google to see if you do have access to the internet. In some cases, you may be connected to a Wi-Fi network, but you cannot access the internet for various reasons – router problems, network problems …
If, apart from visiting YouTube, you can also surf Google and do other internet-related tasks, the connection is not to blame.
Step by step instructions:
Step 1: Open the settings menu of your device.
Step 2: Connect to a Wi-Fi or your carrier’s network — if you’re not already.
Step 3: Open the YouTube app and try playing a video.
Fix number 3: Update the operating system
While the chances of YouTube not working are slim, it could be due to the Android dating version. Open the settings menu on your device, select “System Update” and download updates if available. Note that, depending on your device, the system update may be located under the About Phone option in the Settings menu.
After downloading the update, tap on the Install button and allow the device to restart. Then just open YouTube and see if the problem is still there.
Step by step instructions:
Step 1: Open the settings menu of your device.
Step 2: Find and tap on “System updates” — might be in the “About phone” folder.
Step 3: Download and install the update if available.
Fix number 4: Clear the app’s cache and data
The next change in this list is to clear the YouTube cache and data. The former erases temporary data, while the latter deletes all application data including various settings.
Open your device’s settings menu, tap on Apps, and select YouTube. The next step is to select “Storage” which will open two options: Clear Data and Clear Cache. First, clear your cache and make sure YouTube is working properly. If not, go back and clear the data to see if that solves the problem.
Step by step instructions:
Step 1: Open the settings menu of your device.
Step 2: Tap on “Apps” and select YouTube.
Step 3: Choose the “Storage” option and tap on “Clear data/Clear cache”.
Fix number 5: Check your date and time settings
As strange as it may sound, setting the date and time can be the culprit for YouTube issues. Google servers may experience sync problems if you haven’t set them up properly.
To fix it, open your device settings, tap on Date & Time, and make sure that the Automatic date and time option is checked. If that doesn’t solve the problem then move on to the next solution on this list.
Step by step instructions:
Step 1: Open the settings menu of your device.
Step 2: Tap on “Date & time”.
Step 3: Turn on the “Automatic date & time” option.
Fix number 6: Update the YouTube app
The last thing to try when you find YouTube not working is to update the YouTube app on your device. To check if an update is available, open the Google Play Store app, select “My Apps and Games” from the menu, and make sure that YouTube is in the “Updates” list.
If so, just hit the refresh button and wait about a minute for the process to complete. Once done, launch the YouTube app to see if it should look like now.
Step by step instructions:
Step 1: Open the Google Play Store app.
Step 2: Tap on “My apps & games”.
Step 3: Tap the “Update” button next to the YouTube app if an update is available.
YouTube not working – Fixes for PC (Chrome browser)
Fix number 1: Update Chrome
If you can’t watch YouTube videos on Chrome, please update your browser. This is an easy task because all you have to do is click the icon (three vertical dots) in the upper right corner, select “Help” and “All About Google Chrome”. A special page will open. If an update is available, simply click “Install” and follow the prompts.
Step by step instructions:
Step 1: Click the icon (three vertical dots) in the top right corner of the browser.
Step 2: Select “Help” and choose “About Google Chrome”.
Step 3: Click “Install” and follow instructions if an update is available.
Fix number 2: Check your internet connection
Just like the Android version discussed above, your internet connection might be the source of the problem. Try a google search or visit a website to see if it loads. If not, check your connection settings to make sure everything is checked. You can also reset your router or call your ISP if that doesn’t help. Once connected, the search for the correct fix will continue.
Step by step instructions:
Step 1: Visit a random website to check if you are connected to the internet.
Step 2: Connect to the internet if you are not already.
Step 3: Reset the router if you’re having problems.
Fix number 3: Turn on JavaScript
JavaScript must be enabled to watch YouTube videos. To check if it’s enabled, go to Chrome Settings, click “Advanced” at the bottom and select “Website Settings” under “Privacy and Security”. Then simply click on the “JavaScript” option and enable “Enabled (Recommended)”.
Once you’ve done that, go back to the YouTube video you want to watch and refresh the page to see if you’ve resolved the problem.
Step by step instructions:
Step 1: Click the icon (three vertical dots) in the top right corner of the browser and select “Settings”.
Step 2: Click “Advanced” at the bottom and select “Site settings” under “Privacy and security”.
Step 3: Click on the “JavaScript” option and enable “Allowed (recommended)”.
Fix number 4: Check extensions
There are a number of useful extensions for Chrome, but some of them can do more harm than good. Try playing the video in incognito mode to see if any of them is responsible for your YouTube problem.
Extensions don’t work in incognito mode. So if you can watch the video, find out who you have installed at the same time with the problem and delete it. To do so, click on the icon (three vertical dots) in the upper right corner, select “More Tools” and click “Extensions”. This will bring up a page where you can disable or remove all extensions that you use.
Step by step instructions:
Step 1: Click the icon (three vertical dots) in the top right corner of the browser.
Step 2: Click “More tools” and then “Extensions”.
Step 3: Disable/delete extensions to see if it solves the problem.
Fix number 5: Clear cache and cookies
If you can watch YouTube videos in incognito mode, but it doesn’t work on the regular version of Chrome, even if you disable all extensions, you need to clear cache and cookies.
Click the icon (three vertical dots) in the upper right corner of the browser, select “More tools”, then “Clear browsing data.” Select the “All Time” option from the drop-down menu and delete the date by clicking the special button.
Step by step instructions:
Step 1: Click the icon (three vertical dots) in the top right corner of the browser.
Step 2: Click “More tools” and then “Clear browsing data”.
Step 3: Choose the “All time” option and click “Clear browsing data”.
So, is YouTube not working for you? Well, we hope these solutions solve your YouTube-related issues on an Android device or a PC. There might be more of them available, but the ones covered in this post are the most common ones.