Backed by Google, YouTube is the biggest and most preferred video platform among the users throughout the world. More than 1.5 billion visitors log in each month on YouTube, around 400 hours of content gets uploaded every minute, and more than billion hours of videos are view each day. All these statistics together have made YouTube a go-to video platform for the users all over the world. Being a Google product, YouTube is undoubtedly a reliable and flawless platform to make use of, however, sometimes, some unknown issues can affect your YouTubing experience. If you are facing any sort of issue with YouTube or if it is not working at all, you can follow the suggestions provided below to fix the issue.
Guide to Fix “YouTube Not Working” Error
FOR ANDROID DEVICE
1.) Restart Your Device
Most of the times, a problem can be solved simply be restarting your device. This should be the basic approach to fix the problem if YouTube is not working on your device. Restarting your Android device will refresh the memory and other functions which should help clear the issue with YouTube in most of the cases.
- Press and hold the power button on your Android device. A couple of options will appear on your screen.
- Tap on the Restart option shown on the screen and wait until your device gets restarted.
- Once your device gets restarted, check YouTube to see if the problem is fixed or not.
2.) Make Sure Your Internet Connection is Working
Another common issue which could prevent YouTube from functioning appropriately is a poor internet connection or no internet connection at all. So firstly, make sure that you have enabled the internet on your Android device. If you are connected via Wi-Fi network, make sure that your internet is working properly. To check your internet status.
- Open a web browser on your Android device.
- Go to any website and see if it opens as usual or not.
- If it opens, as usual, your internet is working fine. However, if the internet is not working, you will first need to address this issue before access YouTube.
3.) Make Sure That Your Operating System is Up-To-Date
Sometimes, the problem can also be occurring because of using an outdated version of the operating system on your Android device. So, always make sure that the operating system of your Android device is running with the latest updates. To check this:
- Go to the Settings app on your device.
- Next, go to “System Updates” section and check if there are any updates available for your device.
- If there are updates available, simply download them and then check YouTube.
4.) Keep The Application free from Cache and Data
Having a lot of cache and data lingering for your YouTube’s can also make the application problematic. So, make sure to keep removing the cache and data for your YouTube app on regular basis to keep it free from any sort of technical glitches. To clear cache and data:
- Go to the Settings app on your Android device.
- Next, tap on the Apps option and select YouTube from the list.
- Next, go to Storage option and tap on the Clear data/Clear cache option.
- After that, you can check whether YouTube is working as usual or not.
5.) Keep YouTube Application Up-To-Date
Like the operating system, you must also make sure that your YouTube application is running with the latest updates. Google keeps on releasing security updates and bug-fixed updates etc. from time to time to keep YouTube’s platform secured. So, make sure that your YouTube application is up-to-date. To check for updates:
- Go to the Google Play Store app on your Android device.
- Next, go to “My app & games” section and located a YouTube
- If you see the “Update” option next to YouTube app, simply tap on it and wait until the application gets updated.
- After that, you can check the YouTube application to see if the problem is fixed or not.
For Chrome Browser
If you are having a problem with the YouTube on your Chrome web browser, you can try the following workarounds to fix the issue.
1.) Make Sure That It Is Up-To-Date
Updates help fix common bugs and provided security patches from time to time in order to make sure that the program or application works flawlessly and securely. Similarly, it is important to keep your Google Chrome browser running with the latest updates in order to keep it functioning as usual. Using an outdated Chrome browser can cause different problems with YouTube and other programs and websites. To update Chrome browser:
- Click on the Menu bar icon (three vertical dots) located on the top-right corner of Chrome browser.
- Select Help option and select “About Google Chrome” option.
- Next, click on the Install option and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the updating process (if available).
2.) Your Internet Network Should Be Working
As described earlier for Android device, your internet should be working properly when YouTubing. YouTube is an online website which requires an internet connection to work. Any interruption with the internet can affect the functioning of YouTube. So, make sure that there is no problem with your internet connection. For this:
- Open a random website on your Chrome browser and see if it opens as usual or not.
- If the website opens normally, there is no issue with the internet. However, if the website is not loading or taking a lot of time to open, you will first need to fix the issue with your internet before fixing the YouTube
3.) Make Sure JavaScript is Enabled
In order to watch video on YouTube through chrome browser, you must have JavaScript enabled. If you don’t have JavaScript enabled for your Chrome browser, you will not be able to watch videos on YouTube. To enable JavaScript:
- Click on the Menu bar icon (three vertical dots) located on the upper-right corner of Chrome browser. A drop-down menu will appear on your screen.
- From the drop-down menu, select Settings
- Under the Settings section, click on the Advanced option and select Content settings option located under Privacy and security
- Then, click on the JavaScript option and enable “Allowed (recommended)” option.
4.) Inspect Browser Enhancements
Sometimes, web browser enhancements such as plug-ins or add-ons can prevent YouTube and other websites from performing as usual. So, make sure that there is not such faulty browser extension affecting the functionality of YouTube. To check if any extension is affecting YouTube, you can open YouTube in Incognito mode. As extensions don’t work in Incognito mode, you will know whether or not an extension is causing trouble or not. If YouTube is working properly in Incognito mode:
- Disable each and every extension (one at a time).
- Check YouTube every time you disable an extension to see which one is actually causing the trouble.
- Once you find the one causing problem, remove it permanently from your Chrome browser.
5.) Clear Cache and Cookies
Clearing cache and cookies from your Chrome browser may also help in making YouTube run without trouble. You can clear cache and cookies from your chrome browser by following these steps:
- Click on the Menu bar icon (three vertical dots) located on the upper-right corner of your Chrome browser. This will open a drop-down menu will appear on your screen.
- From the drop-down menu, select More tools option and then click on the “Clearing browsing data’ option.
- Select “the beginning of time” option from the menu and clear the data by hitting the provided button.
- Cache and cookies for your chrome browser will get deleted.
- You can check whether YouTube is now working properly or not.
So, these are the different ways you can fix “YouTube not working” problem in your Android device and the Google Chrome web browser.
