Youtube is the second most used platform in the world, so it’s no surprise that chaos ensues when it’s not working for whatever reason. With an app that hosts billions of videos with thousands of watch hours per second constantly going through its servers, sometimes it can have issues.
If your YouTube app is not working on Android, we’re going to look at a few reasons why. iOS users will want to check our guide for when YouTube stops working on iPhone instead.
YouTube App not working on Android? – Here’s the fix
If you are having problems with your Youtube App not working on Android, there are a few quick things you can try which will fix the situation most of the time.
The first thing you’ll want to do is make sure you are signed in properly. Sometimes if you are using multiple Google accounts, YouTube can get a bit confused and won’t open properly, or with the right account. This even happened to me. Make sure you are logging into a YouTube-enabled Google account.
Check if your device is in airplane mode. This can sometimes be accidentally enabled and will prevent all internet-based apps from working correctly. See if the plane icon is lit up, and if it is, tap it to disable it.
Turn your device off and then on again. This tried-and-true method is the secret sauce to fixing most problems with technology, and more times than not will usually fix most problems right away.
If none of these solutions get your app working, then there’s likely a deeper problem with the app, and we are going to help you identify and fix it.
Identifying your problem
First, you need to know whether it’s a problem with your app, your internet connection, or YouTube itself. There’s an easy way to identify each of these problems and it won’t take you more than a couple of minutes.
If you are unable to use YouTube at all, and it’s not loading, then there’s either a problem with your internet connection, YouTube’s servers, or you aren’t updated properly.
However, if you are connected to the internet and are able to use the app, but certain features aren’t working properly, then you might be coming across an in-app technical issue. If this is the case, the best approach is clearing data, updating the app, or re-installing it.
Connection issues
Sometimes your Wi-Fi is the reason your videos are buffering or why you can’t use the app at all. Make sure you are close enough to your router to get a good signal and try again.
If you still can’t connect, try to use another internet app, such as Google search to see if your Wi-Fi is working at all. If not, you may need to reset your router, or contact your ISP and use mobile data in the meantime.
Check YouTube’s server status
Sometimes the unexpected happens and a bad update rolls out or user demand overloads a local server and causes it to crash. Youtube also needs to occasionally shut down its servers for maintenance, though this is rare.
The way to find out if the Youtube servers are having any problems is by checking this site and scrolling down to the “app” section. If you see a large spike in user complaints or even a message saying YouTube is experiencing problems, then the best thing you can do is wait a few minutes or hours for them to solve the problem.
Clear the cache & data
YouTube caches an immense amount of data which can sometimes slow down the app or prevent it from working.
Clearing the cache or, if that doesn’t work, clearing the data, can effectively reset the app almost as good as new. Make sure you back up any passwords and preferences before you do this though, as you will be signed out of any accounts.
To get here go to Settings > Apps > YouTube > Storage > Clear cache and data
Update the app
If you’ve accidentally turned off automatic updating settings for YouTube, it can eventually stop working if your version is too far behind the current one.
The way you can update your app manually is by going into the play store, searching for the YouTube App, and if there’s an update available, you will see it next to the open button as below.
Reinstall the app
If none of that works, the best way to start over and have the best chance to fix any issue is by re-installing the app. The uninstall option can be found by searching for the app in the play store, and it should be the option next to “open.”
Conclusion
YouTube is rarely ever offline, and when it is, the internet pretty much devolves into chaos. Though, however chaotic it may seem, following these steps is a sure-fire way of getting you reconnected, and ridding yourself of those pesky buffering wheels.
