Top 8 Ways to Fix YouTube Not Working on Android

The YouTube app comes preinstalled on almost all Android phones and tablets. It is one of the applications that even a child can use. But the problem comes when YouTube stops working on Android phones or tablets. Are you experiencing the same issue? Learn how to fix YouTube not working on Android phones.

YouTube users face different issues with the app. For some, YouTube videos load but not play, and for others, the videos do not load at all. Similarly, other users are experiencing no connection, check your internet connection, loading error, playback error etc. getting errors like

Whatever problem you’re running into with YouTube’s Android app, the post below should help. Lets start.

1. Reboot Phone

You should start the troubleshooting process by restarting your phone. Most of the times, this tip not only fixes YouTube app related issues but also other issues. If you’re having issues with YouTube autoplay, see our guide.

2. Check Internet Connection

You should also verify if the internet is working properly on your phone. Simply open any website via a browser or launch any other application. Test the internet connection. If everything looks fine, the internet is working fine. If other things are not loading as well, you should troubleshoot the internet connection on your phone.

Pro Tip: If you are using a Wi-Fi connection to watch YouTube, restart your modem.

3. Enable Airplane Mode

Airplane mode setting on Android phones disables all network related connections. You should try to enable it for a minute and then disable it. This will fix network related issues on your phone along with YouTube playback issues.

Open Quick Settings on your Android phone to enable airplane mode. For this, open the notification panel and at the top you will find Quick settings. Tap the Airplane mode setting to enable it. Wait 1 minute and then disable it. Open the YouTube app. I hope it will work well.

4. Check the Date and Time

If your phone’s date and time are incorrect, you’ll run into problems with YouTube and other apps on your phone. Therefore, you should make sure that your phone has the correct date and time.

So, open Settings on your phone and go to System or General Management. Tap Date & Time. Enable the toggles next to Automatic date and time or Use network-provided time and time zone.

5. Clear Cache and Data

One of the best solutions to fix the YouTube not working issue is to clear the cache and data of the YouTube app. Clearing the cache will not delete any data from the YouTube app or other apps, but clearing the data will reset the YouTube settings. Find out in detail what’s going on by clearing the data of the YouTube app.

To clear the cache and data of the YouTube app, open Settings on your phone and go to Apps. Under All apps, tap YouTube and then Storage.

Tap on Clear cache first. Restart your phone and see if the app works now. Then tap on Clear data or storage depending on the option available.

Pro Tip: You should clear cache and data for Google app, Google Play Store and Google Play Services.

6. Update YouTube App

Often times, such issues can also occur due to a bug in the app. To fix this, you need to update the YouTube app. For that, open Play Store and search for YouTube. Tap the Update button. Typically, the YouTube app should update without any issues, but if that doesn’t happen, check out the ways to fix YouTube failing to update on Android.

You should also update Google Play Services on your phone. See our guide on how to update Google Play Services.

Fly: Don’t know when an app needs to be updated? Check out our guide on how to find out if apps need an update on Android and iPhone.

7. Reinstall the App

If there is no update available or updating the YouTube app did not resolve the issue, you should uninstall the YouTube app. Then restart your phone and set it up again. To uninstall YouTube, open Play Store and find YouTube. Tap Uninstall. On many phones, the YouTube app is not completely removed as it is a pre-installed app. In such cases, the factory version of the application will be restored. That’s enough. When this happens, update the app again.

8. Reset App Preferences

If nothing works, you need to take a slightly more drastic step to reset the app preferences on your phone. This will not delete any personal data or files on your phone. App permissions, restrictions, etc. will reset settings such as You will need to set them up again.

To reset app preferences, go to Settings > System > Reset options. Tap on Reset app preferences.

Pro Tip: Check out the other method to reset app preferences and learn in detail what happens by resetting app preferences.

Try YouTube Website

We hope the above-mentioned methods helped you fix YouTube app-related playback issues on your Android phone or tablet. In case the issue persists, you should use YouTube’s mobile website until the issue is resolved. You can also check out five YouTube alternatives.

Next: If you really want to watch a YouTube video somehow, you can check out 6 websites that allow you to watch YouTube without YouTube from the next link.