Top 8 Ways to Fix YouTube Not Working on Android

Mehvish Mushtaq is a computer engineer by degree. Her love for Android and gadgets led her to develop the first Android app for Kashmir. Known as Dial Kashmir, she won the prestigious Nari Shakti award from the President of India. She has been writing about technology for 6+ years and her favorite categories include how-to guides, explainers, tips and tricks for Android, iOS/iPadOS, social media, and web apps.

The YouTube app comes installed on almost all Android phones and tablets. It’s one of the apps that even a child can use. However, the problem arises whenYouTube stops working on Android phones or tablets. Are you going through the same issue? Check out how to fix YouTube not working on Android phones.

YouTube users face different issues related to the app. While for some, YouTube videos load but do not play and videos do not load at all for others. Similarly, otherusers get errors like no connection, check your internet connection, error loading,playback error, etc.

Whatever issue you are facing in the Android app of YouTube, the following post should help. Let’s get started.

1. Restart Phone

You should begin the troubleshooting process by restarting your phone. Many times, this tip will not only fix the issues with the YouTube app but will fix other issues too. Check our guide if you are facingissues with the YouTube autoplay.

2. Check Internet Connection

You should also verify whether the internet is working properly on your phone or not. Simply open any website through a browser or launch any other app. Test the internet connection. If all seems well, the internet is working fine. If other things also do not load, you shouldtroubleshoot the internet connection on your phone.

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

3. Enable Airplane Mode

TheAirplane mode setting on Android phonesdisables all the network-related connections. You should try enabling it for a minute and then disable it. That will also fix network related issues on your phone along with the YouTube playback issues.

To enable the Airplane mode, open Quick Settings on your Android phone. For that, open the notification panel and you will find Quick settings at the top. Tap on the Airplane mode setting to enable it. Wait for 1 minute and then disable it. Open the YouTube app. Hopefully, it will work fine.

4. Check Date and Time

You will face issues with the YouTube and other apps on your phone if your phone has an incorrect date and time. So you should make sure your phone has the correct date and time.

So, open Settings on your phone and go to System or General Management. Tap on 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 problem of YouTube not working is to clear the YouTube app’s cache and data. Whileclearing cachewill not delete any data from the YouTube app or other apps, clearing data will reset the YouTube settings. Know in detailwhat happens 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 on YouTube followed by 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

Many times, such issues can also happen due to a bug in the app. So to fix it, you would need to update the YouTube app. For that, open Play Store and search for YouTube. Tap on the Update button. Typically, the YouTube app should update without any issue, but check ways tofix unable to update YouTube on Androidif that doesn’t happen.

You should also update Google Play Services on your phone. Check our guide onhow to update Google Play Services.

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

7. Reinstall App

If no update is available or updating the YouTube app didn’t fix the problem, you should uninstall the YouTube app. Then reboot your phone and install it back. To uninstall YouTube, open the Play Store, and find YouTube. Tap on Uninstall. On many phones, the YouTube app will not uninstall fully for it’s a pre-installed app. In such cases, the factory version of the app will be restored. That’s also enough. When that happens, update the app again.

8. Reset App Preferences

If nothing works, you need to take a slightly harsher step of resetting app preferences on your phone. That will not delete any personal data or files from your phone. It will reset settings like app permissions, restrictions, etc., to their default values. You will have to set them 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 also know in detailwhat happens by resetting app preferences.

Try YouTube Website

We hope the methods mentioned above help you fix the playback problems with the YouTube app on your Android phone or tablet. In case the issue persists, you should use YouTube’s mobile website till the issue gets fixed. You can also check outfive YouTube alternatives.

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

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Last updated on 13 July, 2021

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