How To Activate YouTube on Roku

To activate YouTube on Roku devices is pretty easy and takes just a few minutes to set up.  Once your YouTube is activated, you can easily watch shows on YouTube TV on your very own Roku TV.

YouTube is an American online streaming television platform owned by Google. It can be used on almost every device that is connected to the internet and features more than 85 television networks. 

YouTube is ranked as the 2nd largest search engine next to Google because people upload more than 100 hours of video per minute to the site.  It is one of the best ways to communicate to a wide audience, whether you’re promoting programs or providing information.

A Bit About How YouTube Works

I know our priority is to know how to activate YouTube on our Roku devices, but it is also needful to know a bit about how this YouTube works. 

YouTube is designed such that people who think they have content enough to put out there, can create and own channels on the YouTuber site. These channels are called YouTube channels and the content creators, YouTubers.

Your channel is where you group the videos you make and upload, the videos you watch and like, and the playlists of videos you create. Your channel will have a web address (URL) that you can promote on your website or marketing material, so people can subscribe to your channel.

YouTube is available for streaming platforms, video game consoles, and Smart TVs such as Roku, Kodi, iOS, Android, PlayStation (3, 4, and 5), Xbox (360, One, Series), Chromecast, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, LG Smart TV, and Samsung Smart TV.

The process of activating your YouTube on devices isn’t complicated at all. But since there are many different devices that you can use, the way you activate YouTube varies from device to device, which is why we are focusing on how you can activate YouTube on Roku today. 

Activate YouTube on Roku

How To Activate YouTube on Roku

Follow the steps below to activate YouTube app on Roku TV and Roku Stick.

  • Open the home screen of Roku by pressing the home button.
  • Inside the home screen, navigate with your remote to the search option, access it, and search for YouTube.
  • From the list of available suggestions, select YouTube TV, then press on Add channel.
  • When the installation is complete, tap on Go to Channel.
  • Inside the app, go to the Account icon in the bottom left corner and press on Sign in.
  • Next, enter your Google or YouTube account information if requested.
  • Once you see the activation code appearing, endeavor to note it down somewhere.
  • After that, on your computer or mobile device, access Youtube.com/activate and type the code, then press on Next.
  • Finally, YouTube will be activated on your Roku device. You should see the page refreshing as you are given access.
  • Now you can sit back and watch all you want. 

Why You Should Activate YouTube on Roku

Below are some of the few reasons why you should activate YouTube on your Roku TV or Roku stick.

1. Free to Use: Did you know, That uploading and watching videos on YouTube is completely free? This gives you the opportunity to experiment and find out whether it works for you or not without worrying about the costs.

However, recently, YouTube has introduced YouTube Premium. YouTube Premium is a paid subscription that allows you to watch videos without ads, play videos in the background, and allows you to play videos when you’re offline. 

2. An Easy Way To Share Ideas: YouTube offers you  the opportunity to share a good amount of information to a lot of people in a short time. What makes it even more interesting is that you can share this information in very entertaining ways. This can be in the form of:

  • Videos
  • Music
  • Comedy Sketch
  • Video Animation

Like other social media platforms such as Instagram, you can now upload YouTube stories, polls or post updates which can help tremendously with engaging your audience.

3. You Can Earn Money From YouTube: According to the YouTube Partner Program requirements, you need at least 1,000 subscribers to be eligible to monetize your account through their program. However, there are a lot of factors that contribute to receiving a substantial payout from AdSense.

Once you have a YouTube channel With YouTube, you can earn money for your views. To earn money through your videos, you will have to have a Google AdSense account. If you don’t have a Google AdSense account? then you can create a new Google AdSense account with your YouTube channel.

Aside through Google AdSense, there are different ways you can earn money through YouTube. This can be done through:

  • Affiliate Links
  • Sponsorships
  • Merch and Products
  • Selling Digital Products
  • Offer Services

How To Fix YouTube Not Responding on Roku

Just like other applications, YouTube could act up sometimes, even after you have successfully activated it on your Roku device. When that happens,  you can follow the steps below to fix the YouTube not working error code.

1. Update your Roku.

If the firmware on your Roku is out of date, it can cause issues with launching the YouTube channel. The Roku device automatically updates itself, but ensuring you have the very latest updates will often resolve unexpected errors that crop up. Use the following steps to update your Roku streaming device.

  • Select the Home button on your Roku remote
  • Select Settings, select System Settings, and finally select System Update.
  • On the System Update screen, select Check Now.
  • Your Roku will download the latest updates and install them to your device.

2. Reinstall the YouTube app

  • Press the Home button on the remote.
  • Use the arrow buttons to select the YouTube channel.
  • Press the button with the Asterisk to open the menu.
  • Select the Remove option and confirm you want to remove the channel.
  • Restart the Roku device by going to Settings.
  • Once the device restarts, press the Home button on the remote.
  • Select Streaming Channels
  • Select YouTube.
  • Click Add Channel.

3. Clear The YouTube App Cache

If you have been using the YouTube app for a long time, there is a chance that huge amounts of cache and data have been causing problems and this could lead you to not being able to open the YouTube app or you may be facing YouTube not playing videos issues. 

So this is what you should do;

  • Go to the Settings option
  •  Open Apps & Notifications
  • Click on See All Apps and click on YouTube
  • Then tap on Storage & Cache
  • Tap on Clear Cache and also select Clean Storage

Final Words

With the steps outlined here, you can easily activate YouTube on your Roku device. We have also discussed reasons why you need to hurry and activate YouTube on your Roku device, as it offers entertainment on a whole different level.

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