YouTube not working is an internal problem that can be caused by a series of programs on your phone. And once the YouTube app isn’t working on your phone you will not be able to access the largest video streaming website.
If the problem happens to your Chrome browser you’d likely not be able to access YouTube access as well. This can be heartbreaking when you try to use YouTube app and it’s not working, you turn to your Chrome browser but it still not work.
However, we have come with a series of approaches to fix the YouTube app not working on Android phone. We will share different methods we’ve used in the paste so you can try them yourself.
You don’t have to use the whole methods. Sometimes, one of the methods can fix the error message. If one isn’t working you can try the second approach. If it doesn’t as well, you can proceed to the third approach.
However, when the YouTube app stopped working on my Android phone I didn’t go to the second approach before it starts working again.
How to Fix YouTube not Working on Android
If the YouTube app is not working on your Android phone or iOS here is how to fix it. If the YouTube app is not down globally, you can fix the app internal error with this post. But, if it’s a server problem, you have to wait until the server is up and running.
Note: Make sure your internet connection is active and working fine before you conclude that the YouTube app isn’t working.
Restart your Smartphone
I always recommend to people around me to at least, restart their smartphone once in every 24 hours to help reset most misbehaving apps.
If you have some apps that are hanging or not working fine, the restart option will reset the app if not affected by the configuration (personal).
- Press your Android phone power button
- Tap on the reboot option or swipe to reboot
- Your phone will restart
If you choose to power off the phone it is also nice advice. But, do not forget to power on the phone after some minutes to confirm whether the app is now working fine.
Update YouTube App
If you are running an outdated YouTube app the app would probably be misbehaving and won’t respond in time. So, the first thing to do is upgrade the YouTube app.
- Open the Google play store app
- Go to “my apps & games*
- Find “YouTube app“
- Click on “update”
- Wait for a couple of seconds for the app to update
If there is an update available the app will begin to update to the latest version. However, if you are running the latest version, the update icon will be replaced with the install in the Google play store.
Clear YouTube App Caches
If you are running the latest YouTube app, then, the problem causing the YouTube app not working is probably the caches.
- Go to your phone settings
- Navigate to apps or applications manager
- Click on the YouTube app icon
- Click on the storage option below the app name
- Tap on clear caches
- Click OK from the popup.
Do not click on clear data so that you will not delete all your YouTube information such as your password and username.
Note: When you clear the YouTube app caches it should return to the normal settings and fixes the YouTube not working error message. However, if this still does not fix it, you may have to resolve to use clear data option. But first, clear the app caches first, try the app whether it works before you use the clear data option.
YouTube not Working on Chrome: Fix
If you are experiencing the YouTube app not working on Chrome browser here is how to fix it.
Update Google Chrome Browser
Always make sure that you are using the most updated Google Chrome browser.
- Copy and paste chrome://settings/help into the address bar and press Enter.
- Click Update Google Chrome
- If an update is available kindly update to the latest version
- After the update is done successfully, then click Relaunch.
- Visit YouTube to confirm it
The YouTube website will be working fine after the above procedures. Additional procedures require you to clear your Chrome caches.