Top 8 Ways to Fix YouTube Not Working on Android

The YouTube app is installed on almost all Android phones and tablets. It is one of the apps that even a child can use. However, the problem arises when YouTube stops working on Android phones or tablets. Are you experiencing the same problem? Find 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 not play and videos do not load at all for others. Likewise, other users get errors like no connection, check your internet connection, loading error, reading error, etc.

Whatever problem you are having in the YouTube Android app, the following article should help you. Let’s start.

1. Restart the phone

You need to start the troubleshooting process by restarting your phone. Many times this trick will not only fix the issues with YouTube app but also other issues. Check out our guide if you’re having trouble with YouTube autoplay.

2. Check the internet connection

You should also check whether the internet is working properly on your phone or not. Just open any website through a browser or launch any other app. Test the Internet connection. If all looks good, the internet is working fine. If other items also don’t load, you need to troubleshoot the internet connection on your phone.

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

3. Activate airplane mode

The Airplane mode setting on Android phones disables all network related connections. You should try to turn it on for a minute and then turn it off. It will also fix network related issues on your phone as well as YouTube playback issues.

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

4. Check the date and time

You will experience issues with YouTube and other apps on your phone if your phone has an incorrect date and time. So you need to 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. Activate the buttons 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 YouTube not working issue is to clear YouTube app cache and data. Although clearing the cache does not delete any data from the YouTube app or other apps, deleting the data will reset the YouTube settings. Know in detail what is happening by clearing data from 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, then tap Storage.

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

Professional advice: You need to clear cache and data of Google app, Google Play Store and Google Play services.

6. Update the YouTube app

Many times such issues can also occur due to a bug in the application. So, to fix this problem, you need to update the YouTube app. To do this, open Play Store and search for YouTube. Press the Update button. Usually, the YouTube app should update without any issues, but check out ways to fix YouTube unable to update on Android if it doesn’t happen.

You also need to update the Google Play services on your phone. Check out our guide on updating Google Play services.

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

7. Reinstall the application

If no update is available or updating the YouTube app did not resolve the issue, you need to uninstall the YouTube app. Then restart your phone and reinstall it. To uninstall YouTube, open the Play Store and search for YouTube. Tap Uninstall. On many phones, the YouTube app does not uninstall completely because it is a preinstalled app. In such cases, the factory version of the application will be restored. This is also sufficient. When this 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. This 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 adjust them again.

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

Pro tip: Find out the other method to reset app preferences and also know in detail what happens by resetting app preferences.

Try the YouTube website

We hope the above-mentioned methods will help you to fix YouTube app playback issues on your Android phone or tablet. If the issue persists, you should use the YouTube mobile website until the issue is resolved. You can also check out five YouTube alternatives.