Since its 2006 launch, YouTube has been one of the largest social networks in the world, and its popularity continues to grow.
The simplicity of creating, uploading, and sharing videos is one of the reasons for YouTube’s ability to attract both viewers and content creators. YouTube is known for its sheer number of videos you can find there, in just about any topic you can think of.
And if you can’t find it, you can create and upload it to share with others.
Many of the most popular social media sites have now been around for several years and generally run smoothly. However, with the amount of traffic it gets, not even Google-owned YouTube is immune to occasional problems.
Are you experiencing issues or errors while accessing the YouTube social network? Here are some insights as to what causes these common issues and steps to resolve them.
YouTube Won’t Load At All
One of the most frustrating YouTube issues is when it just won’t load at all.
In this situation, the problem could be due to technical errors on YouTube’s side. Here are a few ways you can check this:
- Use a reputable third-party ‘status checker’ site. You can try DownDetector, Down for Everyone Or Just Me, downrightnow, Is It Down Right Now?, or Report.
- Keep an eye on YouTube’s official Twitter handle @TeamYouTube for any updates, in case the problem might not get fixed quickly.
If the problem isn’t with YouTube, then it’s likely on your side. Here are a few things you can do to troubleshoot this if the problem is on your web browser:
- Close and restart your browser.
- Restart your PC.
- From your browser’s settings, clear your browser’s cache.
- Check for fishy-looking browser extensions and remove them.
- Make sure you are running the latest version of your browser.
If the problem is with YouTube on your mobile device, here are a few things you can try:
- Log out of your YouTube account then back in.
- Make sure you are using the most current version of the YouTube app and if you aren’t, update it from your device’s app store.
- From your device’s settings, confirm you have sufficient storage available.
- From your device’s settings, enable mobile data on iPhone or give unrestricted data usage on Android, then close and restart the app.
YouTube Loads But Won’t Play Videos
Another issue you might experience is when YouTube videos won’t play even when the site or app loads. When this happens, it could be due to poor internet or issues with your browser, app or device.
If YouTube videos won’t load, here are a few ways to troubleshoot this issue:
- Refresh the YouTube site or app.
- Close and restart your browser or the app.
- Restart your device.
- Check your internet connection speed at speedtest.net.
- Clear your cache from your device’s or browser’s settings.
- Make sure you are using the most current version of the YouTube app and if not, update it.
- Make sure you are running the most current version of your phone’s operating system.
- Confirm you have the correct date and time on your device from its settings.
- Reinstall Adobe Flash Player on your PC.
- Restore Connection Settings on your PC.
- Try DownDetector, Down for Everyone Or Just Me, downrightnow, Is It Down Right Now?, or Report.
- Check out @TeamYouTube for any updates.
YouTube Says I’m Offline But I’m Online
There may be times when YouTube says you’re offline, but you know that you are clearly online and can still use YouTube.
If YouTube says you’re offline but you’re really online, in addition to the tips in the section above, here are a few things you can do to try to fix this issue:
- Make sure you aren’t operating in offline mode.
- Make sure your device’s WiFi is turned on.
YouTube Keeps On Crashing
Sometimes YouTube crashes for no apparent reason then it keeps on crashing.
In addition to the tips in the sections above, here are a few things you can do to try to fix this issue:
- If you are using a VPN, turn it off. If you want to have the protection of a VPN, you may need to investigate an alternate VPN solution, such as PureVPN or a similar VPN service provider.
Your YouTube Account Was Banned
Sometimes you may be unable to use YouTube because you have landed yourself in “YouTube jail” by violating YouTube’s Terms of Service, resulting in your account being restricted or suspended. But often users don’t know why they were suspended.
To unsuspend your YouTube account, below are some steps you can try:
- Go to your YouTube directly using its URL, but do not try to sign in.
- Note the red banner as that gives you the (very general) reason for your suspension.
- If you believe an error was made, you can request a review here. Make sure to provide your YouTube channel/URL and the correct Google Account’s email address of the master/owner.
- You can read more on this at the YouTube Help page here.
YouTube Shows A Black Screen When I Try to Watch A Video
If you spend a lot of time on YouTube, you’ve likely had a random black screen when watching videos. This problem can occur any time without any warnings and can catch you off guard.
In addition to trying some of the tips in the sections above, here are a few more things to try when you get a black screen on YouTube:
- Change your YouTube region manually in your device’s settings. The servers dedicated to your area may be the only ones with a problem, so connecting to other regional servers may be able to resolve the issue.
- Toggle your system’s hardware acceleration off/on. Some devices might work correctly with hardware acceleration turned on, but some may struggle when it is enabled.
- Make sure you have JavaScript enabled. YouTube needs Javascript to play and stream videos on your browser.
- Block CDN addresses. Content delivery networks are services used by YouTube and other websites to deliver media content like videos and music. However, your ISP can control and throttle your connection when using CDNs, explaining the playback issue on YouTube.
YouTube Removed My Video
Occasionally you may find that a video you uploaded to YouTube has disappeared.
If you see the “Video removed” message next to one of your uploaded videos, it means the video has been found to violate one of YouTube’s policies and has been taken down, it is likely for one of the following reasons:
- Inappropriate content
- Terms of Service violation
- Includes copyrighted content
- Video was taken down
- Trademark issue
If you find that one of your videos has been removed from YouTube, this YouTube Help page can help you find a solution.
YouTube Doesn’t Work At All
If YouTube just plain won’t work at all, this is most likely an issue with access to YouTube’s servers.
The best thing to try in this situation is the following:
- Try DownDetector, Down for Everyone Or Just Me, downrightnow, Is It Down Right Now?, or Report.
- Check out @TeamYouTube for any updates on why YouTube might be down.
- As with many of the issues above, you can then try to log out and log back in, clear your browser cache, and finally restart your computer.
I hope this helps you deal with any issues with YouTube that may arise. If you have additional experiences or tips to share related to solving YouTube issues, post in the comments below!
— Sean