YouTube not working? In this troubleshooting guide, we’ll go over all the solutions to fix YouTube videos not playing on your iPhone or iPad.
YouTube can stop working because of network issues on your end, low storage on your iPhone, bugs in the official YouTube app, or a YouTube outage in your area. The solutions below should fix the issue and help you go back to enjoying your favorite music, tech, or cat videos.
1. Make sure you are connected to the internet
Your internet connection is the first thing to check when YouTube isn’t working on your device. Simply open Safari and visit any webpage. If it loads, that’s good news. If not, see this guide to fix Wi-Fi issues on your iPhone. If you are using cellular data or metered Wi-Fi, ensure you have sufficient data allowance for the day or month.
2. Make sure cellular data for YouTube is switched on
Open iPhone Settings and tap Cellular. Now scroll down and make sure the toggle next to YouTube is green.
3. Toggle Airplane Mode on and off
When you put your iPhone in Airplane Mode, it disconnects all radio connections like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Cellular, thus fixing network issues. You can enable and disable Airplane Mode from Control Center by tapping the plane icon. Alternatively, you may open Settings and turn on Airplane Mode. After 15 seconds, tap the same switch to turn it off.
4. Check if YouTube is down
It’s possible that the fault is not on your end but rather YouTube’s. And just like you, several other people may be facing similar issues of YouTube not working on their smartphones and computers.
To check, perform a web search for “Is YouTube down in [your region name].” From the search results, click one of the options like downdetector.com or downforeveryoneorjustme.com. From here, you can know if other people are facing this or not. If yes, wait for a while until YouTube addresses this problem.
You may also reach out to @TeamYouTube on X (Twitter) or check their recent posts for an update.
5. Turn off your VPN
In rare situations, YouTube may not work correctly, or some region-specific videos might not play when connected to a VPN. To fix this, open the VPN app on your iPhone and turn it off.
Similarly, if you are using Apple’s Private Relay, consider turning it off and see if YouTube loads now or not.
Note: Do not turn off the VPN if YouTube is banned in your area and you use a VPN to circumvent this restriction. Follow the remaining solutions below.
6. Change the YouTube video quality
YouTube may show the loading screen or refuse to work if your Internet speed drops significantly. To address this, choose a lower video quality, like 360p
7. Replay the YouTube video
On some occasions, the video may get stuck on the loading or buffering screen and not play at all. Simply close the video and play it again.
8. Force quit the YouTube app and reopen it
Enter App Switcher and drag the YouTube card all the way up to force close it. After 15 seconds, open YouTube again, and it should work.
9. Restart your iPhone and Wi-Fi Router
When apps do not work correctly or crash, one easy way to fix these issues is to turn off your iPhone and turn it back on.
Similarly, switching off your Wi-Fi router using its main wall switch and switching it back on after a few seconds will help fix the network issues.
10. Use a different browser
If you’re using YouTube in some other browser like Aloha, Brave, Firefox, etc., consider switching to Safari or Chrome. On rare occasions, YouTube does not work properly for me on Firefox on my Mac. But when I switch to Chrome, it works flawlessly. You may also try this trick on your iPhone or iPad.
11. Clear Safari or other browser data
If YouTube is not working in your iPhone browser, consider clearing the browser data.
12. Use YouTube in the official app instead of other apps like WhatsApp
When you receive YouTube links inside apps like WhatsApp, it tries to play the video in that app and not in the YouTube app or browser. In some instances, this may not work, or playing videos might take a lot of time. To fix this, tap the link once again to open it inside the YouTube app. You may also copy the link and open it in a browser.
13. Update the YouTube app
If YouTube is not working on your iPhone because of a bug, updating the app should fix the issue.
14. Uninstall YouTube and reinstall it
If updating the app did not fix the problem, try deleting the YouTube app and reinstalling it. Note: This will also remove all the YouTube videos you have saved offline.
15. Try YouTube’s Incognito mode
In case YouTube does not work normally, try using it in Incognito mode. This is similar to Incognito mode on Chrome. Note that you cannot see your YouTube subscriptions in Incognito mode.
16. Sign out of YouTube account and sign in again
On rare occasions, logging out and logging back in may help fix the issue. Plus, if you have changed the Google account password and cannot see your subscriptions, re-authenticating is the answer.
Open YouTube and tap You > Switch account > Use YouTube signed out. Next, restart your iPhone and go back to the YouTube app. Then tap You and sign in to YouTube.
17. Free space on your iPhone to prevent the YouTube app from crashing
If you have just a few MBs of free space on your iPhone, YouTube, and other apps may crash or quit randomly. Get rid of unnecessary apps and files on your iPhone to make space.
18. Switch location inside YouTube
If some videos are not playing, you may try changing the location to see if it brings any luck. Go to YouTube Settings > General > Locations and choose a different country.
19. Unblock YouTube in Screen Time settings
Did you know that it is easy to block YouTube on iPhone and iPad? If this is the case, your guardian (or the person who set this restriction) can unblock YouTube by going to Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions.
20. Update your iPhone
If you are on a very old version of iOS, consider updating your iPhone by going to Settings > General > Software Update. This will ensure that third-party apps like YouTube work perfectly on the device.
21. Reset iPhone Network Settings
Finally, if none of the above solutions help, and if YouTube is not down in your region, resetting all network settings can fix this problem.
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