YouTube, the name is itself has a brand. If I say that YouTube is the largest video-sharing platform in the world, I wouldn’t be wrong. Want to know why? Well, there is not any doubt about it as we can see how huge the audience the platform has. However, as we all know, bad things also come along with good things. You know what, despite its immense popularity and craze, there are a lot of users who have been reporting several issues at times. These issues differ from each other- from black screen to constant buffering to playback error, there are lots of problems YouTube needs to address.
One of the major issues that some users report is Why Is Youtube Not Working On My Computer. This is indeed an annoying error and we are going to fix this.
Why is youtube not working? Here are the solutions to fix these issues:
In this section, we are going to discuss almost 13 ways to deal with YouTube, not working issues. The steps are quite simple and you can perform them by yourself and you will be able to resolve them on your own.
1. Check if YouTube is Down:
First of all, before trying other solutions, you need to check if YouTube is down in your region or not.
2. Clear Cache, Cookies, and Data:
Folks, there may be times when expired cookies or clogged application data restricts YouTube to function properly. If this is the case, then you have to clear cache data and cookies. Here is how you can do it.
- On the desktop, first of all, you need to paste chrome://settings/clearBrowserData in the Chrome URL bar and hit the enter button. After that, you have to select cache and cookies and then change the Time Range to “All time”. At last, you need to click on the “Clear data” button.
- On Android, you have to click and hold the YouTube application and open “App Info”. Here, you need to go to Storage and then clear both data and cache.
- On iOS, you can not clear the cache manually, however, you can delete the app and reinstall it again to start afresh without any issues.
3. Inspect Extensions:
In case your YouTube is not loading on your PC, it can be due to some Chrome extensions blocking access. If you want to find whether extensions are the main culprit, you need to follow these steps.
- First of all, you need to open Chrome and press the Ctrl, Shift, and N shortcut key (Cmd+Shift+N for Mac) at the same time and an incognito window will open up. There, you need to open YouTube and see if it’s working. If so, then some dubious extensions are certainly creating trouble.
- To remove such extensions, you need to paste chrome://extensions/ in the URL bar and press the enter button. Then, you need to go through all the extensions and uninstall the ones that you do not know off. Apart from that, you also need to try to disable as many extensions as possible to determine the culprit extension.
4. Update Chrome and YouTube Application:
Your YouTube stop working might be because you are utilizing an old or outdated version of Chrome or a YouTube application that is not fully compatible with the latest build. In such cases, you need to update the application to fix most of the issues.
- On the desktop, first of you need to open Chrome and then paste chrome://settings/help in the address bar. After that, you need to check for the latest update and install it right away.
- On Android and iOS, you need to open your respective app store and update the YouTube application. I am very sure, doing this will hopefully fix the error you are facing.
5. Check Site Settings:
To check site settings, you need to do is:
- First of all, you need to paste chrome://settings/content/javascript in the Chrome URL bar and make sure the toggle is enabled for Javascript. On desktop computers, you need to know that Javascript is a must for running YouTube properly.
- Similarly, you need to paste chrome://settings/content/sound in the address bar and make sure you enable the toggle for sound settings. Doing this will allow YouTube to play sound.
6. Check Proxy Settings:
There is time, even after you have eliminated the shady extensions, however, some changes remain in effect unless you reverse them manually. And the proxy setting is one of them which extensions modify and that results in unreachable websites, which can lead you to face this error. Here is the process on how to restore the proxy settings on your desktop.
- You need to paste the chrome://settings/system in the address bar and press the enter button.
- After that, you need to click on “Disable” under the proxy settings section.
- At last, you have to open YouTube and check if it is working or not.
7. Update Graphics Driver:
If you are facing black or green screen issues while playing YouTube videos, the outdated or old graphics driver is the main culprit. To fix the cause of the problem, you need to do is:
- On a Windows PC, first of all, you need to press Windows and R keys at the same time and a small Run window will open up. There, you need to type devmgmt.msc and hit the enter button.
- A Device Manager window will open up and after that, you need to double-click on Display Adapters and it will expand. Then, you need to right-click on each sub-menu and click on Update Driver.
- At last, you have to click on “Search automatically” and it will start looking for the latest Graphics driver from the internet. After that, you need to keep your computer system connected to the internet. Now, you are required to restart your PC, and this time YouTube should work without any issues. Go enjoy!
8. Update Operating System:
It might appear to be far-fetched but you know what, OS updates can fix the majority of the issues on gadgets. Let me tell you that device producers or makers routinely push total updates which are targeted to suppress different kinds of bugs. Plus, your device likewise gets refreshed during the process with new establishment and security patches. In this way, if you have a pending update on your smartphone or PC, you need to go ahead and update it right now. It may resolve the YouTube issues you are seeing on your device.
9. Update Date, Time, and Region:
There are times, when because of an incorrect timezone, date, or region set on the device, why YouTube is not working and keeps showing the loading sign. Hence, to fix this annoying error, you just need to sync the time with the correct values and you will have YouTube working again.
First of all, you need to open the Settings page of your device and then navigate to a time-related menu.
Here, you need to make changes and reboot your device, and doing this may set the time, and your YouTube works without any issues.
10. Uninstall Unknown Apps:
Apart from Chrome extensions, there can be rogue applications installed on your computer system which can lead you to experience several errors which can go against the proper functioning of YouTube. Want to fix them? Well, the best way to deal with this problem is to remove unknown applications from your system.
1. On Windows PC, first of all, you need to open the Run window by pressing the Windows and R keys at the same time. Here, you need to type “appwiz.cpl” and hit the enter button.
2. After that, you need to navigate the applications which you do not utilize often and then uninstall them.
3. You know what, you can also find harmful applications through Chrome. You just need to paste chrome://settings/cleanup in the address bar and then click on the “Find” button. You can uninstall the applications thereafter.
11. Restore DNS:
You know what, Domain Name Servers or DNS are a kind of phone book for the internet, which helps to keep up a directory of domain names and their IP addresses. There can be times when the DNS is modified on computer systems which can lead to the non-functioning of a website. Hence, this can lead you to face the error like YouTube not working or basically, your youtube stopped working. So to restore the DNS on Windows PCs, you need to follow these steps:
1. First of all, you need to open the Run window again and type “cmd” and hit the Enter button.
2. Here, you need to type ipconfig /flushdns and hit the Enter button. After that, the DNS will be restored to the default settings.
On macOS, you need to go to Applications, then Utilities, and then Terminal. There you need to paste the following command and hit the enter button. The command- sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder. After that, it will ask for your Mac login password, and you need to enter it and the DNS cache will be flushed successfully.
12. Reset Network Settings:
In order to fix the YouTube is not working on your Android or iOS device, you can reset the network setting. Before that, you can try enabling the aeroplane mode. After a little time, you need to turn off aeroplane mode and check if YouTube is working. It’s still not working? Well, now you have can reset the network settings altogether, and hear how you can do it:
1. First of all, you need to open the Settings page on Android. After that, you have to find the System and go to Reset Options and then Reset WiFi, Mobile, and Bluetooth. At last, you need to hit on the “Reset Settings” button.
2. In the iOS system, first of all, you need to go to Settings and then General and then Reset and tap on “Reset Network Settings” at the bottom. At last, you have to reboot your smartphone and check if YouTube is working or not.
13. Use a VPN:
In case you have tried every method which is mentioned above, there is one more thing that you can do. If YouTube is not working, it may be due to some unknown reasons the website has been restricted. To fix such cases, you need to use a VPN which will help you access YouTube by tunnelling the network to a different country.
Apart from that, in case you live in a country where YouTube is blocked then VPN can be very helpful for you to evade the geographical restriction.