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YouTube Not Working? How to Fix It

Short answer: If YouTube won't load or shows an error, test your connection, update the app or browser, and turn off ad blockers.

TL;DR: quick fix
  1. Restart your internet connection and run a speed test; YouTube recommends about 5 Mbps sustained for 1080p and 20 Mbps for 4K.
  2. Update the YouTube app, or use the latest Chrome, Firefox or Safari.
  3. Turn off ad-blocking extensions, or open YouTube in an incognito window with extensions off.

Is YouTube down?

YouTube has no public status page. If friends on other networks see the same problem, it's probably an outage: wait and retry.

How to fix it: step by step

  1. Restart your internet connection and run a speed test; YouTube recommends about 5 Mbps sustained for 1080p and 20 Mbps for 4K.
  2. Update the YouTube app, or use the latest Chrome, Firefox or Safari.
  3. Turn off ad-blocking extensions, or open YouTube in an incognito window with extensions off.
  4. Clear your browser's cache and cookies.
  5. Check that your DNS settings haven't been changed by a third-party app.
  6. Restart your device and try the video again.

FAQ

Can an ad blocker break YouTube?

Yes. YouTube's help center lists ad-blocking extensions as a cause of playback errors.

More YouTube fixes

Last checked Oct 2026 against the official help page: Google Help. Menus can differ by app version; follow the official page if a step doesn't match.

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