Is YouTube Down?

YouTube Troubleshooting Guide

If you're experiencing issues with YouTube, try these troubleshooting steps:

Basic Steps

• 1. Check your internet connection. YouTube requires a stable connection for video streaming. Run a quick speed test or try loading another website to confirm your network is active.
• 2. Clear your browser or app cache. For web browsers, clear cached images and files. In the YouTube mobile app, go to Settings > Storage and clear cache. This resolves many playback and loading glitches.
• 3. Try a different browser or device. If YouTube fails on one browser, test it on another (e.g., Chrome vs. Firefox) or switch from your phone to a computer. This isolates whether the issue is device-specific.
• 4. Restart your router and device. Power cycle your modem/router and reboot your phone or computer. This resets network routing and often fixes buffering or connection timeouts.
• 5. Pause background downloads and close other tabs. High bandwidth usage from other apps or video calls can throttle YouTube. Close unnecessary tabs and pause large file transfers.

Intermediate Steps

• 1. Disable hardware acceleration in your browser settings (Chrome/Edge) or turn off "Hardware acceleration" in the YouTube app's settings. This resolves black screens, flickering, or video decoding errors.
• 2. Switch between video quality settings. Manually set video quality to a lower resolution (e.g., 480p or 720p) via the gear icon in the video player. This rules out adaptive streaming issues and high-resolution buffering failures.
• 3. Verify your DNS and try a public DNS. Sometimes your ISP's DNS fails to route YouTube servers correctly. Change your DNS to 8.8.8.8 (Google) or 1.1.1.1 (Cloudflare) temporarily to see if videos load properly.
• 4. Test on a different network (mobile hotspot). If YouTube still fails on your home Wi-Fi, connect your device to a cellular hotspot. This identifies whether the problem lies with your ISP or with YouTube's servers themselves.

Still having trouble?

If you've completed all steps and YouTube is still not working for you, the issue may be on their end. Please click the "Report Outage" button on this Is It Down Bro? status page so we can track the problem and help other users confirm whether the service is down globally.