Why won’t videos play on my iPhone when I open YouTube? When you try to show a friend a funny video or listen to music while exercising, and YouTube stops working on your iPhone, it can be really annoying. But don’t worry, let’s discuss the solutions for YouTube videos not playing on iPhone.
YouTube app on iPhone not working
YouTube videos may not work on iPhone, which is a typical complaint among iPhone users. The most common issues reported are a blank screen, app crash, video not loading, no sound on YouTube iPhone, and YouTube not working in Safari or Chrome web browsers.
The main thing that could be causing problems is software issues, such as outdated software, a simple software bug, or even network settings.
So if you are having trouble with the above problems, read on; We have compiled a list of solutions that should work.
How to fix YouTube not working on iPhone
If YouTube is not working on your iPhone for any reason, here are some proven ways to fix the problem. Once YouTube is back up and running, you can go back to watching your favorite tech, music, or cat videos.
Check if YouTube is down
The first thing to do if you can’t load YouTube is to see if the problem is on the YouTube end. If the platform doesn’t work on your device, try going to a different website. In case you are able to access other websites, you are probably one of the few people experiencing YouTube outage.
Make sure you have a good internet connection
Check and correct the speed of your mobile network. If your internet is slow, YouTube videos won’t load. To play YouTube content smoothly on an iPhone, you need a stable and fast Wi-Fi connection or mobile data.
Advice
If you want to continue watching YouTube videos, regardless of the stability of your Internet connection, please take care of it in advance. I’ll tell you what I usually do.
First of all, I download all the videos that I plan to watch while I am, for example, traveling, on my MacBook. The easiest way to do this is by using PullTube. All I have to do is paste the link into the app and voila, the video is on my laptop.
✕ Remove app banner
After that, I connect my iPhone to my MacBook and transfer all the downloaded videos via AnyTrans. This is a great app that allows you to fully backup your mobile devices, move downloaded files between MacBook and iPhone, transfer data to a new phone, etc.
✕ Remove app banner
Play YouTube video
Sometimes the video just gets stuck on the loading or buffering screen and doesn’t play at all. To fix this, simply stop the video and start it again.
Restart your iPhone
Try turning your iPhone off and on before proceeding. Restarting your phone gives it a fresh start and might fix minor software issues, which might be the reason why iPhone YouTube videos won’t play.
To turn off your iPhone, press and hold the power button, also called the sleep/wake button. You will then see a red and white power icon and the words Slide to power off. You have to slide the icon from left to right. Wait about 30 seconds before turning your iPhone back on so it has time to completely shut down.
Update the YouTube app
The reason why the YouTube app is not working on iPhone may be the app itself. Perhaps, you need to update it. So go to the App Store and tap on the Update tab. It will show you all the app updates that are available. Please choose the YouTube app and update it as soon as possible.
Reinstall the YouTube app
If your YouTube app has a more complicated software problem, you may need to remove and reinstall it. When you uninstall an app from your iPhone, all of its settings will be removed. When the app is reinstalled, it will be like the first time you downloaded it.
Don’t worry: when you delete the app, your YouTube account won’t be gone. If you have a paid YouTube subscription, you can also reinstall the app for free as long as you’re signed in with the same Apple ID you used when you paid for the subscription.
To reinstall your YouTube app, follow these steps:
- Touch and hold the YouTube app icon on your home screen or in the app switcher
- Wait until the quick actions menu opens
- Tap Delete App, then Delete, then Delete App
- Go to the App Store and install YouTube once again.
Clear data from Safari or another browser
If YouTube isn’t working on your iPhone’s browser, you may want to clear your browser data. To do this with Safari, go to Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data and confirm. Similar settings are also available in third-party apps like Chrome and others. Here’s how to clear YouTube cache on iPhone (Safari and Chrome).
Change location within YouTube
If some videos won’t play, you can try changing the location to see if that works. Within the YouTube app, tap on your profile picture, go to Settings > General > Location, and set a different country.
Tip: You may not be able to watch a video on YouTube because it’s blocked in your region. To unblock the video, use ClearVPN. It is the easiest VPN to use, especially for beginners, because you can do everything with just one tap. Do you need Netflix to work in your region? Do you want to change your IP? Do you need to protect your iPhone from malware? It only takes one touch to finish each of the tasks.
✕ Remove app banner
Reset network settings on an iPhone
Lastly, if none of the above suggestions work and YouTube is not down in your region, you can fix this problem by resetting all your network settings.
Open Settings on your iPhone, go to General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset Network Settings. Once done, connect your iPhone to Wi-Fi or mobile data. Hopefully, YouTube app not working on iPhone will be fixed.
How We Fix YouTube Videos Not Playing on iPhone
When YouTube stops working on your iPhone, it can be really annoying. The problem can be caused by a poor internet connection, software bugs, a YouTube outage in your area, incorrect network settings, or even content restrictions in your region. Reconnecting to the Internet, updating, or reinstalling a YouTube app usually helps resolve the issue. If not, you can try other methods that I described in this guide.
To make things even easier, I’ve shown you my favorite apps like PullTube, AnyTrans, and ClearVPN. I use them regularly to be able to watch YouTube videos regardless of internet connection stability (PullTube + AnyTrans), unblock restricted content, and keep my data and devices safe (ClearVPN). You can get all these apps on Tecnologar, the platform with more than 240 apps for iPhone and Mac. Start your 7-day free trial today and you won’t regret it!
Hopefully, you won’t come across the YouTube not playing video issue on iPhone again. Enjoy!