How To Fix YouTube Playback Error (8 working solutions)

YouTube is a great Video Streaming application for all platforms whether it’s Android or PC or iOS devices. This application consistently reaches new heights every other day. As YouTube is widely popular and used by billions, sometimes an error may come up and the culprit may be the servers of YouTube or others. Many YouTube users have faced the error while playing videos on YouTube known as YouTube Playback Error. Often users complain about playback errors when playing a video on YouTube web or mobile apps. Facing such playback errors spoils the experience of streaming videos on YouTube for its users. One may face other error related errors too, Such as YouTube videos load but do not play, or YouTube life with a blank screen, or else users get errors like no connection, check your internet connection, error loading, YouTube playback error, etc.

YouTube Playback Error Android And iOS

There can be many culprits behind the playback error behavior. It can be associated with your Google account, cached data, a Connection problem, or a buggy app on your mobile device. In this article, we will mention, various Troubleshooting solutions for all your YouTube video streaming issues on different Devices

Follow the below given steps to solve YouTube Playback Error and to enjoy YouTube as before.

Pro tip: If you have signed in to Youtube with your google account, sign off then try using Youtube again. It works if the problem was caused by a problematic google account.

Restart the YouTube Application

Restarting your YouTube application would solve this type of playback error. As many users have found this solution very useful. All you have to do is,

  • Exit the YouTube application on your device.
  • Now open the recent apps screen or Overview screen and clear all apps.
  • And now open your YouTube application again.

This will definitely help you to solve the playback error.

Re-start your device

Restarting your Android or iOS device could help you to deal with YouTube Playback Errors. All you have to do is simply restart your device or you can do a hard restart, here we will suggest you do a hard restart, as it is more effective. As many times some apps give trouble because of minor bugs. These bugs can easily be removed if you restart your device. Here’s how,

For Android,

  • Press and hold the volume down button and the Power key for 10 seconds. This will force your device to power off and turn back on.
  • When the logo shows, release both keys and wait until the phone has finished rebooting.

For iOS

  • Press and hold both the side button and either volume button until the slider appears on the screen.
  • Drag the slider.
  • And your iPhone will restart itself.

Troubleshoot your internet connection

YouTube is a video streaming service and sharing service on online basis, so it requires a good Internet connection to run properly. One should verify whether the internet is working properly on their device or not. How to check that? Simply open any website through a browser or launch any other app. If all seems well, the internet is working fine. If not then you have to troubleshoot your internet connection,

Here’s how,

  • Disable and re-enable your cellular network
  • Disable and re-enable your Wi-Fi network
  • Enable and disable airplane mode!
    • Enabling Airplane Mode disables Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi, and turns off the cell phone’s ability to connect to cellular networks. So, By enabling and disabling Airplane mode on your Smartphone, you’re effectively restarting features like cellular connection, and Wi-Fi connection and refreshing all Network Settings.

Now check if you are still getting YouTube Playback Error on your smartphone or not!

Update YouTube app

As YouTube gives updates on decent time intervals, one should check for the latest update for YouTube on their PlayStore or App Store. As the latest update comes with many bug fixes solutions it will definitely help you to solve YouTube Playback Error or any other video streaming error. Here’s how can you update your application,

  • Open Google Play Store or Apple App Store for iOS on your device
  • Search for YouTube Application and click on it.
  • If you see an update click that to, download and install it.

Uninstall and reinstall the YouTube app

If no update is available or updating the YouTube app didn’t fix the playback error, you should uninstall the YouTube Application. What you have to do is simply uninstall the YouTube application and then again re-download it from Play Store or App Store. This will clear corrupt files and help you to solve the YouTube Playback Error.

Update your Smartphone Software

Having up-to-date devices is one of the major prerequisites for any application to run properly. Android as well as iOS roll out their software updates on average time intervals. So make sure you have an updated software running on your smartphone. Updating your iPhone iOS or Android OS Software is a major solution to all the minor and big bugs you have faced. As an update comes with loads of bug fixes. And it will definitely help you to solve the YouTube playback error or any other error you have faced recently. Here’s how to do that,

For iOS

  • Open your settings app on your iPhone or iPad
  • Tap on general settings
  • Then click on Software Update
  • If you see an update listed, tap Download and Install to apply it.

For Android

  • Open settings
  • Then click on the system
  • And then check for a software update. Or you can search for the word “update” in your settings.

Clear cookies and cache (Universel solution)

Clearing Cookies and Cache will help you to deal with YouTube Playback Errors. As no matter, the device you’re using, deleting the temporary and other unwanted files is essential for any streaming service to work properly. Clear the cache files, cookies, history, and temporary Internet files in your browser on all devices where you are using YouTube whether it’s Android, iOS, or a Computer.

Clear Cached Data

Mainly this solution is found very helpful for Android users. As the reason behind your YouTube Playback Error On Android can be loaded cache data. If you have not cleared your YouTube cached data for a long time then you might suffer from this type of video streaming issue on YouTube.

Some of the files might get corrupted, which creates problems, so it is important to clear the YouTube application data and cache data to solve the issue. Here’s how,

  • Open your settings, Click on the apps
  • Under all apps Scroll down or search for YouTube
  • Then click on YouTube
  • You can see two options- Clear Storage or Data and Clear Cache.
  • First, clear all storage or data and then clear all cache data

YouTube Playback Error Computer

If you are getting a Youtube playback error on your computer then apply the solutions listed below to fix the problem and enjoy youtube videos again.

Restart your browser

If you are on your computer and faced YouTube Playback Error then the best way to deal is to restart the browser that you are currently using for streaming YouTube videos. All you have to do is close all the tabs of the browser and then exit the browser and refresh your computer. Then again open the browser and stream YouTube, and check if the error has been solved or not.

Restart your router

The router is like a mini-computer with a CPU, memory, and local storage in the plastic box running In a proper manner. So if there is a playback error because of the problem in your router we will suggest you to restart your router to get rid of the playback error. Wait for 10 seconds after you have turned off your router before turning it on, to make sure that every capacitor is fully drained.

Switch Browser

If you are using Google Chrome as a primary browser for all your work including video streaming on YouTube, then you can try any other browsers like Firefox or Edge. But if you are using any other browsers as a primary option, then switch to Google Chrome as YouTube is a Google service, it’s mainly working fine in Google Chrome. There were also allegations of Google making changes to its sites that broke other non-chromium browsers in the past. So try to switch your browser to solve YouTube Playback Error.

Restart your computer

Like any other Android phone or iOS device, restarting your computer can resolve the YouTube playback error. All you have to do is close down all your activities and shut down your computer wait for 10-20 seconds and again restart it.

Check browser extensions

Recently, AdBlock’s popular Chrome extension caused the YouTube Playback error issue for Microsoft Edge, Brave, and Chrome browsers. You should uninstall all these browser extensions that block ads to troubleshoot the issue. And to run YouTube properly without any video streaming issues or playback errors.

Opening too many tabs

If you have many browser tabs open then it will affect your YouTube playback and lead it to an Error, As opening too many tabs at a time decreases Internet connection and take more ram too. So try to close most of the tabs except the one you’re using for Streaming YouTube.

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