[YouTube Down] Proven Ways to Fix YouTube Videos Not Playing

For video lovers who prefer watching YouTube video on Windows/ Mac, they sometimes found that YouTube is down and videos are not playing on Chrome or Firefox. It may not the browser's fault. Sometimes incompatible extensions in browser stop playing YouTube videos. You can check and remove incompatible extension by following steps. Let's take uninstalling incompatible extension from Chrome as an example.

STEP 1. Click the three dots on the top right Chrome browser and scroll down to select "More tools".
STEP 2. Tap on "Extensions" tab to load a list of installed extensions.
STEP 3. Check your extensions which installed recently. Click the "Remove" button to uninstall the latest extension.
STEP 4. Refresh the web page to see whether YouTube video is playing normally.

If you use Firefox browser, you can remove incompatible extension by right-clicking add-ons in the top right toolbar. After that, select "Remove from Toolbar" option.

If you can't find out which extension is incompatible and YouTube videos are not playing in Chrome or Firefox yet, try to play YouTube videos in an incognito window. With incognito window, all extensions in the browser are forbidden to operate. Besides, your history of watching YouTube videos won't be recorded when you using the incognito window.

It is very easy to play YouTube videos in Chrome incognito window. So it does in Firefox browsers.
STEP 1. Click the three dots on the top right browser
STEP 2. Tap on "New incognito window" in Chrome or "New Private Window" in Firefox browser.
STEP 3. Go to youtube.com and play your favorite YouTube videos.

If you use Firefox browser, open the menu list. Then, select the "New Private Window" option.

Sometimes, YouTube videos are loading but not playing on Android/iPhone/PC is the problem with internet connection. YouTube won't play videos in the poor network connectivity. What you need is to check and make sure your network connection is smooth enough. Open a page in your PC or Android/iPhone browser. If the page loads slowly, it suggests you select another stronger network connection.

For Windows 7/8/10/XP or Mac user, you can connect a stronger Wi-Fi to make YouTube videos play in a stable network.
STEP 1. Click the network icon in the notification area.
STEP 2. In the list of network, choose the network which has a stronger network signal to connect.
STEP 3. Type the password if it asked and follow additional instructions if there are any.
STEP 4. Replay YouTube video in Windows/Mac.

If your desktop or laptop connects the network by a router, try rebooting your router.
STEP 1. Unplug your router from its power outlet.
STEP 2. Wait 15-30 seconds, then plug it back in.
STEP 3. Allow the device a minute or two to turn back on.

For Android users with Samsung S9+/S9/S8/S7/ Note 9, Huawei P20 Pro, HTC, Nokia, Sony, Vivo, Oppo and so on, you can:

• Go to "Settings" >"WALN"> connect other Wi-Fi.

Or, you can use your mobile data if Wi-Fi connection is not smooth enough. Click "More" to connect with mobile data.

For iPhone users with iPhone X, iPhone 8/8 Plus, iPhone 7/7 Plus, you can:

• Go to "Settings" >"Wi-Fi"> connect other Wi-Fi.

Similarly, you can scroll down to tap "Cellular" to use your cellular data.

Now, reopen the YouTube video to see whether YouTube videos loading but not playing is fixed on Android or iPhone.

The best way to avoid YouTube videos loading but not playing is to download YouTube videos and watch YouTube videos offline. You can enjoy YouTube videos wherever you are and whenever you want No need to worry about YouTube videos not playing issue at all.

As we all known, users are not allowed to download YouTube videos directly. But VidPaw is such an online YouTube videos downloader that helps you freely download YouTube videos on Android/iPhone or Windows/Mac. Because of its well- compatibility, you can open VidPaw in any browser like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, and more. Better yet, VidPaw provides different output choices for user's consideration.

STEP 1. Play YouTube video that you'd like to download and copy its link.
STEP 2. Go to vidpaw.com and paste the YouTube video's link to the search bar. Click the "Start" button.
STEP 3. Scroll down to select your favorite output format and quality. For Android phones and tablets, it's recommended to download YouTube HD videos in 720p.
STEP 4. Click the "Download" button and chose a path to save YouTube videos on Samsung S9+/S9/S8/S7/ Note 8, Huawei P20 Pro, HTC and other Android devices.

STEP 1. Download Documents in App Store. Then launch this file manager program on iPhone, and go to VidPaw website inside it.
STEP 2. Open a video in YouTube. Then copy its link and paste onto VidPaw's main interface. After that, click on "Start".
STEP 3. Choose the output format and quality of the video and click on "Download" to start downloading your favorite YouTube video.

Similarly, you can also download YouTube videos on Windows 7/8/10 or Mac by pasting its link to VidPaw's search box. Also, you can quickly download YouTube videos by changing its URL address.

STEP 1. Add "paw" behind "youtube" in the URL address, for example, www.youtubepaw.com.
STEP 2. Press the "Enter" key and redirect to the download page.
STEP 3. Select your favorite format and quality to download YouTube video.

If you want more simple tricks to download YouTube videos with VidPaw, please click the following posts and you will find a big surprise.

• Best Extension to Download Youtube Videos
• [Guide]Download and Enjoy YouTube Videos in Mobiles with This Simple Way

For Android users, if you found YouTube app is not playing videos on your Samsung or other Android band phones, try using "Force Stop" in YouTube app. "Force Stop" is recommended to fix misbehaving YouTube app, like solving YouTube videos loading but not playing issue. It breaks the running YouTube application code string so that app can be removed from the Android phone memory. Then it clears the app cache memory and let you start the YouTube app in a fresh way.

It is easy to found "Force Stop" option in your Android phone.
STEP 1. Go to "Settings" and click "Application Manager"
STEP 2. Scroll down to find YouTube app and tap "Force Stop".
STEP 3. After a few minutes, open YouTube app on your Android and play YouTube videos.

It's recommended to restart your devices from time to time, probably once a week. Restarting can improve the device's performance by solving the connectivity problem, clearing memory, and fixing other errors. If you notice YouTube won't play videos on Android/iPhone/PC, try restarting your device to get a fresh start.

Restart a desktop/laptop
For different versions of Windows, its restart button exists on a different location.

• Windows Vista/XP/7: Go to "Start" button > "Shut down"> "Restart"

• Windows 8/8.1: Go to power icon > "Restart"
• Windows 10: Go to "Start" button > power option> "Shut down"> "Restart"

Restarting a Mac is similar to restarting a Windows.

• Go to the Apple menu > "Restart"

If your computer is frozen, you'll need a hardware restart. Press and hold the power button until it completely turns off. Press the power button once again to turn it back on.

Restart an Android device
STEP 1. Press the power button until the Android bootloader menu shows up.
STEP 2. Choose the "Restart" option to close and reopen Android's operating system.

Restart an iPhone
STEP 1. Press and hold the Side button and either volume button until the slider appears.
STEP 2. Drag the slider to turn iPhone completely off.
STEP 3. After that, press and hold the Side button again until you see the Apple logo.

After restarting your device, go to YouTube and try playing your favorite YouTube videos on Android/iPhone/PC!

That's all about the troubleshooting of this "YouTube video not playing" issue. Try above methods to fix YouTube video not playing problem. If you think it's helpful, share the post with your friends!

Published on October 13, 2018