YouTube not working on Android? What to check

By Abu Bakar Saadat · Reviewed by Saadat Rafiq · 2 min read · 4 steps · Published 7 October 2026

Device

Android

Shown on

Samsung Galaxy A57 5G (SM-A576B), One UI 8.5, Android 16

App

Settings

Path

Settings › Apps › YouTube: Force stop

Real screenshots

4 of 4 steps

Checked

October 2026

Sources

1 official, linked below

Step by step

1. 

   Force stop YouTube

   Open the phone's Settings, Apps, YouTube and tap Force stop at the bottom. Open YouTube again.

   Done

2. 

   Clear the cache

   Tap Storage, then Clear cache. Ours held 46.67 MB. Do not tap Clear data: it removes downloads and resets the app.

   Done

3. 

   Check the result

   Cache drops to 0 B and the total falls, from 257 MB to 210 MB on our phone.

   Done

4. 

   Check the connection

   Open Settings, Connections. YouTube needs Wi-Fi or mobile data; with Data saver on, videos start in low quality.

   Done

About this guide

Videos that will not start, a black player or a feed that never loads. Work from the quickest fix to the slowest.

The screenshots are from the YouTube app, version 21.39.522, on a Samsung Galaxy A57 5G with Android 16 and One UI 8.5, in dark mode. Other people's videos, ads and comments are blurred.

Good to know

Still stuck? Update YouTube in the Play Store and restart the phone. If only one video fails, the uploader may have removed it or limited it to some countries.

Videos look blurry rather than broken? See how to change the default video quality.

In short: Settings, Apps, YouTube: Force stop. Storage: Clear cache, not data. Check the connection. Update YouTube.