YouTube, the popular video-sharing platform, has become an integral part of our lives, providing a vast range of content for entertainment, education, and more. However, it can be incredibly frustrating when YouTube keeps crashing, disrupting our viewing experience.
The persistent crashing of the YouTube app or website can be attributed to various factors, including outdated software, insufficient device resources, conflicting extensions, or problems with the internet connection. In this article, we will delve into the common causes behind YouTube crashes and explore effective troubleshooting techniques to fix them, ensuring a seamless viewing experience for all.
Common factors contributing to YouTube crashes
1. Outdated YouTube app version
Believe it or not, sometimes the culprit behind those YouTube crashes is a simple case of outdated software. Just like how you need your daily dose of caffeine to function, your YouTube app needs regular updates to keep things running smoothly. So, if you’ve been ignoring those update notifications, it’s time to hit that “Update” button and watch those crashes fade away.
2. Insufficient storage space
A frequent issue leading to YouTube crashes on your smartphone is inadequate storage. The app requires a specific amount of storage to operate, and if the available space is limited, the system will automatically halt the app’s execution.
3. Network-related problems
The proper functioning of the YouTube app relies on a stable internet connection. If you encounter network issues, it may result in the YouTube app becoming unresponsive or crashing when attempting to load content.
4. YouTube service outage
When YouTube experiences downtime, various problems may arise, such as the inability to play videos, error messages, or app crashes. Typically caused by server issues, downtime can also stem from cyber attacks or security breaches. Fortunately, these disruptions are usually temporary, with the platform returning to normal once the underlying problem is resolved. As users, there is little we can do until the issue is fixed.
5. Interference from third-party apps
YouTube app crashes on your smartphone may also occur due to conflicts with third-party apps. This situation arises when other apps installed on your device interfere with YouTube, leading to malfunctions.
6. Device software-related concerns
The YouTube app may crash on your smartphone due to issues with the device’s software. This could be a result of using outdated system software, incompatible device hardware, or corrupted system files.
How to Fix YouTube Crashing Issue?
1. Updating the YouTube app
Keeping the YouTube app updated on your phone is a good idea. Old versions can get glitchy and crash or load slowly. Updating the app avoids issues like that. It’s really easy to do!
On Android, open the Play Store and tap your profile icon up top. Choose “Manage apps & devices” and you’ll see what needs updates. Look for YouTube in that list and hit “Update” next to it. The latest version will download and install.
On an iPhone, launch the App Store and tap your icon in the top right too. Scroll through your list of apps until you find YouTube, then tap the “Update” button next to it.
2. Restart Your Smartphone
If the YouTube app is crashing a lot, restarting your phone is worth a try. Rebooting clears out old processes running in the background and gives things a fresh start. That can fix glitches causing crashes.
A quick restart may do the trick, although not always. But it’s a super easy first step before trying other things.
On Android phones, press and hold the power button to bring up the power menu. Tap “Restart” or swipe to restart. Just be patient for a few minutes while your phone shuts down and restarts.
On an iPhone, you press and hold both the power button on the right side and the volume down button on the left. Keep holding those until the power slider pops up. Drag the slider to turn your phone off. When the screen goes black, press and hold the side button again until you see the Apple logo. Enter your passcode if needed when it finishes booting back up.
Restarting can seem too simple to fix app crashes, but it works more often than you’d think! And it only takes a minute, so it’s worth trying first before digging deeper into troubleshooting.
3. Check Network Connection
Sometimes it’s just bad Wi-Fi causing the YouTube app to crash, get stuck buffering, or give network errors. Stuff like “500 internal server error” and such.
Before blaming the app, double-check check your phone has a solid internet connection right now. You can test the speed for free in seconds! Just open any web browser and go to speedtest.net. It works on both Androids and iPhones.
Tap the big “Go” button on that website to run a speed check. It’ll test what your download and upload speeds are looking like at the moment.
To stream YouTube properly you want at least 1 Mbps download speed. If your test shows way less than that, switch Wi-Fi networks or toggle airplane mode on and off to troubleshoot your connection.
4. Check YouTube Status
Before getting frustrated with the YouTube app, check if YouTube is actually down or having issues right now. Sometimes server maintenance, updates, or even hacking attacks can temporarily disrupt things.
You can quickly check YouTube’s status by going to downdetector.com on your phone’s browser or their app. This tracks when a bunch of people are reporting problems with YouTube at the same time.
On that site, you’ll see a message if YouTube is currently struggling or running slow. You can also see graphs showing how many user outage reports have come in recently. Spikes on those graphs indicate broader issues versus something on just your end.
Checking Down Detector first saves you time troubleshooting other things when YouTube is the one having temporary issues. Hopefully seeing those user outage reports provides some validation too!
5. Force Stop the YouTube App
Force-stopping the YouTube app is another quick troubleshooting trick to try. It shuts down all the app processes running behind the scenes, so the next time you launch YouTube it starts fresh. This clears out any glitches that could be causing crashes.
On Android, press and hold the YouTube app icon to pull up info for the app. Tap the “Force Stop” button in there. That varies a bit between Android versions, but you should see that option somewhere to completely quit out of YouTube.
iPhones don’t have a force-stop button, unfortunately. But you can swipe up to pull up your recent apps, then swipe sideways on the YouTube preview to fully close it out before reopening. It’s not exactly force-stopping, but still restarts the app completely.
Conclusion
Dealing with YouTube crashes can be exasperating, but with the right troubleshooting techniques, you can regain a seamless video streaming experience. By updating the YouTube app, force-stopping the YouTube App, etc, you can overcome the frustrating issue of YouTube crashes. Remember, the key is to stay proactive and ensure your devices and software are up to date, allowing you to enjoy uninterrupted entertainment on YouTube.