YouTube Black Screen? Here’s The Fix

So, you tried playing a video on YouTube but greeted with a black screen? 

If you spend a significant amount of time on YouTube, you’ll probably end up with a random black screen when watching videos. This problem can occur anytime without any warnings and can catch you off guard. 

In most cases, this problem is caused by a faulty third-party extension or a problem with your browser or computer. However, it is also essential to check YouTube’s servers or your local network to cover all possible angles. 

Since the YouTube black screen doesn’t point out a specific problem, troubleshooting it may be time-consuming. 

To get you back on track in no time, we’ve decided to make a walkthrough in fixing the YouTube black screen problem on your device. 

Let’s get started!

1. Check YouTube’s Servers. 

When you face issues on YouTube, the first thing that you should check is their servers. There are times when an unexpected error can occur on their end, or their team is performing maintenance on the servers. 

You can use third-party sites like Downdetector to view the current status of YouTube’s servers and the past issues it encountered. You can also visit their official Twitter account to get the latest updates about YouTube.

If their servers are down, the best thing you can do for now is to wait. However, you can still do the methods below and see if anything works out for you. 

2. Turn Off VPN.

Virtual private networks or VPNs are third-party programs that offer security for your home network. With VPNs, you can browse privately online and prevent hackers from snooping into your data. 

To keep your network secured, VPNs change your IP address from time to time, which can make it difficult for your device to maintain the connection with YouTube’s servers. 

If you experience black screens on YouTube, try to turn off your VPN first. 

3. Change YouTube Region Manually. 

If YouTube’s servers are down, you can try changing your region manually to fix the issue. The servers dedicated to your area may be the only ones with a problem, so connecting to other regional servers may be able to resolve the issue. 

1. First, open YouTube using your browser and go to the video you want to watch. 
2. Now, click on the URL box of your browser and highlight ‘www’. 
3. Finally, change it to ‘ca’ and hit Enter to refresh the page. 

Once done, try playing the video to see if the YouTube black screen issue is solved. 

If you are having issues playing YouTube videos, check out our guide in fixing YouTube videos that won’t load on your device. 

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5. Re-Login to Your Account. 

Your account may encounter temporary errors that cause errors like the YouTube black screen issue. To fix this, you can try signing out of your account and logging back in after some time to refresh your account’s data. 

On Android, see the steps below to sign out of your account. 

1. First, open YouTube from your home screen and tap on your Profile icon located at the top right corner of your display.
2. Open the Switch Account tab and tap on Manage Accounts.
3. Lastly, select your YouTube account and tap on Remove Account.

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For iOS users, check out the guide below to sign out your YouTube account. 

1. On your device, tap on the YouTube app to open it. 
2. After that, open your Profile and tap on Switch Account. 
3. Finally, tap on ‘Use YouTube Signed Out’. 

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If you are on a browser, you can log out of your YouTube account by doing the following: 

1. On your browser, access the YouTube website. 
2. Now, click on your Profile from the top right corner of the window. 
3. Lastly, click on Sign Out. 

After logging out of your YouTube account, wait for at least 5 minutes before signing back in. 

6. Check for Updates. 

If you are experiencing a black screen on the YouTube app, some of its installation files may have encountered a temporary error or glitch. To fix this, you can try updating the app to patch the problem. 

On Android, you can update YouTube by doing the following: 

1. First, unlock your Android device and open Google Play Store from the app drawer. 
2. Now, access the side menu by tapping on the Menu button inside the search bar. 
3. After that, tap on My Apps & Games, prompting the Play Store to check for possible updates. 
4. Lastly, tap the Update button next to YouTube to install the latest version. 

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For iOS users, follow the guide below to update YouTube. 

1. On your device, open the App Store from the home screen. 
2. After that, tap on the Updates tab. 
3. Finally, tap the Update button if the App Store detected an update for YouTube. 

After updating YouTube, try playing any video to see if the YouTube black screen error would still occur. 

7. Clear Your Browser Cache and Cookies. 

Your browser stores temporary data on your computer locally that is called caches and cookies. These consist of photos, scripts, and other media files that improve your browser’s performance. 

However, if you experience issues on the websites you visit, some of your browsing data may have gotten corrupted. 

To fix this, simply clear your browser’s cache and cookies to eliminate broken or corrupted files. 

1. First, open your default browser and access its Settings page. 
2. After that, locate the Clear Browsing Data tab and open it. 
3. Inside your History tab, click the checkbox next to ‘Cached Images and Files’ and ‘Cookies and Other Site Data’ to include them in the clearing process. 
4. Finally, click on Time Range and select All Time before clicking the Clear Data button.

Once done, go back to YouTube, login to your account, and try playing a video to see if the problem is solved. 

Can’t watch YouTube videos? Check our guide in fixing this issue on the platform. 

8. Disable Browser Extensions.

If you are using extensions like AdBlockers, you may want to turn them off. Since YouTube displays advertisements at the start of each video, the AdBlockers running on your browser could be interfering with how the platform functions. 

To turn off your browser extensions, see the steps below. 

1. First, open your browser’s settings page. 
2. Now, click on the Extensions tab located at the side drawer of your browser. 
3. Lastly, find any AdBlocker installed on your system and disable it. 

Go back to YouTube afterward and try to play a video. 

9. Check and Reset Your Internet. 

Since streaming videos online require a stable network connection, you may want to check your internet connection for any issues. Run a speed test using Fast.com to check the current bandwidth of your internet. 

If the result indicates that your network is not stable, restart your router to refresh the link with your ISP’s servers. 

Once done, re-run the test to see if the restart solved the issue. However, if you continue to experience performance issues on your network, we recommend that you contact your ISP right away and let them handle the situation. 

10. Turn Off/On Hardware Acceleration. 

Hardware acceleration is a feature on a program or website that takes advantage of your hardware like a graphics card or sound card to enhance the quality of sounds or videos. 

However, the effect of this feature may vary from system to system. 

Some devices might work correctly with hardware acceleration turned on, but some may struggle when it is enabled. 

To try it on your system, follow the steps below. 

1. First, open your preferred browser and navigate to its Settings tab. 
2. After that, click on the Advanced tab from the side drawer to expand it. 
3. Click on System and locate ‘Use hardware acceleration when available’. 
4. Lastly, toggle the switch On/Off and see the effect on your system.

Try to play a video with hardware acceleration turned on. If it doesn’t work, turn it off this time and check if the video will play correctly. 

11. Enable Javascript. 

If you are experiencing the YouTube black screen on your browser, verify your settings and make sure that Javascript is turned on. YouTube needs Javascript to play and stream videos on your browser. 

Check out the steps below to guide you on the process. 

1. First, open the Settings tab on your browser and click on Privacy and Security. 
2. Now, click on Site Settings. 
3. Lastly, scroll down to Content and make sure that Javascript is allowed on all websites. 

Once done, go back to YouTube and try playing a video again. 

12. Block CDN Addresses. 

Content delivery networks are services used by YouTube and other websites to deliver media content like videos and music. However, your ISP can control and throttle your connection when using CDNs, explaining the playback issue on YouTube. 

To prevent this, block CDN addresses from your device to connect directly to YouTube’s servers when watching videos. 

1. First, click on the Start Menu on your computer and search for Command Prompt. 
2. After that, click on Run as Administrator to open CMD. 
3. On CMD, type the following command: 

netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name=”YouTubeTweak” dir=in action=block remoteip=173.194.55.0/24,206.111.0.0/16 enable=yes

4. Hit the Enter key afterward to run the command. 

Try to play another video on YouTube to check if the problem is solved. 

13. Reinstall the YouTube App. 

For your last resort, you can try reinstalling the YouTube app if none of the methods above worked out for you. The installation files of YouTube probably got badly corrupted beyond repair, and reinstalling it is the only option. 

On Android, see the steps below to reinstall the YouTube app. 

1. First, unlock your device and locate the YouTube app from the app drawer. 
2. After that, hold down on its app icon until the selection screen shows up. 
3. Finally, tap on Uninstall. 

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For iOS users, follow the steps below to reinstall YouTube. 

1. On your home screen, find the YouTube app. 
2. Now, tap and hold its app icon until the pop-up menu appears. 
3. Lastly, tap on Remove App. 

After uninstalling the YouTube app, go to the App Store or Play Store and reinstall the app from there. 

If you see random error messages on YouTube, you can also check our guide in fixing ‘Oops, something went wrong’ on YouTube. 

This brings us to the end of our guide in fixing the YouTube black screen issue on browsers, iOS, and Android devices. If you have other questions, don’t hesitate to leave a comment below, and we’ll do our best to answer them. 

 If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂