YouTube Not Working on Roku? Here’s The Fix!

YouTube not working on your Roku device?

Roku is a streaming device that can turn your ordinary and boring television into an entertainment system that gives you access to applications like YouTube, Netflix, and more. Getting a Roku device can extend your old TV with no built-in features like internet browsing, movie streaming, and screen mirroring. 

However, if you’re about to watch your favorite YouTuber but found out that YouTube is not working on your Roku, keep reading. 

Most of the time, this issue is caused by YouTube’s servers going down unexpectedly, but other factors should also be considered. 

In this guide, we’ll show you a few tips on how you can fix YouTube that is not working on Roku. 

Let’s get started! 

1. Check YouTube’s Servers. 

Since YouTube is an online platform, the first thing that you should do is to check their servers if something is not right on the app. Probably, an unexpected error occurred on YouTube’s servers, and their developers need some time to resolve it. 

To check YouTube’s servers, you can use third-party sites like Downdetector that display the current status of YouTube and the past issues it encountered. 

You can also visit YouTube’s official Twitter page for more updates. 

2. Force Restart Your Roku. 

If YouTube’s servers are working fine, the next thing you can do is force restart your Roku device. Temporary errors may have occurred on its operating system, and a simple restart should fix it. 

Check out the steps below to force restart your Roku. 

1. First, get your Roku remote and press the Home button five times. 
2. After that, press the Up arrow once and hit the Rewind button twice. 
3. Lastly, press the Fast Forward button twice, and the system restart should begin. 

Wait for your Roku device to complete its restart, which should take a couple of seconds. 

3. Check Your Internet Connection. 

Another reason for YouTube not to work on a Roku device is your internet connection. Your network is possibly running slow, and the Roku device is having a hard time communicating with YouTube’s servers. 

To verify this, run a test using Fast.com on your network to measure its current upload and download speed. 

If the test shows that your network is indeed the problem, try to restart your router by unplugging its power cable for 5 to 10 seconds. Once done, plug back in the power cable on your router, and it should restart. 

Once done, run another speed test to verify if your network is now running correctly. Contact your service provider if the problem continues and ask them to fix the issue. 

4. Install the YouTube TV App. 

Besides the mobile app, YouTube has a dedicated app for SmartTVs and media boxes like Roku. If the standard YouTube app is not working on your Roku device,  try to install the dedicated YouTube TV app. 

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

1. First, go to your home screen and open the Streaming Channels tab. 
2. Now, select Search and type ‘YouTube TV’. 
3. Finally, click YouTube TV and select Add Channel from the menu. Wait for the process to complete. 

Once done, try to open the YouTube TV app and see if it is now working on your Roku device. 

To learn more, check out our detailed guide on how you can get the YouTube TV app on Roku devices. 

5. Lower the Quality of the Video.

If, for some reason, videos are not loading or playing on YouTube, try lowering the stream’s quality. Possibly, your internet connection cannot handle the bandwidth requirement for playing HD or UHD videos on YouTube. 

To lower YouTube’s video quality on Roku, see the steps below. 

1. First, open your Roku device and go to its Settings tab. 
2. Now, go to Display Type. 
3. Finally, select a lower resolution like 720p or set it to Auto Detect so that your Roku device can automatically adjust the resolution depending on the situation. 

However, do keep in mind that this will also change the playback resolution on your other applications. 

6. Check for System Updates. 

The version of Roku OS running on your device could have an issue related to the YouTube app, which causes it to malfunction. To fix this, try to check for system updates as Roku might have released a more recent version to patch the problem.

See the steps below to update your Roku device. 

1. On your device, go to the Settings page and open the System tab. 
2. Now, scroll down and select System Update.
3. After that, click on Check Now. 

4. Finally, follow the on-screen prompts to install the latest version of Roku OS on your device. 

After updating your device, go back to YouTube or YouTube TV and see if the application is now working correctly. 

However, if you continue to experience YouTube problems with your Roku device, follow the last method below to fix the issue. 

7. Reinstall the YouTube/YouTube TV App. 

For the final method, you can try reinstalling the YouTube or YouTube TV app on your Roku device. The app’s installation files on your device might have gotten corrupted during run time, or it’s just not installed correctly. 

See the steps below to reinstall YouTube on your Roku device. 

1. First, go to your home screen and navigate to the YouTube or YouTube TV app. 
2. Now, press the * button on your remote to open the Channel Menu. 
3. Using your remote, highlight the Remove Channel option and click Ok.

4. Follow the on-screen prompts to delete the channel from your device. 

Once done, go to the Streaming Channels tab and add the YouTube or YouTube TV channel again. After reinstalling YouTube, try to open it and play a few videos to check if any errors would still occur. 

On the other hand, you can also check our detailed guide on how you can add Disney+ on Roku. 

This ends our guide in fixing YouTube not working on Roku devices. If you know other ways to address this problem, please share them in the comment section below. We’d be glad to give credit to your name for the solution once we’ve updated this article. 

 If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂