Are you in the middle of watching your favorite content creator when the YouTube video stopped playing?
What separates YouTube from other video streaming sites is that their platform is user friendly, and videos are faster to load. On YouTube, you can watch 1080p videos or higher with little bandwidth required.
However, this doesn’t exempt them from occasional problems like the one you are experiencing right now.
If the YouTube video suddenly stopped playing, you might be dealing with a network-related problem or an issue occurred on YouTube’s servers.
Whatever the case is, we are here to help you out!
In this guide, we will show you what to do if the YouTube video stopped playing on your device.
Let’s jump right in!
- 1. Check YouTube’s Servers.
- 2. Turn Off VPN.
- 3. Change Your Region.
- 4. Use PureVPN.
- 5. Lower the Playback Quality.
- 6. Check for Updates.
- 7. Clear Your Browser Cache and Cookies.
- 8. Disable Browser Extensions.
- 9. Check and Reset Your Internet.
- 10. Turn On Javascript.
- 11. Block CDN IP Addresses.
- 12. Reinstall the App.
1. Check YouTube’s Servers.
For the first method, try to check the status of YouTube’s servers. Possibly, an unexpected error occurred on their system, which causes videos to stop playing. You can use third-party sites like Downdetector to check the current status of YouTube.
If their servers are currently down, the best thing that you can do for now is to wait. However, you can still try the other methods below and see if anything works out for you.
2. Turn Off VPN.
Streaming videos online requires a stable network connection. However, if you use VPN services, your device may struggle to keep a stable connection with YouTube’s servers.
Since VPNs change your IP address randomly, the link between your device and YouTube also changes and can cause YouTube videos to stop playing.
To fix this, disable your VPN service and see if the problem goes away.
3. Change Your Region.
If you feel that the issue is isolated in your location, you can try connecting to other regional servers. The server dedicated to your region could be having problems at the moment.
To connect to other servers, see the steps below.
- First, open your browser and go to the video you want to watch.
- After that, click on the URL box and highlight the ‘www’ on YouTube’s URL.
- Finally, change it to ‘ca’ and hit Enter to refresh the page.
Now, try to play the video again and see if it will stop randomly.
4. Use PureVPN.
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5. Lower the Playback Quality.
Videos that suddenly stopped playing can indicate that your network cannot handle the video’s bandwidth requirement. If this is the case, you can try lowering the playback quality to reduce your network load.
On mobile devices, you can change YouTube’s playback quality by doing the following:
- First, open YouTube and go to the video that you want to play.
- After that, tap on the More button and select Quality.
- Finally, select a lower playback resolution like 720p or 480p.
If you are using browsers, check out the steps below to change your playback quality.
- On your browser, go to the YouTube video that you want to play.
- Now, click on the Gear icon and select Quality.
- Lastly, change the video resolution to 720p or lower.
Once done, try playing the video and see if it will still stop.
6. Check for Updates.
A problem within the YouTube app’s installation file could also be why the YouTube video stopped playing. If this is the case, a simple update might be able to fix the issue.
On Android devices, you can update the YouTube app by following the steps below.
- On your device, go to the app drawer and open Google Play Store.
- After that, tap on the Menu button from the search bar to access the side menu.
- Now, tap on My Apps & Games to check for updates.
- Finally, tap the Update button beside YouTube to download the update.
For iOS users, follow the steps below to update YouTube.
- First, open the App Store from your home screen.
- Next, tap on the Updates tab from the navigation bar to check for updates.
- Lastly, tap on Update if the App Store detected an available update for YouTube.
After updating YouTube, try to play the video again.
7. Clear Your Browser Cache and Cookies.
Browsers use caches and cookies to improve the loading times of previously visited websites. While they are great for boosting your browser’s performance, it can also cause problems when it accumulates or gets corrupted.
If this happens, you can try clearing your browsing data to fix the issue.
- First, open your browser and go to its History tab.
- After that, click on Clear Browsing Data from the side of your screen.
- Now, include cached images and cookies in the clearing process by clicking on the checkbox beside them.
- Lastly, change the Time Range to All Time and hit the Clear Data button to start.
Once done, go back to YouTube and see if videos will still stop playing.
8. Disable Browser Extensions.
If you use extensions that modify or control video playback, try to turn it off when watching YouTube videos. Although extensions work great on some websites, they can also cause problems on other sites.
To disable browser extensions, check out the guide below.
- First, open your default browser and navigate to its settings tab.
- Now, click on Extensions from the side drawer to open it.
- Lastly, turn off any browser extension that is related to video playback.
Go back to YouTube afterward to check if the problem is solved.
9. Check and Reset Your Internet.
If a YouTube video stopped playing, it could be related to your network connection. Since you are streaming videos online, it is essential to have a fast and stable internet connection.
However, if you see issues while playing videos online, try to run a speed test using Fast.com to check your internet connection status.
If the test result shows that your connection is slow, try to re-establish the link with your ISP’s servers by restarting your router.
Once done, run another test to check if the restart worked. However, if your network is still running slow, contact your service provider and let them know about the problem.
10. Turn On Javascript.
For you to play videos on YouTube, Javascript is needed. If you experience playback issues on YouTube, check your browser settings and make sure that Javascript is enabled.
To enable Javascript, check out the steps below.
- On your browser, go to the settings page again.
- Now, scroll down to the Privacy and Security tab and click on Site Settings.
- Lastly, go to the Content tab and make sure that Javascript is allowed.
After turning on Javascript, go back to YouTube and see if the problem is solved.
11. Block CDN IP Addresses.
CDN or content delivery network are services used by your browser to deliver videos and media online. However, when you use CDNs, your service provider can throttle your connection and make videos to load or stop.
To fix this, force your browser to connect directly with YouTube’s servers by blocking CDN addresses on your device.
- Open the Command Prompt on your computer.
- Now, type the following commands on CMD:
netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name=”YouTubeTweak” dir=in action=block remoteip=173.194.55.0/24,206.111.0.0/16 enable=yes
- Lastly, hit the Enter key to proceed.
After blocking CDN addresses, go to YouTube and try to play the video again.
12. Reinstall the App.
If you are still having issues with the YouTube app, the last thing that you can do is to reinstall it. Some of its installation files may have gotten corrupted beyond repair. In this case, the best thing to do is remove the app from your device and reinstall it.
On Android, check out the steps below to reinstall YouTube.
- First, go to your home screen and find the YouTube app.
- Now, tap and hold its app icon until the selection screen appears.
- Finally, tap on Uninstall.
If you are on an iOS device, check out the guide below to reinstall the YouTube app.
- On your home screen, find the YouTube app from the list.
- Now, press its app icon until the options menu shows up.
- Lastly, tap Remove App to uninstall YouTube.
Once done, go to the Play Store or App Store and reinstall YouTube.
This sums up our guide on what to do if a YouTube video stopped playing on your device. If you have other concerns, please leave a comment below, and we’ll do our best to answer them.
If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂
