This post will walk you through resolving an issue with the YouTube app that doesn’t work in iOS 15.4 devices. Read on to learn how to fix YouTube not working on iPhone 13.
Unable to play YouTube videos on your iPhone because the YouTube app doesn’t work properly? If so, then you’re likely dealing with a random problem with the iPhone’s YouTube app. Keep reading to find out the solutions.
Possible Causes
There are many factors that can make mobile apps rogue and fail to work as intended and even well-established apps are no exception.
That said, it is not surprising for apps like Google Chrome, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to randomly encounter issues that make the service unexpectedly unavailable.
For online apps like YouTube, network connectivity issues are usually found to be the root cause of the problem. This makes facing random YouTube errors in mobile devices inevitable.
Apart from internet problems, other software-related factors such as random in-app bugs, broken or corrupted files, buggy updates, memory issues, and settings conflicts must also be ruled out as well.
Unexpected YouTube errors may likewise be due to unexpected technical difficulties that make the server unavailable.
Generally, the transpiring issue is software-related and therefore possible to fix by end-users unless the YouTube server is currently down.
Outlined below are a few useful workarounds that will help rule out common causes of YouTube problems manifesting on the latest iPhone series.
Feel free to try any of these tweaks if you need some more inputs on how to deal with relevant issues while using YouTube in iOS 15.4.
Troubleshooting YouTube Not Working on iPhone 13
The following methods are deemed potential solutions to common problems with the iOS YouTube app. Performing these procedures will help rule out the usual culprits including random in-app errors and software glitches, data corruptions, network connection errors, memory-related issues, and errant settings.
Before you begin troubleshooting, check your iPhone storage and make sure it has plenty of space left to allocate new files and processes. Also make sure that your iPhone is connected to the internet, preferably via Wi-Fi network.
Once you’ve got everything set, you may go ahead and start ruling out the possible culprits.
Solution #1: Force stop YouTube and other background apps.
When you use an app on your iPhone, chances are that you’ve left some of them open and running in the background. And the YouTube app could be among them.
While keeping apps in this state benefits in terms of multitasking, it may also trigger some unexpected errors especially when any of the background apps get stuck and cause conflicts to other apps and system services. This is when ending background apps comes in handy.
So here’s what you should do first:
- Swipe up from the bottom-left corner of the screen to launch the app switcher, containing app cards or previews of the apps that you’ve recently used. These apps are left open and running in the background.
- Swipe up on the YouTube app preview to end/stop the app from running.
Do the same to end all other background apps to prevent any of them from causing conflicts with other iPhone apps.
After terminating YouTube and other background applications, relaunch the app and see how it works. If the problem continues, proceed and try the next applicable solutions.
Solution #2: Restart the iPhone (soft reset).
Restarting an iPhone can help fix various types of system errors that trigger random app problems. It also clears out temporary files or residual data cached in the iOS storage and refreshes all apps and system services.
So if you haven’t already, be sure to restart/soft reset your iPhone 13 beforehand.
Here’s how it’s done:
- Press and hold the Power/Side button and either Volume buttons for a few seconds and then release when the Power off slider appears.
- Then, drag the slider to turn your iPhone completely off.
- After 30 seconds, press and hold the Side button again until the Apple logo appears.
Wait for your iPhone to finish rebooting and give it ample time to re-establish wireless connections.
When it’s connected to the internet, relaunch YouTube and see if the problem is gone.
Solution #3: Refresh/optimize Internet connection.
As mentioned earlier, internet connectivity issues are often the main reason as to why unexpected errors occur in online apps like YouTube.
To clear this out, refresh your Wi-Fi or data connection by turning the Wi-Fi/Cellular data feature on your iPhone off and on. Doing so disconnects your device from the internet and then reconnects. It’s like giving a quick refresh to your iPhone’s internet apps and features.
Deleting and reconnecting the Wi-Fi network is also a potential solution, especially if the problem is tied to a corrupted network in use.
For starters, forgetting/deleting a Wi-Fi network in iOS 15.4 devices is carried out through these steps:
- Go to Settings-> Wi-Fi menu. Tap Wi-Fi and make sure that the switch is enabled.
- Tap the information (i) icon next to the Wi-Fi network that you want to delete and then tap Forget This Network.
- Read the warning prompt then tap Forget to confirm.
- The selected Wi-Fi network will then be deleted.
After deleting the problematic Wi-Fi network, restart/soft reset your iPhone to clear and refresh network cache.
As soon as it’s done rebooting, add and set up the Wi-Fi network to connect your iPhone to the internet like the first time.
Once the internet connection becomes stable, relaunch YouTube and see if it’s already working stable.
Solution #4: Update YouTube and other apps (if available).
Keeping apps up-to-date is highly recommended regardless of the device in use. Just like system updates, regular updates released by app developers also contain essential patches to get rid of existing bugs that can make apps unstable.
If you haven’t enabled automatic updating for your apps in the App Store, manually downloading and installing pending app updates would be necessary.
Just follow these steps:
- Go to your iPhone Home screen or App library and then long-press on the App Store icon.
- From the quick menu options, select Updates to view all pending app updates on the App Store app menu.
- Tap the Update button next to YouTube or tap Update All to update multiple apps at once.
After updating apps, restart/soft reset your iPhone to apply all recent software changes and likewise to refresh the apps.
Solution #5: Manually offload YouTube then redownload the app.
App problems tied to memory issues are typically addressed by clearing up the RAM. One way to do this is through the iOS app offloading feature.
Offloading apps works by deleting the app from the device while retaining relevant files, data and documents for that app.
This therefore allows you to retrieve all app data as soon as you download and reinstall the app from the App Store.
Aside from clearing up storage space, offloading apps can likewise rectify in-app glitches depicted by random performance issues including app crashes, freezes, and loading errors.
Having said that, manually offloading the YouTube app on the iPhone may resolve the issue.
Here’s how it’s done:
- Open the Settings app by tapping on the Settings icon from Home.
- On the succeeding menu, tap General.
- Then, tap iPhone Storage.
- Tap to select YouTube from the apps list and then tap the command to Offload App.
- If prompted, enter your passcode and tap Offload App again to confirm.
The app will then be deleted from the iPhone.
To redownload and install the app, just head over to the Home screen and tap on the YouTube app icon. The downloading progress bar will then instigate.
Once the app is installed completely, retry launching it and see how it works.
Solution #6: Check and manage content/app restrictions on the iPhone.
Modern iPhones have more advanced features and settings that augment user privacy and security. Among these features is the Content & Privacy Restrictions in Screen Time.
If this feature is turned on, there’s a chance that the YouTube app is not allowed, limited or some contents are restricted.
To make sure that this isn’t causing any problem, verify your iPhone settings and see if the YouTube app is allowed.
Just follow these steps:
- Open the Settings app then tap Screen Time.
- Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions.
- Tap to view Allowed apps and make sure that the YouTube switch is turned on.
If the YouTube switch is turned off under Allowed apps, simply tap to turn it on. That should remove any restrictions for the YouTube app to run on your iOS device.
Solution #7: Reset all settings on the iPhone.
To clear out errant settings that might be causing conflicts to YouTube, restoring the default values and options can help. This is when performing the reset all settings command is necessary.
Performing this reset deletes all current custom settings including recent network settings alterations, custom app settings, locations, permissions and preferences. But unlike a factory reset, it doesn’t affect any saved information from the internal storage.
This means all your downloaded apps, files and documents will be retained for as long as you did it correctly.
If you need help resetting all settings on your iPhone 13, just refer to these steps:
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap General.
- Tap Transfer or Reset iPhone then tap Reset.
- On the next screen, choose Reset all settings from the list.
- Read then reset details then tap Reset settings to proceed.
- If prompted, enter your device passcode then tap Reset to confirm action.
After the reset, your iPhone reboots by itself and then loads up the factory default settings and options.
To use necessary features that are disabled by default, you will need to re-enable them individually.
And since app preferences are restored to their factory state, setting default apps for specific files and data protocols is also necessary.
Solution #8: Uninstall then reinstall YouTube.
If none of the above solutions worked, then you may have to consider deleting the YouTube app from the iPhone to pave a way for a fresh install.
Uninstalling and reinstalling is typically deemed important if the app becomes totally corrupted and no longer functioning as it should.
Unlike offloading, uninstalling an app will delete all the app’s data and documents. That said, you will need to re-enter any account credentials to access and use specific content. On a brighter note, all corrupted app data will be obliterated completely and thereby gives the app a clean, fresh start.
To uninstall an app in iOS 15.4, just refer to these steps:
- From your iPhone’s Home screen find and then long-press (touch and hold) the YouTube icon. Touching and holding on an app icon for a few seconds will open the quick menu options.
- On the quick menu, tap Remove or Delete app. YouTube will then be uninstalled and deleted from your phone.
- After deleting the app, reboot the phone and then launch the App Store app.
- While on the App Store, tap on your Apple ID profile and then select Purchased.
- Locate the YouTube app and then tap the Get button or Cloud icon to redownload and install the app on the device.
Wait for the app to finish installing and you should be all set to launch and re-use it by then.
Is YouTube still now working on your iPhone 13?
If none of the above solutions work, then the problem is likely not on your end but rather from within the YouTube server or network base instead. So here’s what you should do next.
Try loading the web version of YouTube.
Sometimes, symptoms are only transpiring on the mobile version of YouTube. That said, you may still be able to access and use the app through the web browser. That said, try loading the web version of YouTube on your preferred iOS browser application and see if it works.
Check the current status of Google/YouTube server.
If YouTube is still not working on the web browser, then there’s a higher chance that it’s a server issue.
You can use free online platforms like down detector or Google search to check the current status of the YouTube server. Real-time downtime reports are typically posted in these tools and thereby makes you aware of an ongoing service outage.
Should this be found to be an outage, then there’s not much that can be done on your end but to wait until the service is back up and running again. Rest assured, problems like these are typically addressed promptly by the designated support team.
There are also some cases where the problem is isolated to a certain YouTube channel or YouTube videos. In this case, the app itself is working as intended.
Please keep posted for more comprehensive iOS tutorials and troubleshooting guides on this site. Or you can check out this YouTube channel to view more comprehensive tutorial and troubleshooting videos including recent iOS devices.