Frustrated by YouTube offline videos that won’t play?
This can be a major bummer, especially when you’re on a long flight or a road trip.
In this guide, we’ll explore the common reasons why your YouTube offline downloads might not be working as expected and provide practical solutions to get them back on track.
Whether you’re dealing with buffering issues, audio problems, or corrupted files, we’ve got you covered. Let’s dive in and get your offline YouTube experience back to normal.
Why Are My YouTube Offline Downloads Not Playing?
You are not able to play your downloaded offline YouTube videos for some time on the social media platform because of certain reasons you should know before finding the necessary solutions for them.
Some users may wonder ” Why are my YouTube downloads not working?” or “Why are the YouTube videos not available in my country?”.
You must first know that the issue you are facing may either be self-inflicted or caused by YouTube itself. Let’s check out the reasons why you see your YouTube offline downloads not playing.
This can be due to the following:
- Youtube server problems
- Outdated version of YouTube on the phone.
- Wrong communication between the device and the Youtube server
- Expired or unregistered YouTube Premium membership
- Lack of storage space.
How to Fix Youtube Offline Downloads not Playing or Working
1. Check the YouTube server Status
It is not always that problems with YouTube are self-inflicted. There are times that the fault of Youtube downloads not working on PC or Youtube offline downloads not playing on the website may not be your fault.
This happens because there are sometimes general glitches occurring in the systems of YouTube, causing all users to get stuck accessing the app.
There are times when authorities of YouTube are doing their best to take the social media platform under maintenance. It does not happen every time but once in a while if you are unfortunate and it happens, you may not be too sure if it’s actually just you or a general problem.
With that being the case, you should endeavor to check using Down Detector to check if the system is actually down or not. Search for “Youtube” on the software and check if they serve you with Youtube outage reports in your region.
2. Relaunch the YouTube App
One of the quickest and simplest ways to deal with such issues concerning “YouTube offline downloads” when you find YouTube comments not showing is by quitting the app abruptly and relaunching it.
To do this, you must quit the YouTube app and clear all running apps in the background. If you are using the browser to access Youtube, then you should clear the Youtube web tab and open it on a new tab.
After quitting the app, relaunch the app and check and try to watch an offline downloaded video to see if you still face the issue of YouTube offline downloads not playing.
3. Clear YouTube app Cache and Data
Mostly these issues we face such as YouTube offline downloads not working as a result of glitches caused by the app cache or data on the device. It may also be a result of browser cookies and data.
Below is how to clear the YouTube app cache.
- Close the Youtube app on your phone
- Long press the app and tap on the app info
- Scroll down to look for storage and cache and tap on it
- Go down to tap on the clear cache to clear the YouTube app cache
- Go back to relaunch the app to check whether the issue has been resolved.
If you are using the browser to access your YouTube account, then you should try to clear cookies on the browser rather. To do this, follow the steps given below:
- Launch the browser (Either Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge)
- Tap on the three horizontal dots located at the top corner.
- Click on settings
- Click on Privacy & Security and select clear browsing data
- Tick the boxes next to Cookies and other site data as well as cached images and files
- Click on clear data.
- All the cache and cookies will be cleared and you can access YouTube on the browser again.
5. Update the Youtube App
If you are still facing issues with the YouTube offline downloads not playing even after clearing the YouTube app cache and data or clearing browser cookies and browser history, then you should update the YouTube app.
We recommend that you do this update due to the fact that you might be using an outdated version of YouTube that does not permit you to use the app for that matter, you should update it as soon as possible so that you can log in to the app without facing problems with your Youtube offline downloads, not playing.
- Close all apps running in the background including the Youtube app.
- Go to the Google Play store or App Store on your device
- Search for Youtube in the search bar
- Tap on Update to update the app.
- Check to see if the app has been updated successfully and relaunch the app.
After updating the app and you still encounter the issue, then you should uninstall the app and reinstall it. This can be done using the steps below:
- Clos the Youtube app on your phone
- Long press the app till a sub-window shows and tap on uninstall
- After successfully uninstalling the app, go to Playstore (for android users) or App store (for iOS users)
- Search for the YouTube app in the search bar.
- Tap on the install section to download the latest version of YouTube on either Playstore or App Store.
- Launch the app, and check if you still face the issue of YouTube comments not showing on your PC.
6. Sign in to YouTube Premium Membership
Unlike the YouTube mobile app, the download option is actually locked behind the YouTube Premium when using the browser version of YouTube. Some standard videos are not allowed to be downloaded especially music videos, licensed educational materials, and kid videos.
Therefore to know if the YouTube video you want to download is available for download or not, you should see if you can actually click or tap on the Download button or if the Download button has been greyed out.
As a beginner, you must determine which of your Google accounts has been linked to the Youtube Premium. For the YouTube Premium subscription, you are entitled to pay it monthly, where you can make video and music downloads throughout the month.
You must first check if you have signed in to the Youtube Premium already. If you have, you will see the Youtube PRremium logo at the top left corner of your YouTube app or browser, instead of the normal YouTube logo.
If you have not already made a Youtube Premium subscription, then we advise that you use the steps given below to sign in to the Youtube Premium membership:
- First, make sure you have the latest version of the YouTube app.
- Launch the YouTube app on your phone or the YouTube site on your browser.
- Tap on your avatar.
- Click on “Get Youtube Premium”.
- Locate your YouTube account’s avatar in the top right corner of the interface
- Tap on it and scroll through the several options that come when a new menu is opened to you.
- Click on “Get Youtube Premium’.
- Click on “Try it free” if you are new to it or “Subscribe” if you’ve subscribed before.
- As a new user, you can use it for free for 3 months before you start making payments but if you have subscribed already, just insert your credit card information and make payments to access Youtube Premium.
7. Check Your Premium Membership Status on Youtube
If you have already signed in to Youtube Premium, then we suggest that as a Youtube Premium user, you must make sure you check if your Youtube Premium Membership is still active or if it has expired. To do this, use the steps given below:
- To begin, tap on your profile picture, located at the top-right corner of your browser (on YouTube).
- Click on “Purchases and memberships”.
- Click on “Manage” to check when your Youtube Premium Membership comes to an end.
- If it has not come to an end, then we suggest that you go and check again if you can now see your YouTube offline downloads.
8. Check the Availability of YouTube Premium in Your Region
YouTube Premium unlike the normal YouTube app does not work in all regions and countries. This feature of Youtube only works in certain regions and countries although almost all countries and regions are now getting access to the Youtube Premium membership.
We recommend that you check if you are found in any of the regions where Youtube Premium is available, by using the link: Youtube Premium Membership.
9. Delete Unwanted Downloaded Videos
You may have downloaded a lot of videos to watch offline already which has consumed a lot of your phone storage space. This will prevent other videos from playing or even downloading because of the rigid space they have to process easily.
Because of that, you should look through the already-watched videos and delete them to create enough space to watch the other downloaded videos.
10. Contact YouTube Support
After recommending to you all the suggestions given in the above article, we are sure they are all possible ways to curb the issue.
Therefore if you still find it very worrying to face the challenge of your Youtube offline downloads not playing even after going through all the processes highlighted above, then you should not hesitate to reach out to the Youtube support center.
They aid you in resolving the issue in the best way, answering questions like “Why can’t I play YouTube offline downloads on Android”? or “Why are my YouTube offline downloads not playing?
Visiting their site to seek help from them will be the best and the farthest you can go to curb the issue of your YouTube offline downloads not working after all.
You can do this by contacting them on the app, using the steps below:
- Launch and sign in to YouTube.
- Select your profile picture.
- Tap on the three horizontal dots at the top right and tap on Help and Feedback.
- Describe the issue of YouTube offline downloads not playing. The more info you include in your report, the more helpful it is for YouTube.
By following these troubleshooting steps, you should be able to resolve most issues preventing your YouTube offline downloads from playing.
Remember, patience is key, as sometimes temporary glitches can disrupt the app’s functionality.
If the problem persists, consider reaching out to YouTube’s support team for further assistance.
