You might not remember but I do the war that was once fought between Amazon and Google. It was a real civil war where both companies decided that they wouldn’t even acknowledge each other’s products, far from using them. It was a fierce cold war and they hated each other like sworn enemies. But, after years of hatred, they both decided that they would end this cycle of hatred that only results in losses for both the companies. They shook hands and started using each other’s products. Officially, Amazon decided to sell stuff from Google including hardware and software Google and Google decided to repay this by creating a special YouTube app for the Amazon Firestick.
After years of hatred, they finally started to use each other’s products and consumers that were loyal to both the companies rejoiced with this decision. The special YouTube app that Google made for Amazon works especially for Firestick. You can download the app and use it with ease and watch all your favorite videos. You can even access your favorite podcasts, music videos, meme reactions, vlogs, etc. on this app. It basically has everything that Android TV YouTube has to offer. But since there is a change in the operating system, there are many glitches seen in this app. Although it was specially designed for the Amazon Firestick, it still doesn’t work that well. So if you encounter an issue like this on your Firestick, you can easily fix the same without going anywhere from your couch.
There are 7 ways where you can fix YouTube that is not working on your firestick. When it comes to issues related to YouTube, there might be a storage issue in the hard drive. There could also be a glitch in the app with respect to bugs or virus infections. There could be an overload of storage input by the collection of cache data. Lastly, it might seem like a major issue, but it would be just your internet connection that isn’t working that well. Fortunately, here we have listed 7 ways that you can use to fix YouTube not working on the Firestick. These ways are as follows:-
Method #1. Check Your Internet Connection
You might think that you should change your Firestick as it hangs so much regardless of what app you might use, while the solution to this problem is as meager as it can sound- Check your internet speed and connection. When it comes to your Firestick, a simple hotspot doesn’t work and you might need a proper WiFi system. Also, YouTube automatically plays videos in 4K while streaming on Firestick. This consumes a lot of data packets and if there is a slight change in the internet speed, the app glitches, and there shows an error while playing any video. To overcome this try(think about these questions and then figure out the answers on your own):-
Who else is using your WiFi? Is your WiFi limited to just the Firestick? If someone is using WiFi and downloading a large file, this might also cause a glitch in the app.
Where is the router? Is there something blocking the waves from the WiFi to your TV? How about distance? A large block of the wall? Distance and opaque substances might interfere with the connection.
There might be a problem with your internet service provider. What they do is, reduce the speed to reduce the consumption as per bandwidth.
Method #2. Reset WiFi Box
There might be a problem at the base itself. If your network is not working, regardless of YouTube, nothing would work both on your phone and the Firestick. There might be a problem with your router itself. In such cases, you can reset your router simply by following the instructions given below. The point is that sometimes after transferring loads of data packets, the router hangs, and thus internet speed is reduced. Once you reset your router or upgrade the same, there won’t be any issues with it. Also, note that you should use it on 5G only and not 2.4G bandwidth that causes internet issues. To overcome this follow the steps below:-
To reset your router, simply touch the button on the back of your WiFi with a pencil nub for about 30 seconds.
This button would have the reset logo and it could be present on the bottom too.
Release the button after 30 seconds and wait for it to turn on.
Method #3. Try Using YouTube In Guest Mode
Back in the days of BlackBerry devices when YouTube gained its popularity, there used to be a strict standard that you cannot use YouTube without signing in. This had become a major challenge that why people need to sign in for watching a few documentaries but Google was hell-bent on this policy.
How many years into the future, Google has added a guest mode into the YouTube app. This mode allows users to view anything on YouTube (except age-restricted videos) without having to browse through your account. Sometimes there might be some problem with your account password/data/privacy and YouTube might take your account down for a day or two. In that case, use the guest mode, and hopefully, it will play. You can also log in with another Google ID too.
Method #4. Clear YouTube Residual Files and Cache
The Amazon Firestick is an amazing entertainment device. But it doesn’t have a cleaner or a cache clearer installed in the same. A cache file is made so that any app can run more smoothly than ever. It is a type of TAD, which is temporary app data installed on your device. But due to the overloading of cache files, there exists a glitch in your device because it cannot hold this much user data.
It is said that regularly cleaning cache files will make your devices run smoothly. Just don’t clear them too often like every hour or so, as that would result in harm rather than easing up your device. You can clear cache files just like your mobile phones on the Firestick too. Thus you need to clear the same. To overcome this, simply:-
Open Firestick home and go to Settings.
Click on the Applications icon from the list.
Open and find the ‘Manage Installed Applications.
Click on the YouTube app and a menu will appear.
Simply, select Clear Cache and wait for the process to finish.
Method #5. Reinstall YouTube App
Sometimes, no matter how much you try banging on the screen or clearing cache files, the glitches don’t go. In scenarios like these, you need to understand the fact that there might be a problem with the app itself. In such cases, you can uninstall the app and then install it again after some time. This would kill any functions related to the app that are happening in the background. Plus reinstalling the app would start everything related to the app to start from the beginning. To do the same, simply:-
Open Firestick home and go to Settings.
Click on the Applications icon on the same menu.
Open and find the Manage Installed Applications.
Find YouTube and select Uninstall.
Since there might be a time where you can mistakenly press this option and it would uninstall it. Fortunately, you have a query system that asks for your confirmation before deleting the app. Select confirm from the dialog box and then reinstall the app from the AppStore again.
Method #6. Reboot Firestick Device
Sometimes, you might think that the problem is related solely to either your internet connection or your cache files, the apps on your Firestick, and so on. But there is no guarantee that there would be no issues with the Firestick itself. This scenario happens a lot with old Firesticks that haven’t been updated yet. To overcome this, you need to simply restart your Firestick. Here’s how you can do it:
Open Firestick home and go to Settings.
There would be a My Fire TV section below the same.
Open and in the list of commands, click on the Restart button.
Wait for the process to finish and let your device restart itself.
You can also yank the plug out of the socket board if everything has been frozen.
Method #7. Wait! Wait! Wait!
If nothing is working for you and you are getting agitated because you had to listen to your favorite podcasts and now you are stuck hopelessly, there might be a hidden reason for this too. Sometimes the app server goes down itself. And the issue might be from the company itself and there would be a server breakdown because of this. Google it out and you would find the cure. If it is really from the company’s side, sip some coffee or read a novel because you don’t have any authority over this.
Final Words
So, these were some of the best ways to fix YouTube not working on Firestick. Also, if nothing has worked out and you have reached the conclusions, try checking the hardware of your Firestick. If you observe something unusual or broken, visit a service center and get your device checked.
A couple of other methods like formatting the Firestick and resetting it to factory settings will also do the job. We will recommend you to follow these methods only when you know what you are doing. In case something goes wrong, reach out to the official Firestick support to fix the issue.
