9 Fixes for YouTube Not Downloading Videos
YouTube Premium allows you to access your favorite content even when you don’t have an internet connection. This is particularlyuseful when travelingor when you want to save expensive mobile data while away from home. But what if YouTube stops downloading videos on your Android, iPhone, or computer? If you are facing the same problem, here’s how to fix it.
Table of Contents
1. Check Your Premium Membership Status
One of the most common reasons why you might not be able to download videos is if yourYouTube Premium subscriptionhas expired or if you are using the wrong account. Hence, it’s the first thing you should check.
Head over to thepurchases section in the YouTube appand check your subscription status. If your subscription has expired, you will need to renew it to download videos and regain access to your previous downloads.
2. Make Sure YouTube Premium Is Available in Your Region
If you’re able to’t download YouTube videos despite having an active Premium subscription, you may be in an unsupported country or region. Head over to Google’s support page to viewa list of countries where YouTube Premium is available. If you have traveled to a region where YouTube Premium is not supported, you will not be able to download YouTube videos or access other Premium benefits.
It is also important to note that Google only allows you to use the offline features of YouTube Premium on up to 10 mobile devices at a time. If you have exceeded this limit, you may encounter errors like ‘This video cannot be saved offline’ when downloading YouTube videos.
3. Sign Out and Sign Back In
Temporary issues with your YouTube account can sometimes prevent you from downloading videos for offline use. Signing out of YouTube and back in usually resolves these issues.
If you are using YouTube on a desktop, click theprofile iconin the top right corner and selectSign out.
For those using the YouTube app on Android or iPhone, the steps to sign out of your account are different. Here they are:
1.Open the YouTube app on your Android, tap theprofile iconin the top right corner, and tap on yourusername.
2.Tap onManage accountsand select your account from the following menu.
3.Tap theRemove accountbutton. SelectRemove accountagain to confirm.
4.Return to the YouTube app, tap theprofile icon, and selectAdd accountto sign in with your account again.
1.Open theYouTubeapp and tap the profile icon in the top right corner.
2.Tap on your account name and select theUse YouTube signed outoption.
3.Tap theprofile iconagain and select theSign inoption.
After signing back into YouTube, try to download videos again.
YouTube downloads may become stuck on ‘Waiting’ if you have set the app to download videos only over Wi-Fi. To fix this, check the download settings in the YouTube app and ensure that the app is not restricted to downloading over Wi-Fi only.
1.Open the YouTube app, tap theprofile iconin the top right, and selectSettings.
2.Tap onBackground & downloadsand turn off the toggle next toDownload over Wi-Fi only.
5. Enable Background Data for YouTube (Android)
If the YouTube app does not have the necessary permission to use data in the background, it may fail to download videos for offline playback. Here’s what you can do to fix it.
1.Long press on theYouTube app iconand tap theinfo iconfrom the resulting menu.
2.Tap onMobile dataand turn on the toggles next toAllow background data usageandAllow data usage while Data saver is on.
6. Free up Storage Space (Mobile)
Yourphone’s storage may be full, which could be preventing YouTube from downloading videos. You need to check the storage status of your Android or iPhone to ensure there is enough free space.
1.Open theSettingsapp and navigate toDevice care.
2.Tap onStorageto view a breakdown of your phone’s storage usage.
1.Open theSettingsapp and tap onGeneral.
2.Tap oniPhone Storageto view your device’s storage status.
If your phone’s storage is nearly full, you will need to delete a few large files or transfer some of your files to the cloud. After that, you should be able to download videos again.
7. Check if YouTube Is Down
Streaming services such as YouTube may experience server outages from time to time. When this occurs, some of the features, such as the ability to download YouTube videos, may no longer function. you’re able to check YouTube’s server status on a website likeDowndetectorto see if others are experiencing similar issues.
If the servers are down, simply wait for some time and then try again.
8. Clear App Cache (Android)
It’s possible that the existing cache data associated with the YouTube app has become outdated or corrupted. If that’s the case, clearing the existing app cache should get things moving again.
1.Long-press on theYouTube app iconand tap theinfo iconfrom the menu that appears.
2.Go toStorageand tap theClear cacheoption.
9. Update the App (Mobile)
If you have disabled automatic app updates on your phone, you may be using an older version of the YouTube app. This can sometimes lead to issues, such as YouTube video downloads not working.
Head over to the App Store or Play Store to update the YouTube app and check if that solves the problem.
From Online to Offline
YouTube download issues should not prevent you from watching your favorite videos offline. Hopefully, following the tips has helped you fix the problem and you are now able to download YouTube videos on your phone or computer as usual.
Pankil Shah
Pankil is a Civil Engineer by profession who started his journey as a writer back in 2016. He joined TechWiser in March 2021 as a freelance writer to cover buying guides, explainers, and tips & tricks for Android, iOS, Windows, and Web.
