Why Isn’t Youtube Working On My Roku? Complete Fix Guide

Asking why isn’t Youtube working on my Roku? Search no further, because here we will discuss the issue in detail.

You will also learn about the best working solution to resolve YouTube problems on Roku.

If Youtube is not working on Roku, the problem could be related to WiFi connectivity or to a general internet problem. Another reason could be insufficient storage for a certain update or overloaded memory cache on your TV.

Let’s explore the possibilities first and learn why YouTube is not working on your Roku.

Why Isn’t Youtube Not Working All Of A Sudden On My Roku?

Youtube is an online streaming platform that will allow your TV to access a variety of videos and broadcast them to you.

Sometimes, however, even this widely known platform can run into some troubles and deny your access upon entering.

Whether it is a crash, not loading videos, or lag, here is what might be causing it:

Internet Connection

The most reported cause for general problems with online platforms is slow or missing internet connectivity.

TV Memory Problem

In case your TV doesn’t have enough memory to load Youtube, you won’t be let in the app.

Bad Data

Lastly, corrupted or faulty data with your Youtube app or TV OS might be causing you some trouble.

App Problem

The application might be missing an update or cannot be opened due to TV functionality issues.

Service Down

Even if unlikely, YouTube services are sometimes down. To justify, open a YouTube application on any other device such as your smartphone.

These are the general possibilities that you should be targeting. Let’s now move to the actual solutions and solve your issue as soon as possible.

How To Resolve YouTube Problems On Roku?

First of all, try reopening Youtube. It all might come down to a temporal glitch or bug with the startup.

Performing a simple restart on your YouTube application might turn out to be helpful and resolve the problem if it’s something minor.

If restarting YouTube didn’t help at all, then proceed with our solutions below:

Solution #1 Power Cycle Your TV

We suggest powering cycling your TV in order to resolve problems with streaming apps such as YouTube.

The power cycle won’t only restart ALL your TV’s services, but also cleanly start the OS and prevent overheating.

To power cycle your TV, follow the instructions down below:

1. Turn OFF your Roku device using the remote.
2. Unplug the power adapter from the source and wait for about 5 minutes.
3. Re-attach the power cable once the time has elapsed.
4. Turn ON your Roku TV.

We recommend plugging your TV in a standalone wall outlet to prevent power fluctuations.

Solution #2 Reconnect With The Internet

The next step is to reconnect your Roku with the internet in case it has lost connection.

This can often happen after an outage by the ISP or a network router restart.

To reconnect Roku with the internet, follow the steps down below:

1. Go to Roku settings and select “Network”.
2. Tap on “Set up connection” and choose “Wireless”.
3. Wait for the scanner and locate your network’s hostname.
4. Tap on it using your remote and enter the WiFi key.
5. Wait for several minutes to establish a connection.

What’s next would be to inspect if your internet is reliable. Open the Ookla speed test and test your connection.

In case of any issues, you should reconnect ALL network cables and hard reset the router. In case you cannot solve the internet problem, call your ISP for help.

Solution #3 Clear Memory Cache/Storage

Clearing your memory cache might resolve problems related to apps, especially online platforms.

Extra memory cache will build up after a while of using applications on your Roku and it must be cleared regularly to avoid slow-loading times and app issues.

To clear your Roku’s memory cache, follow the steps down below:

1. Select “Home” on your Roku remote.
2. Press the “Home” button 5 times and then press the “Up” arrow.
3. Press “Rewind” twice and “Fast Forward” two more times.

These sequences of buttons will clear your Roku’s memory cache and resolve potential issues with Youtube’s platform.

Note: Be informed that you need at least 2-3 gigabytes of extra storage on your Roku so the services can function normally.

Solution #4 Update YouTube

If you still can’t answer the question “why isn’t Youtube working on my Roku?” then the next step would be to update the Youtube app.

Access with unofficial versions will be denied from Youtube, especially if you’re sending connection packs via an old version of the platform.

To update Youtube on your Roku, follow the instructions down below:

1. Go to the App Store of your Roku.
2. Write “Youtube” in the search field and tap the first result.
3. Instead of the Download button, there should be an option labeled as “Update”.
4. Click on the Update and the store will check for newer versions.
5. Download and install any update found.
6. Wait for the update to finalize and re-open Youtube.

If the issue persists even after you’ve updated to the latest version, let’s perform a clean YouTube app installation in the next solution.

Solution #5 Reinstall Youtube

If updating Youtube’s version didn’t help, there might be corrupted data within your app’s files.

In that case, we suggest reinstalling Youtube on your Roku device to resolve the problem.

Alert: Make sure that there are at least 2-3 gigabytes of free storage before downloading.

To reinstall the YouTube app on Roku TV, follow the steps below:

1. Open the memory unit of Roku using the access from the settings.
2. Locate the Youtube app and allow more info.
3. Highlight the application and choose “Uninstall”.
4. Wait for an average of 2-3 minutes.
5. Re-open the app store and search for Youtube again.
6. Tap on the first result and start the download.
7. Wait for the application to be installed.
8. Open YouTube.
9. Log in to your account and test.

The problem should now be gone unless the problem is located with the Roku itself. In case the issue is still there, let’s update Roku to the latest version.

Solution #6 Update Roku

Updating Roku might be the best approach towards issues with online platforms such as Youtube.

Platform applications require updated software in order to run smoothly and in that regard, you must update your Roku.

To update Roku, follow the steps down below:

1. Go to Settings of your Roku.
2. Tap on “Firmware Update”.
3. Select “Check For Updates” and wait.
4. Apply any new updates that appeared on the new screen.

Your Roku might reboot during the update, and once ready you can test YouTube again.

Unfortunately, if the platform is still not working, the last option you’ve got is to reset ALL Roku settings by default, so let’s learn how to do so in the next solution.

Solution #7 Reset Your Roku Device

If nothing helped so far, we suggest resetting your Roku entirely in order to resolve the problem.

To reset Roku, go to Settings > General > Reset > Factory Reset. The process may take up to several minutes, but once it is done, you should be good to go.

When the Roku OS is reinstalled, you can re-download YouTube and check if the problem appears again.

In case it does, well, it might be from YouTube themselves so check the app on any other device to determine if it works there or not.

Read Next: How to Turn Brightness Down on Roku TV?

Bottom Line:

Thus, to fix Youtube issues on Roku, try hard resetting your device and update Youtube to the latest version. Reconnect Roku with WiFi, troubleshoot your network and try reinstalling the Youtube application. If nothing worked, factory reset your Roku.

Now when you know why isn’t Youtube working on my Roku you should be able to solve the problem in no time.

We hope that our post was helpful and if you’re having other issues with your Roku setup, don’t hesitate to check our blog and find a solution!