Why is YouTube Not Working on Mac - Reasons and Solutions

YouTube is the largest video-sharing platform in the world and is something all of us use on a daily basis. If for some reason, it stops working or won’t load; we won’t blame you if you start panicking a little bit.

The problem could just be with your browser, or you simply need to clear your cache to get YouTube working again.

However, the reason can differ for everybody. In this article, we have collated many methods and solutions you can possibly use to fix this problem.

Table of Contents

Why is YouTube Not Working on My Mac?

The YouTube website not working on Mac is not a critical system problem and is usually fixed by using one or all of the following steps.

1. Check if you’re connected to the internet

This might seem a little silly but trust us; sometimes, this is usually the case. If your Mac is not connected to a stable internet connection, chances are YouTube will not load on it. You can quickly check for this by going to some other site.

Alternatively, you can ping the YouTube server to check if it appropriately receives and sends signals.

Ping is a basic TCP/IP command that is used to check the connectivity and troubleshoot problems with reachability. The ping command sends small packets of data to a specified IP address or web address. Then calculates how many responses are sent back & the time the site takes to transmit those responses.

This can be done using the Terminal app on your Mac. Refer to the instructions provided below to know more.

Sign in to your Mac and open a Finder window. The Finder app can be found on the dock, or you can press the small magnifying glass icon on the Menu bar to open the Spotlight search bar, type in “Finder”, and hit the return key to open the app.
Now head over to the Applications tab from the menu on the left side and open the Utilities folder.
Scroll down till you see the Terminal app and double-click to open it.
Once a Terminal window has been opened, type in “ping www.youtube.com” without quotation marks. Next, hit the return key to run the command.

This will tell you if your Mac is connected to a working network or not.

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2. Incorrect date and time

You can check to see if your Mac has the proper time and date set on it, as this can cause some unwanted problems with YouTube.

Improper date and time can cause problems communicating with the YouTube server if the date and times don’t match. Use the following steps to check and change your Mac’s date and time (if needed).

Sign in to your Mac and open System Preferences. You can find the System Preferences app on the dock. Alternatively, two more methods exist to access System Preferences from the Menu bar.
Move the cursor to the Menu bar and click on the Apple logo.
Select System Preferences from the list. Subsequently, you can also click the small magnifying glass icon on the Menu bar to access the Spotlight search bar.
Type in “system preferences” and hit return to open it.
Now, head over to the Date & Time tab. Click on the small lock icon at the bottom of the window.
You’ll need to enter your password to unlock it, or if you have a Touch ID integrated into the power button of your Mac, you can scan your finger to authorize it as well.
Make sure the box next to the Set time and date automatically is checked.

If that does not work, you can choose another server to set the time and date automatically. By default, it will be set to the Apple server, which is usually very accurate but sometimes can cause some errors.
You can choose the google, Microsoft, or NTP servers as alternatives if the Apple server does not work for you.

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3. Reset your Wi-Fi router

You can check your router to see if it has something wrong. A faulty network can cause YouTube to malfunction almost all the time.

Go to your router, switch it off, and turn it back on; this seems like the most common technique in the books, but it usually works most times. Also, check to see if there are any loose connections between the wires or not.

All routers also have a reset button at the back; if simply switching it off and turning it back on doesn’t fix it, you can choose to reset it completely.

Look for a small reset button at the back or the bottom of your router; this can differ for everybody, so make sure you refer to the instruction manual to find out where it is.

Next, hold down the reset button for ten seconds, and all the lights on your Wi-Fi router should start blinking.

Now, reconfigure your router and then try to open YouTube again to see if it has fixed the problem.

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4. Restart your Mac

This is probably the simplest and most straightforward method in this entire list but you’d be surprised how many times restarting your Mac fixes problems.

Restarting your Mac will reset its power cycle and also change the temporary settings which are removed after your Mac is restarted. Use the steps provided below to know more.

Move the cursor over to the Menu bar and click on the Apple logo.
Select Restart from the list and click on Restart again when a warning pop-up window is displayed on the screen.
Wait for your Mac to restart, then open your browser and check if YouTube is working or not.

Conclusion

We hope the methods mentioned in this article helped you with the YouTube problem. Do try out each and every one of these methods and check to see which one works for you.

It’s very possible that a method that worked for one person might not do anything for someone else. So, go through each and every solution and then run YouTube to check if it worked or not before heading on to the next one.

I hope it will fix the Why is YouTube Not Working on Mac.

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Robert

Robert is a tech expert (with more than 10 years of experience in using mac os and iPhone) who loves to help others learn about the Mac operating system and iPhone. He provides helpful tutorials on how to use Mac OS, tips and tricks for getting the most out of your Mac operating system, iPhone tips and tricks, and more. He’s always up for a challenge and enjoys learning new things about his favorite OS. When he’s not helping people get the most out of their technology, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two cats. Check out more.