How To Fix Error On YouTube ‘Something Went Wrong’?

Errors are always annoying. They interrupt our streaming experience and ruin our mood. These are the most common errors you will see on YouTube, ‘something went wrong, please try again,’ ‘loading – tap to retry,’ and ‘Chapters not working.’ If you’re a regular YouTube user you must have come across one of these error messages. You might’ve gotten this error when you clicked a video, or you might’ve seen it in the middle of watching a video.

If you see the YouTube something went wrong error when you open YouTube, then it might be a problem on YouTube’s end, and every user might be experiencing the same thing. But if the error is on your side then there are a few things you could try to fix the error message.

How To Fix Error Something Went Wrong… YouTube?

There are a few ways you can fix the error on YouTube ‘Something went wrong tap to retry.’ We have compiled a list of tricks you could try to get your YouTube back to work. You will find the right solution once you figure out the exact problem of why your YouTube stopped working.

Let’s see how to fix ‘Tap to retry’ error on YouTube:

1. Check The Internet Connection

The first thing you should do when an error on any website or app occurs is to check your internet connection. If you’re connected to the Wi-Fi, check the router to see if all the lights are green; if they aren’t, you should send a complaint to your internet provider.

And if you’re using your mobile data, try putting your phone on airplane mode and then try to reboot the YouTube app. If the internet was the issue of why your YouTube videos weren’t loading and the ‘something went wrong tap to retry’ YouTube error is showing, fixing your internet should fix the problem.

2. Update Browser For YouTube Something Went Wrong

If you’re using YouTube on your desktop, then you are running it on your browser. We rarely pay attention to whether our browser is updated or not. An outdated browser might become the reason for your YouTube showing you errors.

To update your browser, follow these steps:

1. On your browser, open the main menu.
2. In Help, click on About [browser name].
3. If your browser has an update pending, it’ll start updating.

Once your browser is updated, close the window and open a new one. See if the YouTube error ‘loading tap to retry’ is fixed. If your browser is up to date you could try clearing cache and cookies from your browser.

3. Clear Cache And Cookies

With unwanted cache and cookies, your browser might be giving you more trouble than just YouTube errors. It’s always better to keep your browser clear of cache and cookies.

Here are the steps to clear cache and cookies from your browser.

1. On your browser, open the main menu.
2. Go to ‘More tools’ and click on ‘Clear browsing data.’
3. In time range, choose ‘All time’ and tick all the boxes.
4. Then click on ‘Clear data’ and restart your browser.

Your error something went wrong… YouTube should be gone if the problem was your browser. There is also a way to clear the app cache on your mobile device. So if you want to see if clearing YouTube cache on the phone will work, follow these steps:

1. Go to your phone Settings and search for Apps in Storage.
2. From the list of apps, tap on YouTube and then tap on ‘Clear cache’.

When you restart YouTube after clearing the cache, you shouldn’t get the error again. You could also try clearing your YouTube history too.

4. Reduce Video Quality If YouTube Something Went Wrong

If you got the ‘something went wrong tap to retry’ YouTube error while you were watching a video, it could be that you are watching the video at a quality your internet cannot handle. This issue can be solved by reducing video quality. If you’re playing a video on higher picture quality, try switching to the data saver option. You can also just choose the advanced option and manually choose a resolution lower than 480p.

5. Put Your Device On Airplane Mode

A lot of the time, network issues are the primary reason for any errors on YouTube. So one way to reboot your device’s network is to turn on the Airplane mode for a few minutes. Give your device some time before you turn it back off. This time when your device connects with a network it forms a stronger connection.

6. Switch To Mobile Data

If it is a network issue your YouTube is facing, you can also try switching to your mobile data. Just turn off your WiFi connection, and your YouTube will run on your mobile data. If you are using the YouTube app on your iPhone, you might have to check your permissions and allow YouTube to use mobile data. Just go to your phone’s settings and allow access to mobile data for the YouTube app.

7. Check If YouTube Is Down

While you are doing all of this, make sure that you have checked whether the YouTube site is working. A lot of time, there are internal issues with the YouTube server itself, and because of that, the website and the app stop working for all users. You can ensure whether YouTube is down or not by checking whether videos are playing from various different devices. You can also confirm it with your friends. And finally, you can visit Downdetector and check if YouTube is down.

8. Use Incognito Mode For YouTube Something Went Wrong

If YouTube is not down and the issue is not related to the network either, it could be that your google account is facing some problems. To find out whether your YouTube account is facing the something went wrong error, try opening YouTube in incognito mode. If the problem is related to your account, YouTube will work just fine in incognito mode, but if it still doesn’t work in incognito, then the issue isn’t personal.

9. Update YouTube App

Some devices do not have auto-update features turned on for applications on their systems. Which can lead to you forgetting ever to update your apps. Outdated apps might give you trouble as they might lose compatibility with your device. So in case you are using an outdated version of the YouTube app, try updating your app for better performance.

Just visit the app store or google play store and search for YouTube. Find the latest update and tap install.

10. Disable VPN

While YouTube is available worldwide, it still differs from country to country. Some videos are unavailable in your country, which can lead you to use VPN. In case you are using a VPN while watching videos on YouTube, you might want to try turning it off if your YouTube is showing something went wrong error. The error could be geographical; returning to your original location can help you keep your connection steady.

Hopefully, one of these methods works for you, and you learn to fix your error on YouTube, ‘something went wrong.’ Whether it’s this error or the YouTube error ‘loading tap to retry’ it can be fixed with a few simple tricks. Try all the methods mentioned above and see which one works for you.