Best Solutions for “You’re Offline. Check Your Connection” Error on YouTube

At some point, everyone runs into the “You’re offline. Check your connection” error on YouTube. It can be perplexing as to why this error occurs. That’s why we’ll be looking at both the causes and solutions for this common error encountered on your phones. You can check out our detailed guide on fixing the same problem for PC as well.

Causes

This issue occurs randomly, hence, very few reasons have been found as to why it occurs. Usually, it occurs when the YouTube application is outdated, or when the YouTube servers are facing enormous traffic. It can also be an issue stemming from your end; your Internet is having issues or even your ISP might be facing some problems. Whatever the case, these solutions are bound to fix the issue.

Solutions

1. Check if the YouTube servers are working properly

As it has mentioned above as one of the causes of the error, one should verify if the YouTube servers are indeed functioning appropriately. Here is a site just for that.

2. Check to see if your WiFi and router are working properly

It never hurts to double-check and see if things are all set from your side. Ensure that you have a stable WiFi connection. Try restarting the router too.

3. Switch to Mobile Data

Try switching to mobile data on your phone. Many users have reported that YouTube starts functioning when they switch to mobile data and press “Retry“.

On iOS devices, first make sure that the “Cellular Data” option is switched on for YouTube.

4. Restarting the YouTube App

Try closing the app, eliminating it from the background and opening it again. To eliminate YouTube from the background:

• On Android, tap the “Recents” button on your Navigation Bar and swipe up on YouTube.
• On iOS, double tap the “Home” button or press the “Home” key twice to open up the App Switcher. Swipe up on YouTube.

5. Try signing out of YouTube

This is another fix that garnered some success. Simply sign out of your Google account on YouTube by following these steps:

1. On the YouTube app Home page, tap on your profile picture.
   

   

2. Tap on the arrow next to your profile picture.
   

   

3. Select “Manage Accounts”. It can be found at the bottom of the panel if you have multiple Google accounts. It will redirect you to the “Accounts” settings page of your device.
   

   

4. Select your Google account and remove it.
   

   

5. Once removed, close the YouTube app from the background. Launch it once more and add your Google account once again by pressing the profile picture and selecting the plus button.
   

   

6. Check whether the YouTube app is up-to-date

Once again, no harm in double-checking. Hop on over to the Google Play Store or App Store depending on your device and search YouTube. When the YouTube app shows up in the results, check whether the button next to it says “Update”. If it does, hopefully your issue may be resolved.

7. Ad-Blockers and VPNs

If you’re using an ad-blocker, turn it off immediately as it can interfere with the core functions of the YouTube app and causes several issues. If you’re using a VPN, shut that down too as some VPNs cause issues with some apps.

8. Restart your device

It is plausible that the operating system of your device is causing errors for the app. Simply restart your devices by holding down the Power button of your device and selecting the Power Off (for iOS) or Restart (for Android). Wait for the device to boot up properly (iOS users should hold down the Power button again to start up the device) and launch YouTube as soon as it does so.

9. Force stopping YouTube [Android only]

Sometimes, abruptly stopping the YouTube application process can cause it start up properly when launched again which, consequently, can fix a few bugs and glitches. To force stop the YouTube application, follow these steps:

1. On your device’s Home page, hold down the YouTube app icon until a menu pops up. Select “App Info”.
   

   

2. Press “Force stop” on the menu that appears.
   
   Once done, try opening the YouTube app again.

10. Clearing app cache and data [Android only]

Occasionally, a few apps stop functioning properly due to a large amount of cache and data being accumulated. This may also be the case here for YouTube. To clear out YouTube’s cache and data, follow these simple steps:

1. Just like before; on your device’s Home page, hold down the YouTube app icon until a menu pops up. Select “App Info”.
2. Select the “Storage” option on the menu that appears.
   

   

3. A panel showing the YouTube app’s storage details should appear. Press “Clear Cache“.  After this, try opening the YouTube app again.
   

   

4. If it still remains unresolved, repeat these steps, except this time, select the “Clear Data” option. However, you should be aware that this will delete all your downloaded videos and reset all the in-app settings to default.
   

   

11. Reinstalling YouTube

The app may have become faulty due to a recent software update or an update to a system app. Therefore, it would be best to reinstall the application.

• For Android, head on over to the Google Play Store, search YouTube and select the app in the search results. Press “Uninstall“. Once done, press “Install” to begin reinstalling it.
• For iOS, hold down the YouTube app icon until it starts wobbling and an “X” mark appears on the corner of the icon. Press the “X” mark and uninstall the app. Move on to the App Store and search YouTube. From the search results, press “Install” button besides the YouTube application.

Hopefully, the issue will be resolved by following these steps and you can go back to watching your favourite YouTubers and catch up on the latest trends.