FIX: Unable to Turn off ‘Restricted Mode is enabled by your Network Administrator’ In YouTube

Kevin ArrowsUpdated on November 4, 2024
Kevin is a certified Network Engineer

The message “Restricted Mode is enabled by your network administrator” on YouTube means access to some content is being limited. This is usually set by network administrators in places like schools or workplaces to block mature content. The main reason is the activation of Restricted Mode on the network, which overrides user settings.

Restricted Mode Is Enabled By Your Network Administrator” In YouTube
Restricted Mode Is Enabled By Your Network Administrator” In YouTube

Other factors may include browser extensions or security software that enforce content restrictions.

In this article, we will discuss different ways to solve this error.

1. Disable Your Add-ons

Sometimes, browser add-ons or extensions can change YouTube’s settings and turn on Restricted Mode. Turning off these add-ons, especially content blockers or security extensions, can remove the restrictions, letting you access all videos. This easy step removes filters that might block content, restoring full access to YouTube.

  1. Open your browser, access the main menu, and click Add-Ons or Extensions (for Chrome users).
  2. Disable add-ons one by one, refreshing the YouTube page after each to see if any change allows you to adjust Restricted Mode settings.Disable the Addons one by one
  3. If you have an antivirus extension, consider disabling it first as it is often the cause.

2. Disable the Web Filtering in Your Security Application

Security applications often use web filters that restrict access to content, including YouTube. If this feature is enabled in your security or antivirus software, it can trigger the “Restricted Mode is enabled by your network administrator” error. Disabling this feature can allow full access to YouTube and restore your viewing options.

  1. Open your security application (e.g., Forticlient) and navigate to Web Filter options.Go to Web Filter Options
  2. Click Disable to turn off Web Filtering, then refresh the YouTube page to see if the issue is resolved.
  3. If no Web Filtering option is available, disable the entire application temporarily to check if that resolves the problem.
Kevin ArrowsUpdated on November 4, 2024
Kevin is a certified Network Engineer
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Kevin Arrows


Kevin Arrows is a highly experienced and knowledgeable technology specialist with over a decade of industry experience. He holds a Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) certification and has a deep passion for staying up-to-date on the latest tech developments. Kevin has written extensively on a wide range of tech-related topics, showcasing his expertise and knowledge in areas such as software development, cybersecurity, and cloud computing. His contributions to the tech field have been widely recognized and respected by his peers, and he is highly regarded for his ability to explain complex technical concepts in a clear and concise manner.

Comments

17
    CO
    corey Mar 17, 2021

    my youtube is restricted

    Reply
      DP
      Donny Pearson Jun 30, 2023

      As is mine: only on three Web browsers on my Mac min in the comfort of my home.

      Reply
    DA
    Dino Agate Mar 24, 2021

    Great!! It was the Web Filter in Forticlient, thank you so much!!

    Reply
      TK
      Trucker Kev May 21, 2021

      how do you even know if you have four to clients I don’t even think I have that I’ve never heard of it? this is at an Android phone but I’m going to keep it handy because I will be going to T-Mobile service center and I’m going to take a few web pages with me print out so I could definitely go ahead and show them that this is not only me

      Reply
    TK
    Trucker Kev May 18, 2021

    out of nowhere my YouTube got restricted
    I scroll down in the settings for general I go to where it says turn it off and on with the toggle it’s grayed out I can’t do it.
    I’m not out of public Wi-Fi I’m a Sprint T-Mobile customer and it just did it out of the blue I’ve watched and as a matter of fact this particular day I commented on a bunch of videos.
    then all the sudden out of nowhere it just said commenting is disabled and all this other nonsense.who is the network administrator for Sprint I don’t get it it’s my phone I’ve never had no trouble I didn’t do anything it just started out of the blue and now I cannot manage to somehow even get it to where I can toggle it restricted mode off or on it’s completely blanked out.

    Reply
      AL
      Al May 20, 2021

      me too! it got restricted “Turned on by your network administrator to help hide potentially mature videos.” and now I can’t comment or watch billboard chart videos…
      I am on Sprint-T-Mobile. I have the same problem…. it started happening yesterday (Wed May 19th, 2021) the problem in on my chromebook. and I can’t toggle

      Reply
        TK
        Trucker Kev May 21, 2021

        interesting thing is when you go to Wi-Fi it works normal you can watch adult content do whatever the hell you want there’s no blocking but the bottom line is this happened out of the blue and need to get to the bottom of it. I didn’t change any settings I didn’t do nothing it just decided to do it on its own and now I’m learning more and more this has to be a T-Mobile thing.
        I even went so far as the not only other than reboot the whole phone back to start and lose every single setting I have I didn’t want to do it I did do a restart on quite a bit of stuff and it still didn’t do anything at all.

        Reply
          SP
          Stephen palles Jun 14, 2021

          did y’all ever figure out WTF to do? It happened to me recently and I cannot figure out how to turn it TF off, super annoying.

          MZ
          Muhammad Zubyan Author Jun 14, 2021

          Some people reported that if you can’t able to turn it off, you should check with your ISP as he might have enabled the Restricted Mode.

          MI
          miuirumainthereal Jun 15, 2021

          I’m using my personal chromebook with an iphone hotspot and its still restricted i cant turn it off. I already should have it turned off because i went to my sprint account after the same thing happened on my mobile youtube app + I fixed it but now its on my computer

        GC
        Gracie Clark May 29, 2021

        I have this same problem I have T-Mobile and sprint

        Reply
    TL
    Tara L Jun 6, 2021

    It’s your carrier. I just fixed mine after searching two weeks. My carrier is Boost. Had to go to my boost account, log in with phone # and pin as usual and go to the menu option, then account settings. Sure enough it was turned on to filter mature content, something to that effect. So i turned off the filter/content setting and checked youtube. Restricted mode was off and everything was back to normal after trying all sorts of crazy suggestions, it was a simple setting and easy fix!

    Reply
    DA
    DanielleTech May 18, 2022

    Hey! I have a major fix for this! I work in a school setting and am in IT, I found that this happens mostly with Dell devices. If you go into your updates and then hit Optional updates and run them all it will fix this issue, the two main things ive seen needing an update during this problem are: Microsoft – HIDClass – 10/27/2015 12:00:00 AM – 9.9.108.0 Dell, Inc. – Firmware – 0.1.14.0
    I get this problem all the time with users devices at work who have open youtube settings in our filter.

    Reply
    OT
    OtakuKam Jun 12, 2022

    doesn’t work bc ion own my network–sad.

    Reply
    DD
    David Dill Jun 17, 2022

    If you are using a different internet access from what you are used to (like a hospital’s free wifi), they may have restrictions.

    Use a hotspot or wifi that has no such restriction.

    Reply
    DP
    Donny Pearson Jun 30, 2023

    As is mine.

    Reply
    DP
    Donny Pearson Jun 30, 2023

    Hello. I was about to watch a YouTube livestream on my Mac Mini in the comfort of my house and I got the “video unavailable” message. Then, I learned that the restricted mode is automatically on and I can’t turn that mode off. I didn’t do anything wrong, nor did I disobey a rule.

    Reply