It’s happened to all of us. You’re right in the middle of a perfectly timed MrBeast challenge or a critical DIY repair video, and suddenly, the screen freezes. Then the app just vanishes. Back to the home screen. You tap the icon again, hoping it was a fluke, but no—YouTube keeps on crashing before the video even buffers.
It’s incredibly annoying.
Honestly, the frustration comes from how unpredictable it feels. Sometimes it’s a "Something went wrong" error message, and other times the whole phone feels like it’s having a meltdown. This isn't just a "you" problem. Millions of users deal with this, and the causes range from simple cache bloat to weird conflicts with Android’s System WebView or Apple’s latest iOS update glitches.
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The Core Reasons YouTube Keeps on Crashing Right Now
Let’s be real: your phone is basically a tiny, overworked computer. When YouTube crashes, it’s usually because the app ran out of memory or encountered a line of code it didn’t know how to read.
One of the biggest culprits is the cache. Think of the cache as the app’s short-term memory. It stores bits of video data and thumbnails so things load faster. But over time, that memory gets cluttered. It gets "dirty." When the app tries to pull data from a corrupted cache file, it panics and shuts down. This is especially common on Android devices where file management is a bit more "open" than on iPhones.
Then there’s the hardware side. If you’re running a flagship like the Samsung S24 or the latest iPhone, you shouldn't be seeing many crashes. But if you’re on an older device, the modern YouTube app might just be too heavy. The app has become bloated with Features—Shorts, live chats, 4K rendering, and background play. That takes a massive toll on RAM.
The WebView Factor (Android Users Beware)
A few years ago, a massive bug in something called Android System WebView caused almost every major app, including YouTube and Gmail, to crash globally. This is a system component that lets apps display web content. If this isn't updated, or if a new update is buggy, YouTube will die on launch. Most people don't even know WebView exists, yet it’s often the secret reason behind the "YouTube keeps on crashing" phenomenon.
Memory Leaks and Background Apps
Sometimes the culprit isn't even YouTube. It’s that game you left paused in the background or the fifty Chrome tabs you have open. When the operating system needs more RAM for the foreground task (the video you're watching) and can't find it, it might kill the app entirely. It’s a survival tactic for your phone's CPU.
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How to Stop the Constant Crashing on Mobile
If you're staring at a frozen screen, don't throw the phone. Start small.
First, force stop the app. Don't just swipe it away in the multitasker. Go into your settings, find apps, select YouTube, and hit "Force Stop." This kills every process associated with the app, including the zombie ones that might be causing the hang-up.
Next, check your storage. This is a huge one. If your phone has less than 1GB of free space, it can't create "swap files." Apps need a little wiggle room to function. If you’re red-lining your storage, YouTube will crash because it literally has nowhere to put the video data it’s downloading. Delete those old blurry photos or that 2GB screen recording you forgot about.
The Nuclear Option: Clear Data
On Android, you have the option to "Clear Data." Be careful here. This isn't just clearing the cache; it resets the app to its factory state. You’ll have to log back in, and your downloaded videos (if you have Premium) will be wiped. But, honestly? It fixes about 90% of persistent crashing issues. It’s like giving the app a fresh brain.
On iOS, you can't really "clear data" in the same way. You have to delete the app entirely and reinstall it from the App Store. It’s a bit of a pain, but it achieves the same result by scrubbing the local library and starting over.
Why the Desktop Version Crashes in Your Browser
It’s not just phones. Desktop users get hit too. Usually, it looks like a "Status_Aw_Snap" error or the browser just hanging until you get the "Page Unresponsive" box.
Hardware acceleration is a frequent silent killer. This feature tells your browser to use your Graphics Card (GPU) to render video instead of your Processor (CPU). In theory, it’s faster. In practice, if your GPU drivers are old or if there’s a conflict, it’ll crash the whole browser tab. Try toggling "Hardware Acceleration" off in your Chrome or Edge settings and see if the stability returns.
Ad-blockers and Extensions are the other big players. YouTube has been aggressively fighting ad-blockers lately. Some developers have noted that certain scripts used by blockers can cause the site’s player to become unstable. If YouTube keeps on crashing in Chrome, try opening it in an Incognito window. If it works there, one of your extensions is definitely the villain.
A Note on Network Instability
We often blame the software, but the network is a sneaky culprit. If your Wi-Fi is constantly switching between 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, or if your cellular signal is bouncing between LTE and 5G, the YouTube player might fail to "hand off" the data stream correctly.
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The player tries to buffer ahead. If the connection drops for a millisecond exactly when the player is requesting a new "chunk" of video, the playback engine can fail. This looks like a crash, but it's really just a connection timeout that the app didn't handle gracefully. Switching to a lower resolution, like 720p instead of 4K, can sometimes prevent these network-based crashes because the data load is lighter.
Real-World Fixes That Actually Work
Instead of just listing generic tips, let's look at what actually solves this for most people based on current tech trends.
- Update your OS, not just the app. Often, a YouTube update relies on a system-level API that was only introduced in the latest version of Android or iOS. If you’re running an old OS with a brand-new app, they’re going to speak different languages and eventually stop talking to each other.
- Check for "Battery Optimization" settings. Many modern phones (looking at you, Xiaomi and OnePlus) have "Aggressive Battery Saving." These settings might be killing YouTube's background processes while you're watching, leading to a crash. Whitelist YouTube in your battery settings.
- The "Join Beta" Trap. If you signed up for the YouTube Beta program in the Play Store to get features early, you’re also getting the bugs early. If the crashes are constant, leave the Beta program and go back to the stable build.
When it's YouTube's Fault (The Server Side)
Sometimes, there's nothing you can do. If you check a site like DownDetector and see a massive spike, it means YouTube's servers are struggling. This happened famously during several global outages where the "skeleton" of the app would load, but the video player would crash the moment you hit play. In this case, just wait it out. Even Google’s engineers have bad days.
Actionable Steps to Fix Your YouTube Experience
To get things back to normal, follow this specific order of operations. It covers the most likely fixes without wasting time on the rare stuff.
- Restart your device immediately. It sounds cliché, but it flushes the RAM and stops runaway background processes that might be interfering with video playback.
- Check for a YouTube update in the App Store or Play Store. If an update just came out in the last 24 hours, it might be a "hotfix" for the very crash you're experiencing.
- Clear the App Cache (Android) or Reinstall the App (iOS). This removes corrupted temporary files that are the #1 cause of launch-loop crashes.
- Disable Experimental Features. If you have YouTube Premium, go into your settings and see if you have any "Try new features" enabled. These are often unstable and can cause the app to quit unexpectedly.
- Free up storage space. Ensure you have at least 2GB of internal storage available so the app has space to buffer and process data.
- Check System WebView (Android). Go to the Play Store, search for "Android System WebView," and see if there is an update waiting. If it’s already updated and crashing, try "Uninstalling Updates" for it to revert to a stable version.
By systematically hitting these points, you move from guessing to actually diagnosing. Most of the time, the "YouTube keeps on crashing" error is a simple matter of a cluttered cache or an outdated system component. Once those are cleared up, you can get back to your feed without the constant threat of a black screen.