Much like when my iPhone screen went black, I found it frustrating when all of a sudden my YouTube videos showed a black screen. But, as with most things, I had to look for a fix.
I tried many things. I came up with a few good ones and found other useful tips online. Here, I outline all the ways that you can use to try to fix the YouTube black screen issue.
Connection
The first thing I did was check my internet connection. A slow internet connection causes issues with playback. Hence, it was the logical first step.
Slow connections prevent the browser from loading all the elements which in turn returns a black screen when you try to play videos on YouTube.
Disconnect your internet or restart it. Then, go back to YouTube and try playing the video again. Also, be sure that you did not accidentally set up a proxy (extensions may do this). Read how to know if I’m using a proxy for more information.
Clear Browser Data
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Del on your keyboard.
- This launches the “Clear browsing data” window.
- Click on the “Advanced” tab.
- Then, check all the checkboxes.
- Click “Clear browsing data”.
Lastly, restart your browser. I recommend opening task manager and terminating the application.
Disable Adblock/Other Extensions
Sometimes, browser extensions interfere with how websites like YouTube work. Hence, it’s a good idea to check your plugins. We wrote an extensive article on how to disable various AdBlockers that you can read for information on that.
How To Disable Other Extensions
- Open Google Chrome.
- Paste the following link into the address bar:
chrome://extensions/
- Check for anything suspicious and either toggle it off or choose “Remove” to delete it.
- Also, you can disable each one, check to see if the problem is solved and re-enable each one by one in order to see which one caused the issues.
Switch DNS Servers
I always recommend using a Free Public DNS server instead of your Internet Service Provider’s (ISP) default.
These are faster than your ISP’s and provide more security. And, some also allow you to browse the web anonymously. Although, you still shouldn’t download torrents, etc. (that’s still illegal). Read this article for more information.
Turn Off Hardware Acceleration
Disabling Hardware Acceleration may very well resolve the problem. When I disabled it, I saw improvements in not only YouTube, but Hulu, ShowTime, and Netflix.
- Open Google Chrome.
- In the address bar, type chrome://settings.
- Hit enter.
- Scroll down and choose Advanced.
- Then, scroll till you see System.
- Under System, look for “Use hardware acceleration when available“.
- Lastly, toggle the switch off and restart Chrome.
Other Quick Tips
- Try using incognito mode to see if the video plays.
- Always be sure to have the latest version of your browser. For example, here’s how to check Chrome’s version.
- Use a different browser. We list the best browsers for Android and most have desktop versions as well.
- Clear your computer’s DNS cache (different than the browser cache).
- Lastly, make sure that your browser supports Flash. You can check here.
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