YouTube, despite being one of the biggest and oldest video streaming platforms, has its fair share of bugs. The most recent one is YouTube buffering after 1 minute on Android. Are you also affected? There have been reports by multiple users about how YouTube begins buffering after a minute or so despite being connected to the internet. Here’s why it is happening and what you can do.
Table of Contents
1. Check Internet Connectivity
Are you sure you’re connected to the internet? One can easily lose track of it while watching that favorite vlog. This is a prevalent mistake that can happen to anyone. Ensure you’re connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi or mobile data. It can be checked from the status bar icons, and you can always do a quick Google search to confirm.
This is what the Wi-Fi icon looks like in the status bar when you’re connected to the Internet. You can read about it here if your Android is connected to Wi-Fi but still doesn’t have internet connectivity.
2. Clear Cache of the YouTube App
If YouTube is still buffering, the next step can be to clear the cache of the YouTube app.
1. You can do so by holding on to the YouTube app icon and pressing the information icon in the floating menu.
2. Tap on Storage, then tap on Clear cache at the right-bottom of the screen. This won’t remove any of your saved files or downloaded videos, but it will remove any idle files that might be causing an issue in the YouTube app.
3. Update the YouTube App
Google constantly updates the YouTube app for users to have a secure and reliable experience. But still, if you’re having issues with your YouTube app, chances are you might be running an old build of the app on your Android. The ideal thing would be to check for updates in the Google Play Store and update YouTube if any updates are available.
1. To check updates for YouTube, open the Google Play Store, then tap on the profile icon in the top-right corner of your screen. Tap on Manage apps & device.
2. If your device has any pending app updates, then they’ll show under the option Updates available. Tap on it.
3. Look for YouTube in this app list, then tap on the Update icon beside it to update the app to the latest version available.
4. Disable VPN
VPN offers privacy options, but it might not be a good idea to use it with YouTube. Sometimes the app’s server can scale you as a threat and not as a user, which can result in infinite buffering soon after you begin streaming which is why you see YouTube buffering around 1 minute mark. VPN is also known to slow down your internet speeds, thereby hampering your experience. To avoid this, it’d be good to disable your VPN and check again.
5. Change DNS
DNS servers are assigned to your device by your ISP, and if changed, it can affect your connection to the Internet, reducing speeds or just ending your connection. Many websites like Netflix can also stop working if your DNS is not a good one. Hence, if you’ve recently changed your DNS, then it’d be a good time to get back to the DNS assigned to your ISP.
6. Disable Ad Blockers
Are you using some kind of ad blocker on your Android phone? Ads are how YouTube keeps creators afloat, helping them create content that you love to stream. Resorting to ways like using ad blockers will only lead to blocking your access to the platform. Hence, you should refrain from using such apps or services for a reliable experience.
Google and YouTube have started taking this seriously and are also cracking down on ad blockers. Google is also limiting users’ access to the platform who are using ad blockers. This buffering experienced in the YouTube app after the 1-minute mark could be a result of that.
Therefore, disable any ad blocker apps or services on your Android, and then try to play something on the YouTube app. Now it should play normally without the buffering issue.
7. Reinstall the YouTube App
Have you tried reinstalling the YouTube app? If not, you should give it a go. Reinstalling an app is known to solve a host of issues.
1. To uninstall the YouTube app from your Android, tap and hold on the application. Then tap Uninstall.
2. Now, install the app again from the Google Play Store. It should work now.
3. Alternatively, you can also Clear data of the YouTube app from app info.
It is possible that you don’t have the option to uninstall YouTube on your Android. In times like this, you can also disable the YouTube app and then re-enable it. Just make sure to update it to the latest version after enabling it, since disabling the app can uninstall the updates.
8. Sign Out and Sign Back In
Sometimes the issue is not with anything specific but with some server interference linked to your Google account. To resolve this, sign out of your Google account from your Android phone and then sign in again. Then YouTube should work without any buffering.
1. To sign out of your Google account from your Android, open the Settings app and tap on Accounts and backup. Then tap Manage accounts.
2. Tap on your Google account. Then tap on Remove account.
3. Again, tap on Remove Account to confirm removing the account.
4. Now sign back in to your Google account again. This should resolve any problems with your connection to the YouTube servers.
Note: Device protection features like Find My Device might not work when you’re logged out of your Google account. Caution advised.
9. Only Use the Official YouTube App
There have been instances where users were using third-party apps that don’t show any ads to users but give you a YouTube-like experience by accessing YouTube’s servers. The harm here is that first you’re not supporting any of the creators since ads won’t be played for your session, and second, these apps get complete access to your Google account, leading to privacy issues. In our research, we found that many users who complained of YouTube buffering after the 1-minute mark were using a third-party client on their Android phones.
An earlier implementation of this, YouTube Vanced, was discontinued due to legal reasons. While the Vanced service is not in operation anymore, existing users were given a 2-year relaxation period and continue to use the application. Another example of this is YouTube Revanced and YouTube Revanced Extended; both applications gained fame after the discontinuation of YouTube Vanced, and users are still increasing.
If you also happen to use any of these services, or any other third-party YouTube app for that matter, then you should seriously consider stopping and only using the official YouTube app from the Google Play Store. If you’re not a fan of ads, you can always get premium, which is also available with a family plan and offers great value at $22.99 per month for a total of six users.
11. Move to the End of the Video and Replay
If all else was for naught and you still haven’t found a fix that works for you, then we have to say that the bug resides within the YouTube app in general, and you will have to keep up with workarounds. One way to do this is to move the video to the end and then scrub it back to the starting position or replay it using the replay icon. This should get you through the buffering issue hopefully. We tried this ourselves, and it is working for us at the time of writing this article.
12. Use YouTube in Browser
You can also try using YouTube in a browser like Chrome or Edge. Both of these browsers are capable and should give you a good watching experience regardless of the web version of YouTube. Again, this is not a permanent fix but rather a workaround for you to get going until YouTube cleans up its mess and resolves this bug for genuine users.
On a side note, did you know that Edge is better than Chrome?
Buffering in YouTube
Even if YouTube has bugs, there are no problems that can’t be solved. Buffering on YouTube after the 1-minute mark is also the same. Our guide is for scenarios like these, and one of these fixes should help you out here.
You can also comment on songs and videos in the YouTube Music app on Mobile and this is how you can do it.
