Are you having a bad time because YouTube Music is not working?
That’s got to be really annoying! But fortunately, you’re not alone in this situation. In fact, thousands of the platform’s users find themselves in the same spot every day.
There’s no denying that YouTube has revolutionized the way in which we consume and enjoy video content – and their music streaming platform is no different. However, when it fails, listening to your favorite artists can be difficult, or almost impossible.
But don’t worry, you came to the right place for answers. Below, I’ve prepared a list including the 9 most common issues behind this platform not working and a couple of helpful guides to answer your questions.
When YouTube Music is not working it might be removing songs from your playlists, telling you that you’re offline, failing to cast to your other devices/additional features, and much more.
Keep reading to blast your favorite songs!
You’d think that, being part of such a giant video streaming platform, YouTube Music would be failproof. And while the service is greatly optimized and does provide great results when working properly, it’s undeniable that sometimes issues arise, and knowing how to deal with them is key. Here are some of the common technical difficulties you might encounter.
Let’s start off by talking about this annoying issue, as it’s one of the main reasons why several people have left the platform over time.
Playlists are something very personal and fun to create, as they not only contain your favorite music but also let you share your musical tastes with other people in the blink of an eye. So, having YouTube Music remove random songs from your playlists without even telling you about it can make you wonder why you’re even paying for the platform in the first place.
Something like this can happen due to licensing issues, a nearly full device memory, or even a corrupted cache. To get to the bottom of this and get things back to normal as soon as possible, please check out our guide on YouTube Music removing songs from your playlists.
Next, let’s cover those scenarios when you have a perfectly okay connection to the internet, yet this streaming platform keeps telling you otherwise.
Not unlike other music streaming services, YouTube Music needs an active connection to play different songs, access your playlists and look up new artists you might be interested in. This means that when the service can’t detect your network, it’s as good as a bag of bricks! Unless, of course, you have some content downloaded.
An event like this might be taking place due to failing servers on the company’s end, having some settings enabled on the platform, and even a bug with your modem. To get the full list of causes and solutions, you might want to take a look at our guide for when YouTube Music is saying you’re offline.
A big part of modern music streaming services is that you don’t have to be stuck listening to your favorite artists and songs on your mobile devices. Thankfully, these days you can cast your favorite platform to a Bluetooth speaker, a TV, or any other device that is compatible with this technology.
But when this feature doesn’t seem to be working as it should, you might not get the full experience.
Being unable to cast YouTube Music to your Google Home system, play songs on your TV, or simply fail to make any Bluetooth device work with the platform might be due to several possible culprits. Some of the most common ones are other devices that are interfering, outdated software, corrupted cache & cookie files, and more.
If you’ve decided to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible, please check out our guide on all these topics I’ve linked to above.
Sonos sound systems are probably some of the best in the market. And no, this isn’t sponsored by them in any way, shape, or form, it’s just my personal opinion!
The audio solutions this company offers are high-quality and deliver levels of clarity and bass response that you won’t find in cheaper alternatives. But what happens when, no matter what you do, you can’t get YouTube Music to work with your Sonos setup?
An event like this might be caused by damage to the speakers, a bad internet connection, failing servers, interference from nearby devices, and more. Take a look at our guide for when YouTube Music is not working with Sonos to get the full picture.
I know, this is a very broad concept, as playback problems can mean different things to people. But for this section’s sake, I’ll just stick to a couple of common issues that typically get in the way of enjoying your favorite music.
While using YouTube Music, you might suddenly notice that the platform is no longer autoplaying, skipping/stuttering songs, or simply refusing to play the next song on your queue, even when you try to do this manually.
All these scenarios share some common causes, such as server failure on YouTube’s end, corrupted cache files, outdated software, song removal, and a lot more. If you want a detailed breakdown of every potential culprit and an easy way to deal with it, the guides I’ve linked to directly above can certainly help!
One of the biggest features modern streaming platforms offer paying users is song downloads. By being able to do this, you no longer have to worry about entering an area with poor reception or commuting on the subway in silence, as your audio content is already stored on your devices.
This not only reduces song loading times but also allows for uninterrupted streaming for as long as you want.
The problem is that sometimes this feature won’t work as expected, or not at all, leaving you at the mercy of good phone reception and fast mobile internet plans. This is far from ideal – especially if you’re paying a monthly subscription. Situations like this can arise due to server failure, full device memory, a bug, and many other factors.
Luckily, we have an in-depth guide for when YouTube Music is looking for incomplete downloads, deleting them, or making it look like they’ve disappeared. Make sure to check them all out to get things back to normal!
There is a very low tolerance for poor performance in modern apps. And even more so when they’re developed by a Tech giant like Google.
Add to that the fact that you’re paying a monthly subscription, and you have the recipe for disaster.
Poor performance on YouTube Music can mean many things to many people; however, there are some common annoyances that users complain about the most when they experience them.
You might find yourself in a position where the platform keeps crashing, pausing your songs out of nowhere, or simply buffering them for a very long time without ever actually playing a single second of the audio.
Any of these scenarios might be due to a bug in the app’s background processes, a slow mobile internet plan, corrupted cache files, and more. Make sure to take a look at the guides I’ve linked to directly above in this section to find all the answers you need.
We all know this situation very well. One moment, you’re blasting your favorite song on your speakers, and the next, you’re in total silence looking at an annoying ”Something went wrong” message on your streaming device’s screen.
Having something like this happen is not only frustrating because your music is interrupted, but also because you’re paying a monthly subscription, and you, understandably, expect nothing but the best experience for your money.
The most common culprits behind a technical difficulty like this can be full device memory, poorly configured network settings, failing servers, and outdated software. To view the full list of potential causes and some simple solutions for each one, please check out our guide for when YouTube Music is saying “Something went wrong”.
Not unlike the previous issue, this one can put an end to your experience on this streaming platform. When you get this error message, enjoying your favorite music and listening to your favorite artists can become quite challenging.
A scenario like this might be due to you being connected to Android Auto, corrupted cache files, a bug in the app’s coding, and much more.
To get all the answers you’ve been looking for, please take a look at our guide for when YouTube Music doesn’t seem to be working.
Now that you know how to fix most of the popular issues that might be affecting your experience on the platform, let’s move on to answering some common questions many users have at some point during their subscription periods.
Sometimes, you might want to have captions turned on while listening to your favorite songs, as they might be in a foreign language, or you might want to make sure that you’re getting the lyrics right.
Whatever the case may be, these little titles can come in very handy when needed. But when they’re not, they can be annoying and bother you to the point of no longer enjoying what you’re listening to.
Luckily, turning them off is really easy and quick, please check out our guide on how to turn off captions on YouTube Music to get everything back to normal.
If you’ve been enjoying YouTube music so far, then this section likely isn’t for you, so feel free to move on to the next one. But if you haven’t gotten what you expected from this streaming platform and want to stop being charged for it, then here are the answers you’ve been looking for.
There are many reasons why you might want to cancel your monthly subscription to this service. From poor performance to not finding the music you were hoping to – the possibilities are infinite. Luckily, YouTube Music doesn’t ask too many questions about this, and neither will we, so why don’t you take a look at our guide on how to cancel your YouTube Music subscription to rest easy?
One of the biggest complaints YouTube users have had for years is that they’re unable to keep listening to the video they’re watching once they lock their phones or switch apps. This is super annoying and apparently can’t be fixed unless you actually pay for a subscription to YouTube Premium, which not only includes many benefits on the video platform, but also access to YouTube Music.
However, if you don’t want to pay extra or maybe are simply looking for a free workaround, there might be something you can do about this. Reading our guide on how to get YouTube music playing in the background can shed a light on this for sure!
That about sums it up!
When YouTube Music is not working, paying a monthly subscription for this service might feel like a big waste of money.
Hopefully, this article has helped you better understand what the most common culprits behind typical issues on this platform are, and how simple it can be to fix them. In many cases, something as quick as clearing the app’s cache files, updating the platform/your devices, and checking the status of your internet connection will do the trick.
Thank you very much for sticking with me all the way to the end. If this article proved to be useful and answered your most burning questions, you’ll be glad to know that there’s new content to learn from every week. While we put the finishing touches to our latest work, I encourage you to check out our other incredible resources below to become a Tech Detective yourself!
I wish you the best of luck.
— Gerry.
Detective ‘Gerry’ Molina is one of the most prolific detectives on our TechDetective team. He’s known for his ability to crack down on multitudes of tech crimes on behalf of you – the citizens of the internet. Molina is often the first point of contact for many cases, working to help free victims from the tyranny of tech issues.
