YouTube Search is a great feature that helps you find your desired videos in the massive YouTube video library. With YouTube Search, you can effortlessly find your favorite songs or YouTube channels. However, sometimes, YouTube search might face problems that prevent it from showing results or not working entirely.
There are various reasons why YouTube search might not work on your device ranging from poor internet connection to incorrect date and time settings. No matter the cause, we are here to help you. This guide will show you how to fix YouTube Search whenever it stops working.
If you use the YouTube app on your Android or iOS device, you can try the following troubleshooting tips to get the YouTube search working again.
1. Check your internet connection.
Whenever you have issues with YouTube, including YouTube search not working on your mobile device, you should first check your internet connection. You'll have trouble using YouTube Search if you are connected to a poor internet connection or your Wi-Fi connection is not working. You can try connecting to a more stable internet connection or reset your network settings to solve the issue.
To reset network settings on Android
Step 1: Open the Settings app on your Android device
Step 2: Select System and expand on AdvancedTap on Reset, then select Reset Wi-Fi, mobile, and Bluetooth
Step 3: Then tap on Reset Settings
Reset network settings on iPhone
Step 1: On your iPhone, open the Settings app
Step 2: Tap on General
Step 3: Scroll down and tap on transfer or Reset iPhone
Step 4: Tap on the Reset option
Step 5: Select Reset Network Settings
2. Check your Device's date and time.
When your device's date and time are incorrectly set, the YouTube app will not communicate with its servers. This makes it difficult for the YouTube app to work as expected.
Therefore, when you have a problem with a YouTube search, you should ensure that your device's date and time are correctly set.
To check the date and time on mobile devices
Step 1: Launch the Settings app on your Android / iOS device
Step 2: Select System on Android or General on iPhone
Step 3: Tap on Date &Time
Step 4: Ensure that you toggle the Use network provided time And Use network-provided time zone.
On your iPhone, you can select Set Automatically.
This will ensure that your date and time are automatically set.
3. Update the YouTube app
YouTube search might stop working because of a bug in the app. Therefore, updating the YouTube app ensures you receive the latest updates that bring bug fixes and other improvements. To update the YouTube app:
Step 1: Open Google Play Store on Android or App Store on your iPhone
Step 2: Search for YouTube
Step 3: If an update is available, you can click on Update
After installing the latest version, you can check whether the YouTube search is working or not.
4. Clear YouTube cache on Mobile
If you have been using YouTube for a long time, the problem could be with YouTube's cache. YouTube collects cache data to improve loading times and your general experience with the app.
However, when there is a lot of data and cache on your device, it can cause it to lag and prevent YouTube Search from working.
This also happens when the data gets corrupted hence conflicting with the YouTube app. You can have YouTube Search working by clearing cache data. To clear YouTube cache:
Step 1: Open the Settings app
Step 2: Tap on Apps, then choose All Apps
Step 3: Find the YouTube App from the list of apps on your device and tap on it
Step 4: Alternatively, you can tap and hold on to YouTube's app icon to visit YouTube's App Info page.
Step 5: Tap on Storage & Cache
Step 6: You can tap on Clear Cache to delete the YouTube cache.
5. Allow unrestricted data usage.
When you do not allow unrestricted data usage, YouTube will not use your mobile data or Wi-Fi when a data saver is enabled. This will make it difficult for YouTube to fetch search results.
To avoid this, you should allow unrestricted data usage for YouTube search to work accordingly. You can enable unrestricted data usage by:
Step 1: Open the Settings app
Step 2: Tap on Apps, then choose All Apps
Step 3: Tap on the YouTube App from the list
Step 4: Go to Mobile Data & Wi-Fi
Step 5: Turn on the switch next to Background data and Unrestricted data usage
6. Turn on Incognito Mode on the YouTube app.
When YouTube Search is not working, you can try turning on incognito mode on your YouTube app. It would help if you kept in mind that turning on incognito mode prevents YouTube from searching your search and watch history.
However, it might help solve problems with YouTube search. To turn on incognito mode on YouTube:
Step 1: Open the YouTube app
Step 2: Tap on your profile picture
Step 3: Tap on the Turn on Incognito option.
You can try searching on YouTube to see whether it's working again.
7. Reinstall YouTube
After trying all the above methods and nothing works for you, you can consider reinstalling the YouTube app. Reinstalling your YouTube app allows you to delete all files and data associated with the app. You'll then install a new app and have a fresh start to see if the YouTube search works as expected.
8. Clear your browser's cache and cookies
YouTube temporarily uses your browser's cache memory to store its files and data. If the entire storage is occupied, it could prevent the YouTube search from working effectively. By clearing caches and cookies, you should flawlessly stream and search videos on YouTube. How you can clear your browser's cache and cookies varies with your browser. If you're using Google Chrome, you can clear data by:
Step 1: Launch Chrome and click the three vertical dots in the top right corner
Step 2: Click on More tools
Step 3: Select Clear browsing data
Step 4: You can then select the Advanced tab
Step 5: Set time range to All time.
Step 6: Check the check boxes next to Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, and Cached images and files
Step 7: Click on Clear data.
Wait for the clearing process to complete. You can then go to the YouTube webpage and search for a video to see if it works.
9. Update your Browser
When you try accessing YouTube using an outdated browser, a YouTube search might work incorrectly.
Therefore, you should always ensure that you have the latest version of your browser, not only for YouTube search fixes but other crucial functionalities. To update your Chrome browser:
Step 1: Click the three vertical dots in the top right corner
Step 2: Click on the Help option in the Chrome menu
Step 3: Then select About Google Chrome. Chrome will automatically search for updates and install them.
Step 4: When it finishes, click on Relaunch to restart your browser.
10. Open YouTube in Incognito mode
If you still have problems, you can try opening it in incognito mode. Opening your browser in incognito mode is a simple process. For Chrome, all you have to do is press Ctrl + Shift + N. After opening your browser in incognito, you can visit the YouTube website and try searching for a video.
If that does not work, you can try accessing YouTube on another browser. For example, if you're using Google Chrome, you can try switching to an alternative and see if the issue is resolved. If YouTube search works, you should consider reinstalling your browser.
Conclusion
YouTube is home to all sorts of entertainment. Therefore, nothing is more annoying than problems like YouTube search not working, affecting and interrupting your enjoyment. By trying the above solutions, you could solve your issue with YouTube search so you can effortlessly find what you want on YouTube.
In addition, you should avoid spelling errors and unnecessary spaces when typing into a YouTube search. You should also ensure that search filters are not enabled, and the video you're looking for is not deleted.
