Here’s the crux of the article in video form:

New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…

Original story (published on April 14, 2021) follows:

Several users are now unable to use the YouTube TV app on various TV models and Android TV devices. Upon opening up the app, an ‘Outside your home area’ message pops up which prevents users from proceeding any further.

This error message usually shows up when a change in the location is detected and is actually meant to be a safety measure to prevent hackers from remotely accessing your Google account.

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I have a black screen that is saying I am outside your home area and I cannot watch until I return to my home area. I click on the box “I’m in my home area” but then I get a spinning circle telling me that it is waiting for my device. It still will not allow me to watch YouTube TV.
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Hey guys. Can anyone help? My app on my Roku says I’m not in my home area but I am home and I’ve never traveled with it. It worked fine until tonight. The zip code is the right one I’m in and the other family profiles work in the house.
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However, users [1, 2, 3, 4] have specified that they haven’t moved anywhere recently and that the prompt is a false alarm. Also, the issue seems to have begun only recently as most of the complaints have materialized within the last 12 hours or so.

But what’s worse about the matter is that the message refuses to go away even after going through the verification process.

Several others have reported that they’re unable to even initialize the verification process as clicking on the “I’m in my home area” results in an infinite loading spinner telling that it is “Waiting for your device…”.

youtube-tv-outside-your-home-area
Click to enlarge

Judging by some user reports, it appears that YouTube has made some changes to the existing verification method – changes that have seemingly not gone as planned.

Affected devices include Roku, Chromecast with Google TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Nvidia Shield, and probably others. This further confirms that the issue is indeed at Google’s end.

Thankfully, YouTube has given out an official solution for the YouTube TV ‘Outside your home area’ issue.

YouTube-solution
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1. Open the YouTube TV app on your smart TV, gaming console, or streaming device
2. Select Profile Icon > Location > Current Playback Area > Update
3. Then on your mobile device, open the YouTube TV app
4. Go to Profile Icon > Location > Current Playback Area > Update
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Do keep in mind though that you may have to repeat the above process a couple of times before the verification actually gets registered.

If the above does not help, then you may also try the following as an alternative:

Jumping in here to clarify – if you’re receiving a message that you’re ‘Outside your home area’ when watching YouTube TV, you can go through 2-factor authentication at tv.youtube.com/verify on your mobile device and verify your location, thus resolving the issue. Hope this helps!
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If neither of the above solutions failed to do the job for you, then your best bet would be to pass feedback for the issue by following these steps.

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Or you could just wait as YouTube is already working on a fix, as clear from above. Still, we will continue to track the issue and update its status on our YouTube bug tracker.

Click/tap to view older updates

Update 1 (May 19)

YouTube TV users are getting “An error occurred, please try again later” notification. What’s appeasing is that support is looking into the matter.

Update 2 (August 17)

As per recent reports, the YouTube TV team has finally fixed the location issues on iOS 15 beta. The latest YouTube TV iOS app update with the fix for the location issues is now available as version 5.32.

Update 3 (October 11)

YouTube support claims that users might be getting the error if they frequently use YT TV outside their home area through other devices.

You might’ve frequently used your YT TV access outside your home area from a different device. If so, that could be the reason why it’s asking you to update your location to make sure that YouTube TV can continue to offer you the correct local networks: https://yt.be/help/9rqL (Source)

Update 4 (October 18)

A YouTuber — Jake Broe — has mentioned a couple of workarounds that one could try out in order to get around the ‘Outside your home area’ restriction. In case you’ve been bugged by this, check out the video below:

Update 5 (November 26)

YouTube supports recommends using YouTube TV at least once every 3 months in your home area to avoid getting the ‘Outside your home area’ message.

Update 6 (December 27)

These are the steps YouTube support recommends following in case you encounter the ‘Outside home area’ message:

You might’ve frequently used your YT TV access outside your Home area. If so, we recommend checking if it’s updated by going to YouTube TV > Settings > Area > Home area > Update. More info about it here: https://yt.be/help/9rqL. (Source)

Update 7 (December 28)

In case you weren’t aware, Google has a dedicated page to manage your home area or current playback area. There are a few troubleshooting tips that you can check out for different browsers as well.

While we can’t guarantee that the steps will help in your situation, it’s definitely worth giving it a shot.

Update 8 (January 10, 2022)

The Outside your home area issues on YouTube TV also has a limitation that prevents users to record local shows outside their home area, confirms TeamYouTube.

If you’re travelling, you can still watch the local networks of the location you’re visiting. Note that you can’t also record the local shows outside of your home area. (Source)

Update 09 (January 31, 2022)

01:40 pm (IST): According to Google, MLB fans affected by the ‘Outside your home area’ error message should check into YouTube TV at least once every 30 days to avoid this and perhaps other sports game-related viewing restrictions.

If you’re an MLB fan, make sure to use YouTube TV once every 30 days in your home area. Checking in will help to avoid sports game-related viewing restrictions. (Source)

Update 10 (April 08, 2022)

06:19 pm (IST): Google says that if you move out of the home area where you signed up, then you’ll have to update the location on YouTube TV.

Update 11 (May 3, 2022)

12:53 pm (IST): Some users reported that they are unable to watch games even in the regions where it is televised. TeamYouTube on Twitter said that this viewing restriction is set by the content partner and not YouTube.

Update 12 (May 13, 2022)

05:56 pm (IST): YouTube support on Twitter has suggested some troubleshooting steps for this issue. So those affected can try and see if it helps.

Thanks for getting back to us – try updating your current playback area on a web browser by tapping your profile pic > Settings > Area. You also need to allow device location permission. Once you’re done, relaunch YT TV on your television to refresh the feed. (Source)

Update 13 (July 11, 2022)

11:50 am (IST): More than a year after the first related reports, some YouTube TV users are still facing the issue where the service detects the wrong location.

In response to recent reports, the YouTube TV team says that they are aware of the issue and still working on it. However, an ETA for a fix is still missing.

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Update 14 (July 14, 2022)

05:08 pm (IST): As pointed out by a Redditor, even if you share your YouTube TV account with your family members, they’ll have to be in the same state in order to use it.

youtube-outside-of your-home-area
(Source)

Update 15 (July 18, 2022)

11:18 am (IST): A Redditor has suggested a workaround to fix YouTube TV ‘Outside your home area’ issue. You can check it out below and see if it works.

youtube-tv-outside-home-area-fix
(Source)

Update 16 (September 11, 2022)

09:10 pm (IST): YouTube support is telling users to update their home area in the app to see if it works. If it doesn’t, users can contact support via call, chat or email.

if you recently traveled & accessed YouTube TV outside your location, it’s best to update your home area ➡️ goo.gle/3CGeUpa if it doesn’t work, call, chat, or email us 📩 goo.gle/3KvEO0R (Source)

Update 17 (October 03, 2022)

06:11 pm (IST): Apart from changing the Home Area info, YouTube support is also suggesting those affected to restart their router.

hmm, mind rebooting your router? you can also try updating your acct’s home area. If nothing changes, we recommend restarting all TVs. (Source)

Update 18 (October 17, 2022)

05:00 pm (IST): A Redditor has shared a detailed process for resetting the Current Playback area on the YouTube TV app. It appears to have resolved the issue for some users. You can check it out by going here.

Update 19 (January 11, 2023)

05:25 pm (IST): More than a year and a half after the first reports related to the issue, new affected users continue to emerge.

In the meantime, the YouTube team recommends those affected to update their location settings on a browser or on a mobile device.

Update 20 (January 30, 2023)

06:00 pm (IST): Those who are still facing issues can reach out to YouTube here.

Update 21 (September 18, 2023)

05:23 pm (IST): There are users who have been facing the issue during the NFL season. For those cases, here’s the alleged official response that one of those affected received:

– You won’t be able to update the DMA used for your NFL Sunday Ticket – that will be set on our side based on the ZIP code and can’t be changed by then. Additionally, the DMA used by the Sunday Ticket may vary Sunday to Sunday (some Sundays it may be Reno, others LA)

– This means that if there are Sundays where the game you want to watch is affected by the Split ZIP code, you’ll have to change your home area to the set ZIP code and DMA on all the devices you want to watch on.

– This also means that if you hit your Home Area resets, we can grant as many resets as you’d need.
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PiunikaWeb started purely as an investigative tech journalism website with a main focus on ‘breaking’ or ‘exclusive’ news. In no time, our stories got picked up by the likes of Forbes, Fox News, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Verge, MacRumors, and many others. Want to know more about us? Head here.

Zohaib Ahmed
824 Posts

Simply love being surrounded by technology as it's a constant reminder of how far humans have advanced as a race. Every new development feels exciting, which I convey to others through writing. And after a day's work, gaming just feels therapeutic.

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