[Updated] YouTube videos reportedly laggy or loading slow for some iOS users; other platforms likely affected too

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

Original story (published on April 11, 2023) follows:

YouTube is undeniably one of the most preferred platforms where one can access long-forgotten music videos, commercials, and more.

The platform receives a number of regular updates to keep up with modern trends and also to improve the general interface for a better user experience.

But it doesn’t mean that YouTube is immune to various bugs and issues. For instance, we recently saw an issue where the ‘start appeal’ button went missing.

YouTube videos laggy or loading slow for iOS users

And now, several iOS users (1,2,3,4,5,6) are complaining that YouTube videos are quite laggy or are loading unusually slower for them.

@YouTube, please fix on phones. Youtube suddenly became very slow when my internet was perfectly fine. Please fix it, and it takes forever to load a video now, even if it is on 144p
Source

Yes I have the latest iOS – just did the data on/off and uninstalled then reinstalled YouTube – still slow
Source

Reports indicate that the platform is specifically affecting the videos as everything else including the search results or the thumbnail load er usual.

It is quite frustrating for users as despite them having fast internet connections, videos take a while to load or even buffer. It is seemingly affecting their uninterrupted flow of entertainment.

There are also some who claim that the issue is persistent on other platforms too.

It has been alleged that the problem has been there for two weeks while others claim that it has only lately started to slow down.

YouTube’s response

So far, YouTube has only asked those affected to try some general troubleshooting steps. There is still no official acknowledgment in sight.

that’s odd, can you try these other troubleshooting steps?

turn off your data connection and turn it back on
uninstall and reinstall the YouTube app

also, make sure you have the latest version of IOS installed.
Source

There’s also no workaround that can help fix this bug temporarily. We hope that the developers fix this issue at the earliest.

We’ll keep tabs on the latest developments and update this article as and when something noteworthy comes up.

11:15 am (IST): Some YouTube users are now reporting (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) that the videos they try to watch randomly starts buffering or get stuck at loading.

However, the video starts playing normally if they skip it for 5 seconds or so. And even though YouTube support has acknowledged the issue a few days ago and said they are looking into it, it still persists.

10:14 am (IST): YouTube users are again facing the issue where the video playback is loading slow for no apparent reason (1, 2).

01:35 pm (IST): YouTube video player is now working normally again.

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