Some YouTube users on iOS 15 unable to click/tap to play first two videos in search results, but there's a workaround

Making massive changes to an operating system can often result in an unstable experience for the end user. And this is what some iPhone users who recently switched to iOS 15 are going through.

Apple has just released a newer update to iOS 15.0.2. As the version numbering suggests, this isn’t anything major, but another minor update aimed at bug fixing and stabilization.

The previous iOS 15.0.1 also came with a bunch of bug fixes and performance enhancements. However, YouTube users who had encountered a strange bug in the first iOS 15 stable rollout were still experiencing the same issue.

For a quick reminder, the update to iOS 15 seems to have messed up with the YouTube app. Apparently, users became unable to click or tap and play any of the first two or so videos in the search results of the app.

Whenever I open the YouTube app and search for something, If I immediately tap on the video it will not play. I will have to scroll or wait a few seconds and try again to click the video, any ideas?
Source

I thought it was just me with the YT problem but tbh I’m pretty sure I had this issue on my android when I checked not too long ago
Source

It’s a strange phenomenon, if you ask me, and one that I’ve been unable to reproduce on my aging iPhone XS. But we’ve encountered several reports from those affected to suggest the issue is indeed out there.

Below is a short video of what those who are unable to click on YouTube videos on iOS 15 have had to deal with over the past few weeks.

While at this point it’s not clear what exactly is causing this YouTube bug, the blame is increasingly shifting towards Apple’s side.

According to one of those affected, it’s now possible to click or tap on the first two or so YouTube videos in search results, but it requires the latest iOS 15 beta update.

As noted earlier, the most recent stable version is iOS 15.0.2, but those taking part in the developer channel are now on iOS 15.1 beta 3. If anything, this is the version you need to address this issue, at least for now.

Does it mean Apple did something that has finally addressed this issue on the latest iOS 15 beta update? Most likely. Unfortunately, most of those affected will have to wait until iOS 15.1 arrives in the stable channel.

Of course, this could take some waiting. And if are already running out of patience, then you might want to try this temporary hack that seems to address the YouTube videos bug in the current stable version.

Apparently, after carrying out a search in the YouTube app on iOS 15, you first need to scroll down to the third or fourth video, scroll back up and then tap or click on the affected videos to play.

I scroll down so it displays like 1/4 of the third video in the results then back to the top and it fixes it every time

Not the best solution if you ask me, but one that seems to alleviate the pain of being unable to click on any of the first two videos in your search results.

We will let you know if the stable update to iOS 15.1 indeed addresses this issue fully. Meanwhile, check out our YouTube and iOS 15 bug trackers here and here, respectively.

PiunikaWeb started as purely an investigative tech journalism website with main focus on ‘breaking’ or ‘exclusive’ news. In no time, our stories got picked up by the likes of Forbes, Foxnews, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Verge, Macrumors, and many others. Want to know more about us? Head here.