YouTube Not Working on Samsung TV (9 Fixes)

Sometimes the YouTube app doesn’t work properly. It’s not uncommon for YouTube not working on Samsung TV, but don’t worry, it’s not hard to fix.

YouTube and other apps installed on the Samsung TV can freeze, crash, hang up, and not load properly

All the preloaded apps or installed apps are prone to crash, freeze, not load, or disappear at some point. That includes streaming service apps like Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, and many others.

In this article, I cover 9 common fixes for issues with YouTube on your Samsung TV.

Related article: Why Apps Not Working on Samsung TV

Table of Contents show

1. Soft Reset or Cold Reboot the Samsung TV

If there are any corrupt settings on your Samsung TV, they may be preventing YouTube from working properly. A soft reset, or power cycle, will turn off the TV completely and stop all the background apps and processes that may have been causing issues with the YouTube app.

There are two ways to perform a cold reboot and restart a Samsung TV.

Method 1 – Follow these steps to soft reset a Samsung TV:

Unplug the TV’s power cord from the power outlet for at least 60 seconds.
Plug the power cable back into the wall outlet or surge protector.
Wait for the TV to finish rebooting.

Method 2 – To cold reboot the Samsung TV:

Unplug the TV power cable.
On the Remote Control, Press and Hold the Power button for 30 seconds.
Plug the TV back into the power outlet.
Wait for the TV to finish starting up.

2. Check for Samsung TV Firmware Updates

Sometimes an update for a new version of the YouTube app will cause issues with older Samsung TVs’ firmware and software.

New software updates will be released occasionally by Samsung to fix bugs. Download them when they become available. Upgrading to the latest version of your TV firmware and software can sometimes help resolve issues related to YouTube.

You can download the most recent firmware update for Samsung TVs by going into the TV menu settings. You can also download an update for the device directly from the TV manufacturer’s website.

Follow these steps through the TV menu to update the Samsung TV firmware:

1. On the Samsung TV remote control, Press Home.

2. Select Settings

3. Choose Support.

4. Choose Software Update.

5. Select Update Now.

6. The TV will automatically reboot for the new firmware to fully install and take effect.

You can also update the firmware on your Samsung TV using a USB stick. Here are the steps for updating the TV from a USB stick:

In a web browser on your computer, head over to the Samsung download page and find your TV model.
Download the latest firmware version.
Extract the files and transfer them to a USB drive.
Put the USB drive into one of the USB ports on the TV.
On the TV remote, Press Home.
Select Settings.
Choose Support.
Select Software Update.
Start the Software Update Process on the TV.
The TV will reboot and use the updated firmware on the USB drive. Be sure not to remove the USB drive until after the TV has fully rebooted.

3. Remove and Reinstall YouTube App

If you’re having trouble watching videos on your Samsung TV, sometimes an app conflict can cause the problem. If you notice that Youtube isn’t working properly, try uninstalling it and then re-install it. It might be able to solve the problem.

You can always try an available app update if one exists before uninstalling the app entirely. Or deleting and reinstalling could give it a fresher start.

If you want to remove YouTube from your Samsung TV, be sure you have access to your account information before uninstalling. You’ll be logged out of the app, so you’ll need to log back in.

Follow these steps to uninstall and reinstall YouTube on a Samsung TV:

1. Press Home on the remote control.

2. Navigate to Apps.

3. Choose Settings.

4. Navigate to the YouTube App.

5. Select Delete. If Delete is grayed out, you won’t be able to delete it because it’s a recommended app. Instead, Select Reinstall.

6. Press Return on the Remote.

7. Click Search.

8. Enter the YouTube App Name.

9. Select to Install the YouTubeApp.

4. Slow Internet Connection

If you’re experiencing issues when streaming high definition videos through YouTube, it might be because of slow internet connection speeds.

If you’re going to stream from YouTube, you’ll need at least a 5Mbps connection to get high quality video. For smooth streaming of 4K video, the internet connection should to be at least 50Mbps.

There could be several reasons why the Wi-Fi download speed is slow. Here are the most common causes and fixes for a slow connection status.

1. Weak Wi-Fi Signal to the Samsung TV

If the Wi-fi signal is weak between the TV and wireless router, the internet connection might sometimes stop working and lose its connection. Streaming videos through the YouTube app will not work properly and have issues.

Ensure the Wi‑Fi signal between the TV and the wireless router is strong. To check and see if the Wi-Fi connection has sufficient strength, follow these steps.

On the Samsung TV remote, Press Home.
Choose Settings.
Select General.
Choose Network.
Select Open Network Settings.
Choose Wireless.
In the list of wireless networks, check the signal bars for your wireless network. Only having 1 to 2 bars indicates a weak signal.

If the distance between your wireless network and Samsung TV is too large, then there might not be enough signal strength to connect them properly.

One of the reasons why weak Wi-Fi connections may be present is because the connection has been blocked by many obstacles, like walls, that prevent the signal from reaching its destination.

Moving the router closer to the TV is easier than moving the TV closer. Shorter distances between devices and routers will improve the quality of their Wi-Fi connections.

If the router and Samsung TV cannot be moved, then Wi-Fi repeaters will serve as a connection point for Wi-Fi signals between the two devices.

WiFi repeaters are also called WiFi extenders. The one below is one of the best ones out there and is a popular option in smart homes. They can be found on Amazon:

2. Soft Reset the Wi-Fi Router

If your Wi-fi router hasn’t rebooted or been turned off for a long time, there could be an issue with its configuration or something else might be going on. It can slow down or drop your Internet speed by causing interruptions and interference with the Wi-Fi signal.

Power cycling and restarting your network equipment like your router or modem can help if this is the case.

To soft reset the WiFi Router or Modem, follow these steps:

Unplug the Wi-Fi Router from the power outlet for at least 60 seconds.
Plug the Wi-Fi Router back in to the power outlet.
Turn On the Router if there’s an On/Off switch.
Wait a few minutes for the Router to start up and connect to your Internet Service Provider (ISP).

3. Try a Wired Connection

Your router could be having issues with sharing the internet connection through its wireless hardware and signal. Troubleshoot the problem with a wired connections that is more reliable than a wireless one.

To connect your Samsung TV to the internet via a wired connection, you’ll need to use an ethernet cable. If you want to check whether there is any problem with the internet connection, you can connect the TV to the router using an Ethernet cable.

Follow these steps to use a wired internet connection for testing with your Samsung TV:

Connect an ethernet cable from the LAN port on the back of the Samsung smart TV to a LAN port on the router or modem.
On the Samsung TV remote control, Press Home.
Select Settings.
Select General.
Select Network.
Select OK for the TV to use the wired network to access the internet.

If you have an active internet connection, it means the Wi‑Fi router’s wireless hardware could be having issues. If none of these things works, you may need to replace the router’s firmware, perform a factory reset, or replace the Wi-Fi adapter.

4. Disconnect Other Devices from the Wi-Fi Network

Connecting multiple devices to a single wireless router all at the same time could cause them to slow down the overall speed of the network.

For example, if you have 3 tablets, 3 smartphones, and 3 laptops connected to the same Wi-Fi network, the internet connection speed for each device will be very slow. That’s especially true if they’re all streaming HD videos on YouTube or other streaming platforms.

Older Wi-Fi router and modem models tend to be particularly bad at handling multiple simultaneous connections.

To improve your internet speed on a Samsung TV for watching YouTube videos, turn off any other devices connected to the Wi-Fi.

If this fixes the slower internet connection, then you know that there was something wrong with your old router, which wasn’t capable of supporting multiple devices. If you’re not using a router that supports simultaneous connections from multiple devices, then you should definitely consider buying one.

5. Change DNS Server

Sometimes unstable internet connections can cause issues with YouTube on the Samsung TV. Issues can be caused by bad settings for DNS servers that the ISP is using.

The Samsung smart TV will start out using the DNS servers from the ISP, but you can change them to other DNS servers manually.

If your ISP has its own DNS servers, they may disrupt access to YouTube servers. However, if you use Google’s public DNS servers instead, you might won’t experience any issues. Google’s DNS servers are known to provide a more stable internet connection than others.

Follow these steps to manually change the DNS settings and use Google’s DNS servers on the Samsung TV:

On the Samsung TV remote control, Press Home.
Select Settings.
Select General.
Select Network.
Select Network Status.
Select IP Settings.
Select DNS Setting.
Select Enter Manually.
Select DNS Server.
Enter 8.8.8.8.
Try to open and reconnect to the YouTube app again.

6. Reset Smart Hub on Samsung TV

Another app that you’re logged into on your Samsung Smart TV may be interfering with the YouTube app working correctly. A smart hub reset will log you out of all the other apps.

If you reset the smart hub on the Samsung TV, it may help to remove any conflicts between apps. Before a smart hub reset, make sure you have all the necessary login credentials for signing into apps later.

For newer, post-2020 Samsung Smart TV models, follow these steps:

On the remote control, Press Home.
Select Settings.
Select Support.
Select Service Care.
Select Self Diagnosis.
Select Reset Smart Hub.

For older, pre-2020 Samsung TV models, follow these steps:

On the remote control, Press Home.
Select Settings.
Select Support.
Select Self Diagnosis.
Select Reset Smart Hub.

If the Samsung TV asks for a security PIN before restarting the Smart Hub and you haven’t changed the PIN code yet, use the default PIN: 0000.

You may also need to download the YouTube app again after resetting.

YouTube Not Working on Samsung TV Final Thoughts

There are several issues that can occur when using YouTube on your Samsung television. Most of the issues with the YouTube app on your Samsung TV are small and can be resolved by following the solutions listed here.

Here are some other apps that can have issues working on a Samsung TV:

Image source: samsung.com