Solving playback issues

[bond606]

Does the YouTube app on anyone else's Roku only halfway work anymore? I'm not talking YouTube TV, just baseline YouTube. There are SO many videos that just don't work. They either refuse to play anything past the first few seconds or get stuck in a neverending buffering loop a minute or two in. It started with MxR plays and now it's spread to practically half the videos on the app. I hate having to constantly switch between my TV and phone just to watch certain videos because they just don't work on the Roku. It doesn't matter how long I wait the video will never play. A "broken" video uploaded today won't work today, or tomorrow, or the day after, or next week, or ever. My YouTube app doesn't have any available updates and my internet is fine.

[RokuMary-F]

Hi @bond606,

Thanks for your first post in the Roku Community!

We're sorry to hear that you've been having this trouble with playing content on the Youtube channel. We would like to know how to identify and resolve any playback issues.

We recommend starting performing the below steps and see if you can resolve the issue:

1. Remove the channel from the Roku device
2. Power cycle the Roku device, by disconnecting it from the power cable and reconnecting the device back to the power
3. Re-add the channel back to the Roku device

One additional suggestion we would like for you to try by performing a system update. You can check for a manual system update by navigating to Home > Settings > System > System update > Check now. and see if you notice any difference.

For more troubleshooting steps with any channel playback issue, follow our Support link: How to resolve a channel playback issue | Official Roku Support

Please let us know if the issue is fixed or reply back to the thread for further assistance, we will be glad to help you.


Best regards,
Mary

[Ams705]

Yes, it's the same for me for awhile now. YouTube works well on other streaming devices just not on Roku. 

[Burnspot]

Yep, the regular YouTube channel on Roku is virtually useless now, even after repeated update checks and channel uninstall/reinstalls. Most of the time, opening a video results in either a gray screen or a completely black screen that either eventually goes gray or just crashes Roku. It’s basically a lottery app now; sometimes you win a working video and sometimes you win the crash/restart. Roku is forcing me to use my desktop or phone to view vids now…go figure. 

It’s unfortunate that neither Roku nor YouTube really seem to care. This problem has been happening for quite awhile, but has gotten pretty bad in the last few weeks. 

[RokuMary-F]

Hi @Ams705,

Welcome to the Roku Community!

Thanks for letting us know about the behavior you are seeing with the Youtube channel and we appreciate your patience about this issue. 

We would like to know how to identify and resolve any playback issues but we need more details.

Here are a few questions here to better understand what you're experiencing:

• When did this issue first start occurring?
• What kind of issue are you experiencing?
• Are you being prompted with an error message?
• Does the issue only occur on a specific channel or all channels on your Roku device?
• What troubleshooting steps have you taken so far to try to resolve the issue?

We look forward to hearing from you and looking closely into this issue. Thank you!


Best regards,
Mary

[RokuMary-F]

Hi there @Burnspot,

Saw your post.

We appreciate your patience regarding this issue. We understand that you are facing an issue when playing content with Youtube.

We would be happy to look further into this issue but we will need more details. Can you please provide us with the following information:

• Roku device model, serial number, device ID, and software OS/version (these can all be found in Settings > System > About)
• does this issue occur on a specific channel? if so, what channel and what version/build is the channel (this can be found by selecting the channel on the Home screen and pressing the * button)
• tracker ID when this issue occurs (when you see this issue occur, press the Home button 5 times, followed by the Back button 5 times, and provide us with this ID)
• steps to reproduce the issue you are seeing
• How long has the issue been occurring?

We look forward to hearing from you and assisting you with your needs as we are committed to finding a solution for this issue. Thank you!


Best regards,
Mary

[atc98092]

Google has a long history of the YouTube channel on Roku devices working poorly as devices get older. The very first channel that because unusable on my 2 XS (model 3100) was YouTube, even though every other channel was still working fine. 

This is all on Google, who owns YouTube and provides the channel on Roku devices. None of you have specifically mentioned what model of Roku device you are using, which is needed to provide a frame of reference on the functionality of the channel.

I can only offer my data point that YouTube appears to be working fine on my newer players, which are all 9th or 10th (latest) generation devices. I do still use one 7th generation player (Premiere 3920), and YouTube still seems to be working OK on it. Although it had lost its login to my Google account so I had to log it back in.

[Burnspot]

Hi Mary,

Sure, here you go:

• Model: 4200X - Roku 3
• Serial Number: 1GJ37C158098
• Software: 12.0.0 - Build 4184-04

The only channel I've seen this problem on is the normal YouTube channel (not the TV version). I also use Netflix and Prime, but really never use them all that much (never had a problem with them).

I'd love to provide a tracker ID; however, Roku almost always locks up when it occurs and is unresponsive for a few minutes before rebooting itself.

I'd say that, over the last year, the YouTube channel's had a few instances where some videos would start with a gray screen, with chirps of audio, and, after some time, eventually start. Any UI manipulation (doing a Like or viewing comments) would cause the video to stutter and chirp.

That behavior has greatly magnified over the past few weeks, to the point where now, more and more videos start with either a black or gray screen and lock Roku up after around 20-30 seconds. Sometimes, I can back out and go back to the video browser, but it's really hit or miss...it mostly just locks it up now. I'll see about getting a tracker the next time it happens, if it doesn't lock.

As for reproducing the issue, it's pretty easy...I select a video and cross my fingers; I have a 50/50 shot that the video starts or I get a black screen and crash.

Thanks...

[atc98092]

@Burnspot Your Roku player is a 3rd generation device, first released in March of 2013. I am not surprised that YouTube is failing on your player. It fits the pattern of Google making older devices work poorly. It's unfortunate, as your 4200 is still a decent player in many regards. But that's the way Google seems to work with their apps. 

[Steve_K1]

FYI, my wife watches basic YT all day, and does not have this problem. -- Steve