How to Fix YouTube Black Screen Error on PC, Mobile, TV, etc?

"I'm having the same fricking issues with YouTube right now too!!! All my videos I try to watch are just are totally blacked out. I still have audio but no video."

"Hello whenever I go to YouTube, it doesn't load video and it just stays black unless I refresh, this is annoying and I am wondering how to fix it, and what causes it."

In the light of so many YouTubers have experienced or may encounter YouTube black screen error when watching YouTube videos, this post will gather many possible reasons and solutions from online resources to help solve YouTube showing black screen problem.

Situations are different based on what device or platform you are using to watch YouTube videos, accordingly, this guide will explain everything in detail as much as possible when you encounter YouTube video black screen error on Chrome, Firefox, Safari, TV, iPhone, Android, and so on.

Possible Causes & Solutions for YouTube Black Screen Issue

YouTube video won’t play but only see a black screen with or without audio is a typical error that most of you have or will encounter at least once. It is typical so only refreshing the webpage doesn’t work, you have to do something to resolve it. So, the following solutions are what you need to grasp in case that YouTube turns black screen for the entire length of time or a few seconds.

Here are the quick checks to help recover your YouTube video playback before going deep.

• The video is unavailable in your location: Citizens from some countries are not supported by their ISPs to watch YouTube videos. Only using a VPN may help access to YouTube contents.
• Refresh the webpage when the video gets stuck or YouTube won’t respond.
• Start a new tab to open your YouTube video.
• Sign out your YouTube account to watch YouTube as a visitor.
• Check the Internet network’s status: Make sure your network is working properly and strong enough.
• Restart, update or reinstall your browser completely. Or simply use another browser.
• Disable browser extensions especially the ad blocking extensions.
• Restart your computer and then open YouTube.

Part 1. Fix Black Screen Error When Watching YouTube with Browser

Fix YouTube Black Screen on Chrome

Method 1. Turn off Hardware Acceleration on Chrome

Hardware acceleration helps speed up the video playback performance especially when playing high-res 8K, 4K, 360/VR and HDR videos. However, it will cause the black screen issue.

1. On your Google Chrome browser, simply click the "three-dot" icon to access the menu on the top right corner.
2. Click on "Settings".
3. Scroll down to find "Show Advanced Settings".
4. In the section of "System", uncheck the "Use Hardware Acceleration When Available".
5. Close and restart your Chrome browser again.

Method 2. Remove Browsing Data, Cache Files & Cookies

1. Also click the "three-dot" icon and choose "Settings".
2. Scroll down to "Privacy and security" section.
3. Click on "Clear browsing data".
4. Check "Browsing history", "Cookies and other site data" and "Cached images and files", and then click on "Clear data" button.
5. Close and restart your Chrome browser again.

Method 3. Update Your Chrome Browser

Your old version Chrome browser is still using the Adobe Flash Player plug-in which YouTube doesn’t support anymore, so you need to update your Chrome browser with html 5 support for YouTube.

1. Click on the "three-dot" icon and choose "Help" from the drop down menu.
2. Click on "About Google Chrome" and the browser will automatically check the current or newer version.
3. If there is an update available, the browser will download it accordingly. After that, you just press the "Relaunch" button to see if it solves the YouTube black screen problem.

Method 4. Disable Chrome Browser Extensions

Browser extensions may cause black screen YouTube error especially the ad-blocking extensions used to block advertisements, and disable such items may help you avoid of the interference.

1. Click on the "three-dot" icon and choose "More tools" from the drop down menu.
2. Choose "Extensions".
3. Extensions for ad blocking like Adblock and Adblock Plus need to be disabled. Just deselect the "Enabled" to disable them.
4. Restart your browser and then open your YouTube again.

Method 5. Check Adobe Flash Player/Java/HTML5 etc.

Adobe Flash Player is another common bug led to YouTube video showing in black screen, follow those troubleshooting steps to throw this problem away.

1. Uninstall the current Adobe Flash Player (also alike ones line above mentioned Shockwave/Silverlight) and download the latest version to install on your computer.
2. Make sure the JavaScript of your browser is turned on.
3. Disable the flash/graphics hardware acceleration by right clicking the video area, selecting Setting option to unselect "Enable hardware acceleration".
4. Disable YouTube HTML5 Player by downloading some add-on for your browser like YouTube Flash Video Player add-on for Firefox. Because YouTube officially used the HTML5 player when possible. YouTube black screen matter seems exclusive to HTML5 players sometimes for it is preventing them from playing videos properly and the videos don't always have an option in the left click menu to disable hardware acceleration.

Method 6. Log Out Your YouTube Account

Sometimes, logging out the YouTube account and loading YouTube videos as a visitor also works for black screen error on Chrome.

On the YouTube webpage, simply click your account picture and choose "Sign out".

Method 7. Use Chrome Browser in Incognito Mode

1. Click on the "three-dot" icon and choose "New incognito window".
2. In the new pop up window, simply input YouTube site URL and start watching YouTube videos with black screen problem.

Method 8. Switch to a Lower Video Quality Resolution

This way is highly suggested when you are watching 8K or 4K high definition videos while your network condition is very poor. If you think smoothness is more important than video quality, you can try this to prevent video choppy, stuck, black screen with spinning circle, etc.

1. Simply click on the "Settings" button of your playing YouTube video.
2. Choose "Quality".
3. Choose a lower video resolution. The one lower than 720p is better if your network condition is bad.

Fix YouTube Black Screen on Firefox

The way to solve the problem on Firefox browser is similar to that on Chrome.

Method 1. Disable Hardware Acceleration on Firefox

Click on "Menu" in Firefox > select "Options" > "Advanced" > uncheck "Use Hardware Acceleration When Available" > restart Firefox.

Method 2. Update Firefox

Press the icon of 3 lines on the right corner of Firefox > "Help" > choose "About Firefox" > Firefox will automatically check the updates and the updates will be automatically downloaded > press the button for "Restart to Update Firefox".

Method 3. Disable Browser Extensions

Press the icon of 3 lines on the right corner of Firefox > choose "Add-ons and themes" > disable add-ons especially the ad blocking extensions > reopen YouTube.

Method 4. Clear History Data, Caches & Cookies

Click Firefox History > Clear history > "Everything" range of "Browsing & Download History/Form & Search History/Cookies/Cache/Offline Website Data"; or click Tools > Options > Advanced > "Clear Now" for Cached Web Content and Offline Web Content and User Data

Fix Black Screen YouTube Error on IE

Method 1. Delete Browser History, Caches & Cookies

Tap on the icon of "Settings" on the top right corner > choose "Safety" > choose "Delete Browsing History" > check "Temporary Internet Files", "Cookies" and "History" > click on "Delete" to delete the data > play YouTube video again to see if the issue is tackled.

Method 2. Use Software Rendering

Tap "Internet Options" on your Internet Explorer browser > press "Advanced" > scroll down to click on "Accelerated Graphics" > make sure "Use Software Rendering instead of GPU Rendering Check Box" is chosen > press "Apply" > press "OK" > restart your computer.

Fix YouTube Video Black Screen on Safari

Method 1. Reset Safari

Go to "Finder - Applications" > find the icon of "Safari" > right-click on the icon of "Safari" and click on "Get Info" > select "Open in 32-bit mode" option and leave the window of "Safari Info" > open "Safari" on your system > click on "Reset Safari" in Safari browser > click on "Reset".

Method 2. Disable Extensions on Safari

Go to "Preferences" on Safari > go to "Advanced" > select "Show Develop Menu in Menu Bar" > exit "Preferences" > go to "Develop" > tap "Empty Caches" > go to "Develop" again > click on "Disable Extensions" > tap "History" and select "Clear History" > restart your Safari browser.

Method 3. Reinstall the Flash Player on Mac

Part 2. How to Fix YouTube Black Screen on iPhone or Android Mobile

YouTube black screen error on iPhone or Android happens simply because the error of the app itself, but sometimes restarting your mobile device works.

1. Clear the YouTube app cache

• On Android, simply open "Settings" > tap "Storage" to open its settings page > select "Other Apps" to find YouTube app > select YouTube and select "Clear cache".
• On iPhone, simple delete the app and then reinstall the YouTube app.

2. Restart your mobile device

3. Delete the YouTube app on iPhone or Android, and reinstall it from Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.

4. Watching YouTube video on mobile by navigating to youtube.com in the phone’s browser.

Part 3. Fix YouTube Black Screen on TV

As YouTube TV app is available on a list of TV brands including Samsung, Apple TV, Sony, Roku, etc., the TV users are also facing the problem. Try the following solutions the netizens provide, and you will get your YouTube working on TV again.

• Try to restart you TV.
• Log out your YouTube account and back in.
• Update your YouTube app or try reinstalling the YouTube app.
• Try to log in with a different account.
• Make sure it is not the internet error.
• Reset YouTube app in Settings of YouTube app.
• Force stop other running apps.
• Restore the operating system of your TV OS.
• Connect your HDMI cable rightly or simply replace it.