Fix: An unexpected error has occurred. Please try again later on Youtube

All over the internet, on various social media platforms, we witness thousands of bugs and errors which leave us baffled and perplexed. Whether the platform in question is Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, etc. Such errors and bugs are often fixable and the remedies to deal with them also lie on the internet.

The platform we are talking about is perhaps the biggest video-sharing platform on the internet, where over 500 hours of content is uploaded every minute and has over 2.6 billion active users. So there’s no doubt about it that most the people are aware of YouTube and the variety of content available on the site and that a huge number of people have consumed this content in one way or another, whether in the form of tutorial videos or all sorts, gaming videos and even movie trailers.

I imagine all of us have sat down for an entertaining YouTube session, only to witness a sudden strike of annoyance presented to us in the form of “An unexpected error has occurred. Please try again later”. This error occurs when we try to play a video on the YouTube site or the application on our Android or IOS devices. There are many possible reasons why this error may occur while you’re trying to watch a video and it’s important to identify the various causes of this inconvenience.

Possible causes for this error

1. A possible cause can be in the form of your ISP not being routed to the correct DNS.
2. Sometimes the device you may be using can have faulty or outdated drivers and plug-ins. Such faulty necessities often interfere with the YouTube experience and can lead to errors.
3. The browser in use might not be able to play a certain issue.
4. Some settings might not be enabled on your browser or there could be some other issue with the browser in use.
5. Your internet connection might not be stable, or you could be disconnected from the internet.
6. YouTube requires a fast connection, in case you have a slow connection YouTube may display a series of errors.
7. The YouTube website often glitches.
8. The cache might be too large.
9. Some browser extensions might be interfering with your YouTube Experience.

Possible ways to fix the error

            After identifying the possible causes of this error, here’s a list of measures that can possibly get rid of this error and allow you to get back to your YouTube entertainment session. These solutions which we have compiled were found after experimenting with various device and browser settings and they have a success rate of eliminating the problem.

Changing Your DNS

DNS stands for Domain Name System and it translates domain names readable by humans to an IP that can be understood by the machine. Even though the DNS is set by the ISP (Internet Service Provider), it can still not allow videos to be played by YouTube. This can be fixed by changing your DNS to a public DNS. It is recommended to change your DNS to Google’s public DNS.

In order to change your DNS, you can go to Settings >>> Network & Settings >>> Network Connections and click on Change adapter options on your Windows Computer and then follow the steps given below.

You will then be required to right-click on the network currently in use in order to access the properties.

After you have accessed the properties you will be shown a list of adapters, here you are advised to choose Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and click on properties where after selecting the “Use the following DNS server addresses” option, you can enter the information regarding your desired public DNS.

Using a different Web Browser

Changing your web browser can most definitely fix this issue, especially if you just installed it. Trying to access YouTube from another browser would allow it to work without any issues or errors. Some people may still prefer their current browser so, in that case, you can simply delete and then reinstall your favorite browser, and your issue will be resolved. We recommend using Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Opera, etc.

Clearing Search History and Cache

At some point in our time browsing over the internet, we all have deleted our Web History due to one reason or another. The reasons could be to get rid of old search suggestions or even privacy concerns and sometimes to even get rid of those pesky ads that end up opening without your will. Clearing search history can also help resolve the “An unexpected error has occurred. Please try again later” error. In order to clear the search history on Google Chrome, you can access the drop-down list by pressing the three dots on the top right-hand corner of your tab. From there you can click on the “History” option.

After this you will be presented with a screen from there you can choose the “Clear browsing data” option to clear your history.

You can select the various time periods given in the options but we recommend you clear all your history by using the option “All time”. By clearing this history your cached images and files along with cookies will get deleted as well. Then you can go ahead and access YouTube and most probably it won’t display the same error.

In order to clear the cache on your android phone, you need to access application settings, locate the YouTube app, and clear the cache.

The Use of Extensions

Across web browsers, a lot of people use different extensions. These extensions tend to enhance the browsing experience and provide aid to the people accessing the internet. Extensions can help block ads, can act like audio players, and even help us find discounted items over the World Wide Web. On rare occasions, these extensions tend to interfere and not allow YouTube videos to be played. We can access the extensions window by clicking the settings option on Chrome. From there we can get more extensions, toggle them on or off and even remove them.

Disabling the YouTube Application

Often, the YouTube application on android phones gets bugged and as it is a system app it cannot be uninstalled to be reinstalled later, as a means to fix the bugs. Even though this application cannot be deleted there is still a way to get rid of possible errors. For this, you are required to access your application manager and open the app info about YouTube. On all Android phones, there will be an option to disable YouTube. You can then disable the app and it will be replaced with the factory version of it, this means all updates made to the application since it was booted for the first time will be removed. Afterward, you can access the application manager again to enable the YouTube app and install all the updates from Google Play Store.

More methods to resolve this issue

The methods discussed above explain the ways to resolve this error in a detailed manner so that even a casual user who isn’t really aware of the intricacies of the internet and web browsers won’t have a difficult time. However, there are some more methods that can possibly fix this error and even the general population is aware of them. These methods are simple and they are:

• You can refresh or reload the YouTube web page and your video can start playing. The refresh button can be located at the top left of your chrome tab and pressing it would result in an instant reload of whatever web page is currently active.
• We discussed earlier that reinstalling your browser might work, but sometimes even a simpler option like restarting your web browser can do the trick too.
• The traditional method of restarting your entire device, in case of an error occurring anywhere on your device has the potential to wipe this error as well. Simply restart your phone or computer in hopes of removing this error.
• Furthermore, an adblocker on your phone or your browser could be interfering with certain features of YouTube causing this error. Try to disable adblocker and refresh your page or restart your app to see if the error still remains.
• If you are using an outdated or an older version of your web browser, most of the time such outdated browsers are unable to play videos. Make sure your browser is up to date. If you’re on Google Chrome, click the three dots icon on the top right and if there’s an option to update your browser, click it to update your web browser.
• If you are on your Android or IOS devices, you can check your specific application stores to ensure that your YouTube application has the latest update or not. If it is not updated to the latest version you will be advised by the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store to update the app to take advantage of the latest features and get rid of the bugs within the application. When updates are launched, their aim is to make the user experience better than before, and in trying to do so the developers of the app remove most known bugs and errors.
• Sometimes the “autoplay” feature on YouTube causes inconveniences and which are in the form of errors. Disabling this feature can help you get rid of these errors.
• It is possible that your desired video is not being played due to the instability of your internet connection. Restarting your router can possibly help with a better connection and as a result, you will be able to play videos on YouTube.
• Changing the video quality is also a possible solution to this problem.
• Finally, your device may have faulty drivers which are in need to be repaired or updated. Often the failure of audio drivers leads to this issue.

We hope these methods are able to get rid of this error, so you can get back to your uninterrupted entertainment session on YouTube because, in a fast-paced life like this, it’s the content like that on YouTube which can help calm a lot of people down. These fixes included steps to reroute you to a public DNS, while also helping you clear the cache and history of your YouTube browser. Then there were traditional ideas of restarting your device or the browser.