YouTube is one of the main sources of entertainment for several people worldwide. With multiple YouTube channels across varied genres, YouTube has become the ultimate binge-watching platform. Have you ever been in a situation wherein you are watching some video on YouTube and it suddenly gets stuck, or it starts pausing after a few minutes? This can ruin the entire experience of watching something on YouTube. If you have ever been stuck in such a situation and do not know what to do, this article can help you out. There are many fixes when your YouTube videos has issues, and each of these fixes has been explained in detail below.
Why Do YouTube Videos Keep Pausing?
Whether you use your cellphone, tablet, TV, or computer, the issue of YouTube videos pausing can occur anytime. Before we dive deep into the solutions to fix such a problem, let us have a look at the many reasons why the YouTube videos on your device may be pausing.
- The YouTube server is down.
- Your internet connection is down.
- Your browser is outdated.
- There are a lot of junk and unwanted files saved in your browser.
- You have not updated your YouTube app to the latest version.
- You have enabled the ‘Remind Me To Take A Break’ feature.
- The earphones or headphones you are using are faulty.
How to Fix YouTube Videos Keep Pausing?
Now that you have had a look at the possible reasons behind your YouTube videos pausing, let us have a look at the solutions to fix this issue quickly.
1. Check Internet Connection
If your YouTube videos are pausing constantly, your internet connection may be poor. You can resolve this by using any of the fixes given below.
- Close any unnecessary apps running in the background that may be hogging the bandwidth.
- The farther you move from the Wi-Fi router, the poorer the connection will be. You can try moving closer to your Wi-Fi router and check if the issue persists.
- Reboot your Wi-Fi router to remove any cache or memory files that may be affecting the overall performance of the Wi-Fi connection.
- In case you are not able to move closer to your Wi-Fi router for better connectivity, you can try using a Wi-Fi extender.
2. Try Using Different Browser
If you are encountering other problems on YouTube along with the videos pausing regularly, the browser you are using may be at fault. In such a case, when you upgrade your browser to the latest version it will fix the issue. Even after upgrading your browser, if you still experience issues while watching YouTube videos, it is best to download a different browser.
3. Check Headphones Keeps Disconnected
If you are watching some video on YouTube using your earphones or headphones for audio and you observe that it keeps getting disconnected, you may face the problem of the YouTube video pausing. This can happen when your earphone plug is damaged, your phone’s port is dirty, or if the Bluetooth earphone is discharged.
If your earphones are physically damaged, it is always a better idea to replace them immediately to avoid future issues while playing YouTube videos. In case the issue is with your Bluetooth earphones and you cannot see any physical damage to it, you can do the following things.
- Try being within 20-30 feet distance from your device when you are using Bluetooth earphones for the audio.
- Disconnect and connect your earphones again.
- Charge your earphones and try using them again.
4. Clear Cache and Data
Your device, may it be your cellphone or computer, stores the cache files from every site you visit online so that it can launch the site faster the next time you visit it. However, when many of these cache files get accumulated over time, it can cause multiple performance issues, with YouTube videos pausing being one of them. To eliminate this cause, you will have to clear the store cache and data files from your browser by following the below steps.
- From ‘Settings’, go to ‘Apps and notifications’.
- From the apps listed, select ‘YouTube’.
- Go to ‘Storage’, and tap ‘Clear Cache’.
5. Check Unrestricted Background Data Usage
You should also check the data usage settings on your phone. If you haven’t allowed the YouTube app to use background data without any restrictions, it may cause the YouTube videos pausing issue. Use these steps to allow unrestricted background data usage by YouTube.
- From ‘Settings’, go to ‘Connections’, and then tap on ‘Data usage’.
- From there, select ‘Data Saver’, and turn on ‘Allow app while data saver is on’.
- From the apps listed, move the toggle switch next to YouTube to turn it on.
6. Reboot Your Device
There may be minor bugs in your device that can be causing the videos on YouTube pause. A simple reboot of the device you are using can resolve multiple issues like these. Always ensure that you save your work before rebooting your device.
- iPhone: To reboot an iPhone, press the ‘Volume Up/Down’ button with ‘Side’ button together and hold till you see the slider and turn off your phone. After a few seconds, press the ‘Side’ button and hold till you see the Apple logo on the screen.
- iPad: To reboot an iPad, press the ‘Volume Up/Down’ button with ‘Top’ button together and hold till you see the slider and turn off your iPad. After a few seconds, press the ‘Top’ button and hold till you see the Apple logo on the screen.
- Android Phone: Press the ‘Power’ button and hold for a few seconds and select ‘Restart’ from the given options.
7. Update App
If you have not installed the latest updates of the YouTube app, you may encounter plenty of issues with YouTube videos pausing being one of them. In order to fix this, go to Play Store on your Android device or App Store on your Apple device, search YouTube app, and tap the ‘Update’ option. For your Windows PC, you can update YouTube either from its settings or you can do it from the Microsoft Store. Once done, you should be able to watch any YouTube videos without any interruptions.
8. Disable Extensions
If you have multiple extensions installed on your browser, there are high chances that one among them may be the reason behind the YouTube videos pausing. You can fix this by opening a new window in incognito mode. When you stream YouTube videos in private mode, the browser extensions get disabled. After doing this if you do not face the problem of the YouTube video pausing midway, then you will have to delete all the browser extensions and install them individually to check the one that is causing the problem. Generally, the browser extensions that control media content are the cause behind such issues.
9. Turn off Take a Break Feature
If you are someone who spends hours together browsing through the many YouTube videos, YouTube may pause the videos after a while to give you a break. While this is definitely good for your eyes and movies you have time to stretch, it can be pretty annoying when you are watching something interesting and don’t really need that break. You can turn off this feature by using the steps given below.
- Open YouTube, go to your profile, and tap on ‘Settings’.
- Tap ‘General’ and disable ‘Remind me to take a break’.
You can even turn off the ‘Remind me when it’s bedtime’ feature to avoid interruptions while streaming a YouTube video. However, it is important to note that long hours of screen time can potentially hamper your eyes as well as your sitting posture.
10. Turn Off Auto Pause
When you are using YouTube you need to ensure that the auto pause feature is turned off on your phone. The YouTube Auto Pause feature enables automatic video pausing when you are viewing videos on the app. This feature basically gets activated by a face sensor which senses the facial expressions of the user and wakes up the phone, plays a video on YouTube, and even pauses a video on YouTube. If this is what is causing the YouTube video pausing issue, then you will have to turn off the auto pause feature that uses the face sensor.
11. Get Rid of the Ads
One of the ways you can make money on YouTube is by placing multiple ads throughout the video. While this definitely benefits the video creators, it can ruin the experience for the audience. The easiest way to get rid of these ads is by upgrading to the paid YouTube premium version. You can even install an ad-blocker, but recently YouTube has started detecting ad-blockers and restricting videos for any user with ad blockers.
12. Disable Data Saver
Data Saver generally lowers the picture quality to help you restrict your mobile data usage so that you do not go over the limit. In case you do go over the limit, Data Saver can even stop the YouTube videos. However, if you have an unlimited data plan, you can turn off the Data Saver and enjoy uninterrupted videos on YouTube by using the steps given below.
- Launch the YouTube app and go to your Profile.
- Tap on ‘Settings’, and then on ‘Data Saving’.
- Adjust the toggle in front of ‘Data saving mode’ to disable this feature.
13. Turn Off Battery Saver Mode
If the Battery Saver Mode is turned on on your phone, it may cause the videos on YouTube to pause while you are watching them randomly. This happens because in the Battery Saver Mode, your phone tries to save the battery by interfering with the applications on your phone that are potentially leading to your phone’s battery draining faster. You can avoid such a situation by turning off the Battery Saver Mode in the following way.
- On your mobile screen, swipe down from the top of the screen to access the notification panel.
- Look for the battery-saver icon and disable it.
14. Check Conflicting Third-Party App
Certain third-party apps may hinder the performance of your YouTube app. Ad-blocker apps, antivirus apps, or VPNs are the most common reasons behind your YouTube app behaving abnormally. To resolve this, you will have to uninstall any such apps that can potentially hamper YouTube’s performance. Once done, you can relaunch the YouTube app and check if the problem persists.
YouTube – FAQs
Ans: The most common reason behind the videos on your phone pausing after every few seconds is poor internet connection. YouTube videos use a lot of data, and when the speed of your internet connection is slow, the data required for the video to stream does not get transferred at the required speed, which restricts smooth viewing of the video.
Ans: When the internet bandwidth is insufficient, the videos on the internet can keep pausing periodically. This happens because the data cannot get downloaded fast enough for video viewing, due to which the video starts buffering. This also happens when there is an unstable internet connection.
Ans: You can try the following fix to stop your videos from pausing on YouTube.
* Launch the YouTube app and go to your profile.
* Go to ‘Settings’ and select ‘General’.
* Disable the ‘Remind me to take a break’ option.
Ans: You can fix this on your browser by clearing the cache, history, and cookies by following the steps given below.
* Go to ‘Menu’, and select ’History’.
* From there, tap on ‘Clear browsing data’.
* Then select ‘Advanced’ and check the required boxes to remove cache, cookies, and site data
* Also, select the ‘All-time’ option in the time range section and hit ‘Clear data’.
Ans: If YouTube is constantly pausing on your smart TV, you can try the following fixes.
* Ensure you have a strong and fast internet connection.
* Close all the apps running in the background.
* Reset modem or router
* Restart the YouTube app.
Conclusion
It is a very annoying situation to be in when the YouTube video you are watching starts stopping randomly every few seconds. If you ever find yourself in such a situation, this article can help you. There may be several reasons why the YouTube video on your device may be pausing from time to time. Once you know the reason, it becomes easier for you to troubleshoot the issue. You can follow the solutions given above to enjoy seamless YouTube videos viewing without any interruptions.
