In most instances, this issue arises if you’re using a phone with low RAM, which makes it difficult to stream HD videos. But whatever the cause, you can learn how to prevent YouTube videos from lagging on Android below.
First, Try the Basics
Before proceeding to the more technical fixes for this issue, you might consider conducting some preliminary checks first. For instance:
Restart your phone: This will help you clear the cache that might have built up in your device over time. It will also close all the apps that might be running in the background that you are not using. Determine the strength of your internet connection: If you are unable to establish a strong internet connection, then this might be the reason why YouTube videos are lagging. Running a quick speed test on your Android phone will help find out whether a poor internet connection is what is causing this error. Delete your YouTube downloads: Depending on your region and if you have YouTube Premium, you can download YouTube videos on your device. If you download a lot of videos, they might eat up your phone’s storage space which affects its performance by slowing it down, thus causing videos to lag. Get a Wi-Fi extender: In some instances, you will find that the proximity of your Android phone to the Wi-Fi router is the issue. You can easily resolve this issue by either moving closer to the router or by buying a solid Wi-Fi extender. It will help you establish a stronger internet connection.
If those basic troubleshooting tips don’t work, try out the more in-depth solutions below.
1. Update the YouTube App
The next thing you need to do is update the YouTube app. This will ensure that you have the latest version of the app and that it’s optimized for your device.
Launch Google Play Store on your phone. Tap on your profile in the top-right corner of the app and select the Manage apps and device option. Then, select Updates available.
From this point, you can either choose the Update all option, which will update all the listed apps to the latest version, or scroll through the list and tap on the Update button alongside the YouTube application.
2. Switch to Wi-Fi
If you’re an avid YouTube user, then you know that it requires a strong internet connection to play high-quality videos. However, you might not always have a strong internet connection, especially if you’re using mobile data on your Android phone to play these videos.
Using mobile data might cause YouTube videos to lag or, if it plays them, they might be low-quality. An easy way around this is to switch from mobile data to Wi-Fi. Generally, a Wi-Fi connection is stronger, faster, and more reliable.
3. Turn Off Data Saving Mode
Most Android phones come with a feature called Data Saver. It is designed to reduce the amount of data used by apps running in the background so that you don’t go over your monthly limit. However, this also means that any app using data in the background will be restricted from doing so unless it’s necessary for proper functioning.
YouTube happens to be one of those apps which needs access to data all the time, so if you’re using Data Saver mode, it could cause problems when trying to watch videos online. To avoid this, you can turn it off in the Settings:
Launch the Settings app on your Android phone. Tap on Connections and select Data usage. Tap on the Data saver option, then toggle off the Turn on now button to disable the feature.
If this doesn’t resolve the issue, then you can proceed to turn off YouTube’s native data saving mode, which also serves the same purpose. Here’s how:
Launch the YouTube app. Tap on your profile picture in the top-right corner of the app, then select the Settings option. Next, select Data saving and tap on the Data-saving mode button to turn off the feature.
4. Disable Battery Saver Mode
Android devices also have a built-in Battery Saver mode that kicks in when your battery drops to a certain percentage. It helps save battery life by reducing CPU performance and limiting background data usage.
While this feature is useful for conserving power, it also limits the performance of your device, including its ability to stream videos. As such, if your YouTube videos keep lagging on your Android device, turning off the Battery Saver might help fix it.
For some devices, you can easily turn off the feature by sliding down to open the Quick Setting panel and tapping on the Battery Saver button to disable it.
Alternatively, you can also achieve this in the Settings:
Launch the Settings app and select Battery and device care. Next, tap on the Battery option and toggle off the Power saving option.
5. Uninstall and Reinstall the YouTube App
If the above solutions haven’t worked for you, try uninstalling and reinstalling YouTube.
However, it’s worth noting that this might be an issue for some users because the YouTube app is part of the pre-installed applications that come with an Android device upon purchase. In such an instance, you can force stop it instead:
Launch the Settings app on your phone and navigate to the Apps section. Scroll down, select YouTube, and tap on the Force Stop option.
If this doesn’t resolve the issue, delete the application and reinstall it again:
Launch the Settings app on your phone and navigate to the Apps section. Next, scroll down and select YouTube, and tap on the Disable option.
Wait for a few minutes then tap on the Turn on button to restore the app’s functionality.
6. Use Your Mobile Browser
As a last resort, you can choose to watch YouTube videos using your Android web browser instead of the app. The browser version provides an experience that’s similar to that of the YouTube app, as it comes with most of the features. But hopefully it the browser will play videos more smoothly than the app.
Play YouTube Videos Seamlessly
By now, you should have been able to resolve the YouTube video lagging issue on your Android phone using the solutions listed above. The best way to prevent this issue from recurring is to ensure that both the data saver and battery saver are disabled at all times, but sometimes you need to try other solutions instead.
