If your YouTube screen is black, this article will provide information on everything you need to understand about your YouTube screen going completely dark and 11 quick and easy ways to fix it.
YouTube black screen is a common problem mostly all YouTube viewers have encountered before.
I understand how annoying and frustrating it could be when you are trying to watch a video on YouTube and you realize the video isn’t displaying at all but shows a black screen instead.
Most people complain they can hear audio playing while the screen is displaying black.
Depending on what issues you are facing with YouTube showing you a black screen instead of playing your video, this article will you resolve the problem if you stay to the end.
You can navigate through the table of content to jump directly to your interest.
Last update on 2023-03-24 / As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
What is YouTube Black Screen?
YouTube black screen simply refers to when you are trying to watch a video on YouTube and the video fails to load but shows you a black screen that displays for a long period of time.
If you are wondering what a YouTube black screen looks like, here it is
The black screen just stays this way for a long period of time without resolving itself.
There are several things that causes this problem and to be able to resolve it, you need the right knowledge.
Allow me to show you the reasons why your YouTube screen is black.
Why is YouTube Screen Black?
Your YouTube screen is black due to the follow reasons below.
1. Browser Extensions
An extension like ad blocker could be one the extension causing the problem.
Sometimes, when an ad blocker is trying to block a YouTube ad, it accidentally blocks you from also viewing the video you want to watch.
Another reason you are getting a black screen on YouTube is because you might too much extension installed on your browser that could be conflicting with each other.
2. Browser Problems
Your might have a corrupt data on your browser or your browser is simply not up to date.
An outdated browser could be missing a feature it needs to properly play a YouTube video.
In some cases, the problem could be coming from your browser cookies and cache files. You simply just need to clear them and your YouTube black screen problem is fixed.
3. Network Problems
This is one of the major causes of why your YouTube screen is black.
When you have a poor internet connection, YouTube will fail to play your video.
Same goes to when you are not even connected to any internet network, YouTube won’t play your video.
It’s important to check if your connected to the internet and check if your data bundle isn’t exhausted.
4. Computer Problems
If your computer develops some type of issue, it could affect YouTube to display a black screen to you instead of playing your video.
This problem is can be simply solved by restarting your computer.
How to Fix a YouTube Black Screen
Here are 11 quick and easy ways to resolve a black screen on YouTube.
Please follow all the instructions carefully.
1. Check Your Internet Connection
First things first.
Check your internet connection to know if you are connected to the internet.
Test your internet connection by going to another website on a different tab in your browser.
If nothing is working, check your data bundle to know if it’s not exhausted.
2. Refresh the YouTube Page
Depending on what browser you are using, if you get stuck on the black screen, click on the refresh, or reload button to load the page again.
If you don’t know how to refresh a page, here’s how
1. Look for an icon that looks like this.
2. It’s usually located by your top left-hand corner beside the URL in your browser.
3. When you locate it, click on the rotation button to refresh the page.
3. Restart Your Web Browser
Depending on the browser you are using, either google chrome, Mozilla, or safari, close it, and then open it again.
Go to YouTube and try watching a video again.
If you get a black screen, force close the browser with task manager.
This is how to force close with task manager,
1. Hold these commands together to open task manager.
Ctrl + Shift + Esc
to open task manager
2. Under processes and name tab, select your browser among the list.
3. After selecting on your browser, click on end task.
Your browser will completely be closed.
Now, you can open your browser again and begin to watch YouTube videos.
4. Sign Out of Your YouTube Account
Signing out of your YouTube account and signing back in could help you resolve the black screen problem.
1. While on YouTube page, go to your account icon located at the top by your right-hand side.
2. Among the drop down, click on sign out
3. Once you sign out, sign back in you YouTube account.
4. Now you can watch videos on YouTube.
Clearing your cookies and cache files can help you fix corrupted data in your browser.
I will show you how to clear cache and cookies on both Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge.
Here’s how
Google Chrome
1. While in Chrome, go to the 3 dotted icon 
located at the top right-hand corner and click on it.
2. In the drop down choose settings.
3. Click on clear browsing data in the privacy and security section.
4. Then click on clear data.
Note – You can uncheck your browser history if you want to keep them.
Microsoft Edge
1. While in microsoft edge, click on the 3 dotted icon.
2. Choose settings at the bottom of the list.
3. Navigate to the privacy and security tab and select choose what to clear.
4. Click on clear.
Note – You can uncheck the data you don’t want to clear.
6. Disable Your Browser Extensions
Disabling your browser extension will remove any extension that is conflicting another extension which could be the reason to why your YouTube screen is black.
This is how to disable your browser extensions in chrome.
1. Navigate to the 3 dotted icon located at the top right-hand corner and click on it.
2. Among the dropdown, select more tools.
3. Then choose extensions.
4. After choosing extensions, you will see all the extension turned on in chrome,
5. Turn off every extension by toggling to the left 
.
7. Disable Hardware Acceleration
Hardware acceleration can sometimes cause unexpected issues that could lead YouTube to show you a black screen.
If your hardware acceleration is enabled on your browser, you should consider disabling it.
Here’s how
1. Go to the 3 dotted icon at the top right-hand corner and click on it.
2. Among the drop down, choose settings.
3. Then scroll down to the bottom and click on advanced.
4. Now you will see your hardware acceleration under the system section.
5. Turn it off when you find it.
6. Then go ahead to YouTube and watch any video you want.
8. Update Your Web Browser
An outdated browser could be lacking some features that would help you watch videos properly on YouTube.
If you are missing these features, this could probably be the reason why your YouTube screen is black.
You must make sure your browser is up to date if you want to enjoy all features.
If you don’t know how to update your browser, here’s how
1. Simply download your browser from their official website >> GOOGLE CHROME | MOZILLA FIREFOX
2. Now install your current web browser and install the new one you just downloaded.
9. Test Another Web Browser
If YouTube is still showing you a black screen when you are trying to watch a video in your current browser, I recommend you try another browser.
For example,
If you have issues with YouTube while using Google Chrome, switch to Mozilla Firefox or Microsoft Edge.
Sometimes, your current browser data could be corrupted to the point that it could some little techy extra work to fix it.
Trying a different browser would make things easier.
10. Update Your Graphics Card Drivers
Your graphics driver is responsible for translating information your PC is working on into images and sends them to your computer display.
When you have errors playing a video on YouTube, the problem could be from your graphics card drivers.
You need to update them.
Here’s how
1. Start by searching for device manager on your computer and click on it.
2. Look for display adaptors and click on the drop down.
3. In the dropdown list, the amount of drivers you see is the amount of graphics drivers you have on you computer.
4. Now left click on one of the drivers and click on update.
5. You will be given two options, choose search automatically for updated driver software.
6. Now proceed with the instructions to update your drivers.
7. If you have multiple graphics card drivers, you must update all of them..
11. Download YouTube Videos
This is the ultimate solution when nothing seems to work.
Instead of trying to watch the video on YouTube, you can just download it and watch it.
Here’s how to download a YouTube video.
1. Go to YouTube and copy the URL of the video you want to watch.
2. No head over to Savefrom.net and paste the link you copied from YouTube.
3. Wait for few seconds on click on download to reveal the YouTube video you want to download.
4. Select the quality you want and click on download.
5. Now you can watch the video offline.
How to Fix YouTube Black Screen on Android & iOS
If your YouTube screen is black on your android or iOS smartphone, here’s what you should do to resolve it.
Restart your smartphone.
If you are still getting the error after restarting your phone then you want clear your cache and data.
here’s how
1. Go to settings on your android phone.
2. Look for storage in settings and click on it.
3. Select Other Apps to see more list of apps on your phone.
4. Now click on YouTube among your apps and then select clear cache.
For iOS users, you simply want to delete and reinstall the YouTube app to fix the problem.
