YouTube outages: what broke, what’s working now, and why users saw “Something went wrong”
A wave of YouTube outages left many people unable to load the homepage, start videos, or sign in—often triggering the “Something went wrong” message—before service largely stabilized. The disruption mattered because it hit multiple parts of the YouTube ecosystem at once, including YouTube TV and YouTube Music for some users, and it arrived during peak evening viewing in the U.S.
As of Friday, February 20, 2026, the broad, platform-wide failure seen earlier this week appears to be resolved, though a smaller number of users may still run into intermittent “youtube not working” issues that look similar but can stem from local app, device, or network problems.
What happened in the YouTube outage
The main failure centered on YouTube surfaces that depend on personalization and feeds—especially the home page not loading with recommendations. Many users could still reach individual videos through direct links, search, or subscriptions, while the homepage and parts of navigation appeared empty, slow, or error-prone.
In the U.S., the spike was sharp enough that a major down detector site showed a rapid surge in “youtube down” and “youtube is down” reports, including complaints that “youtube crashed” or the app was “broken.” Some users also saw login friction on YouTube TV during the same window.
A brief timeline in Eastern Time
| Time (ET) | What users saw | What still worked |
|---|---|---|
| ~7:45–8:00 p.m., Tue., Feb. 17 | Homepage failed, “Something went wrong,” blank feeds | Direct video links, some searches |
| ~8:00–9:30 p.m. | Reports peaked; YouTube TV sign-in issues for some | Playback for already-open videos |
| ~9:30–10:15 p.m. | Partial recovery; homepage began returning for many | Increasingly normal navigation |
| Late evening into Wed., Feb. 18 | Broad restoration across apps and web | Normal viewing for most users |
Times are approximate and reflect the most common user experience during the incident.
Why YouTube was down
The clearest explanation tied the outage to a failure in the recommendations system—the machinery that decides what appears on the homepage, in suggested videos, and across personalized surfaces. When that layer faltered, it didn’t just make the feed less relevant; it caused entire sections to render empty or fail to load, which then surfaced generic errors like “Something went wrong youtube.”
That also explains why “youtube home page not loading” was one of the most common complaints, while some people could still watch a video they already had open.
Is YouTube down right now in the USA?
For most users in the USA, YouTube is currently functioning normally. If you’re asking “is youtube down right now” or “is youtube down right now in usa” because you’re still locked out, it may be one of three common scenarios:
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A lingering, localized issue (specific region, ISP, or device type)
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An account/app state problem after a large outage (stale cache, stuck sign-in)
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A separate, smaller disruption that looks like the earlier outage but is unrelated
If only you (or only your household) is affected, it’s more likely scenario #2 or #3 than another full YouTube outage today.
Why YouTube is not working for some people
When YouTube not loading is limited to one device or one network, the usual culprits are straightforward:
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App cache or corrupted session data after an outage
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Out-of-date app version
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Device-level DNS or network hiccups
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Browser extensions interfering with scripts
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Smart TV app instability after long uptime
This is also when people often see “youtube something went wrong,” a generic error that can mean anything from a failed request to a blocked script.
Quick checks and fixes that actually help
If you’re still thinking “what’s wrong with youtube right now,” these steps solve a large share of post-outage problems:
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Force-close the YouTube app, then reopen it
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Restart the device (especially smart TVs and streaming sticks)
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Switch networks briefly (Wi-Fi to mobile data, or vice versa)
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Update the YouTube app and your device OS
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Clear app cache (or browser cache/cookies), then sign in again
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Disable VPNs and ad blockers temporarily to test
If YouTube TV down symptoms persist while regular YouTube works, focus on sign-in, location permissions, and app updates—those are frequent friction points when the broader platform is already back.
What to watch next
Large-scale outages like this tend to be short-lived but noisy: a single failing system (recommendations, identity, or content delivery) can cascade into “youtube servers down” perceptions even when parts of playback still function. The best signal of a true platform-wide problem is a sudden, broad jump in real-time outage reports paired with consistent errors across web, mobile, and TV at the same time.
If your issue is isolated and the rest of YouTube is working elsewhere, treat it like a local troubleshooting case—because at this point, the big “youtube down?” event earlier this week has mostly passed.
