Method #3: Turn on airplane mode
Also known as flight mode, enabling it tends to disconnect the phone from any cellular and other networks temporarily. As you were facing trouble updating the app or installing it, check if airplane mode works in your favor or not. For this to work, drag the notification panel or pane and tap on the ‘Airplane Mode’ icon to turn it on. Wait for a few seconds before disabling it to check whether it worked or not. You can enable & disable airplane mode a few times to get the system working again clearing any temporary glitches.
Method #4: Turn off Wi-Fi/mobile data
Similar to how rocking airplane mode a few times can restore the system’s ability to install/update the YouTube app, you can try the same with Wi-Fi or mobile data depending upon which one you are using right now to kick start the process. Drag the notification panel and tap on Wi-Fi or mobile data a few times to check if the internet is working or not. You can search for something on Google Chrome or any web browser to check if the internet is working or not.
Method #5: Remove SD Card
Although most of the smartphones now have only built-in storage, there are still a lot of smartphone manufacturers that offer either hybrid or dedicated microSD slot that users can use. If you are facing issues with apps, try removing the SD card and check if it works or not. You must put all the apps to phone storage so allow it to run smoothly. Let us know if this works or not.
Method #6: Clear app cache and data
Cache files are prominently tagged as one of the reasons an app or bunch of apps or even the system might not work properly. This is why it is crucial to wipe off cache files as overwritten or corrupted cache files can introduce a number of problems and the ability to use an app or some features might be compromised as well. Clearing data, on the other hand, would simply delete any videos and content you might have saved on the app such as YouTube and returns its app size to its original value. Here’s how you can do it both.
- First of all, go to the Settings tool and proceed to ‘Apps & Notifications’.
- You need to find YouTube listed within the given list and tap on it.
- Press both the buttons that say ‘Clear Data’ and ‘Clear Cache’ to get rid of both.
- Exit the app and open it again to see if it did make any changes to the issue or not.
Note that you can also clear app cache for Google Play Services as well in an effort to kickstart YouTube from getting updated or installed firstly.
Method #7: Uninstall & reinstall YouTube
In most of the Android smartphones, YouTube comes as bloatware or pre-installed app and in such cases, you cannot uninstall it. But first, if you can uninstall the app, go ahead and uninstall it. In case of bloatware, you can go to the Settings >> Apps & Notifications >> YouTube and tap on the three dots vertically stacked on the extreme top-left of the window and select ‘Uninstall Updates’. This will uninstall any updates and you will be forced to update the app. You need to check whether doing this works or not.
Method #8: Uninstall Updates for Google Play Store
Clearing updates for Google Play Store doesn’t delete any data but brings the app to its factory settings. It is possible that the error that you are facing installing or updating YouTube is because of any bug or issues with the Google Play Store. For this to work, you need to go through the Settings >> Apps & Notifications >> Google Play Store. Now, search for the three vertically stacked dots that should give you a single option to ‘Uninstall Updates’. Open Google Play Store and you will be prompt to install the update that you can do and check if the issue with YouTube is gone or not.
Method #9: Install YouTube APK
For those facing trouble updating or even installing the app from the Google Play Store, you can still use the app on your phone. For this, you need to sideload the app via its APK file which is literally a piece of cake to find on the web. You can search for the latest version of YouTube, download the file and install it. If it doesn’t work, you can try downloading an older version of YouTube to check if that works on your device or not. If not, proceed with the next method and hopefully, it will suit your requirements.
Method #10: Resort to using the mobile version of YouTube
In case you aren’t able to use the YouTube app which is at some point in time if you keep on skipping updates, you will have to resort to using an alternative. You can still go for ‘Method #11’ but here’s what you give it a try. Why don’t you use the mobile version of YouTube on your smartphone? This will automatically allow you to use the app on the smartphone although it lacks auto buffering so if your internet is slow, you will face a buffering issue. But what’s wrong in giving it a try, right?
Method #11: Try YouTube GO
Similar to Android GO, YouTube has a ‘lite’ variant called YouTube GO which consumes a lot less data, power, and other resources. This is exceptionally good for those with weaker internet connectivity and/or smartphones with less RAM on-board. Download it here –> YouTube GO
Here were the 11 methods on how you can resolve the ‘I can’t install or update YouTube on my Android Phone’. You can try the very first step and proceed if the previous one didn’t work. Also, let us know which error you were having on YouTube and what method aforementioned (or not listed) did help you get out of it.
