YouTube Investigating Issue With 'Something Went Wrong' Error in Apple TV App

[MacinMan]

I usually only get this error when either:
1, using an older browser
2, looking at very old videos.
As far as having an issue with the TV interface, or iOS, etc: I haven't had any.

As far as the comment above about Google's own interface. I personally see this argument from both sides. However, I personally finding having a custom interface specific to the app nice. Then, the app will look almost the same on any platform it's used. It's nice for familiarity. But on the other hand, having an interface that matches the apple guidelines is also nice. I think it comes down to personal preferences as to which one matters to you the most.

 

[icerabbit]

Related?

That is pretty much a 24/7 issue these days for me in iPad OS Safari. Something went wrong. Long cryptic error message. Pretty sure it is something borked relating to ongoing iPad OS memory leaks and tracking + ad viewing. Things used to work just fine. Now embedded videos on sites sometimes work, often they don’t, sometimes yt itself works, often it doesn’t.

I just reset safari. Open YT. Desktop view. See lots of thumbnails. Go to a channel I have watched before. No videos load. A playback error occurred. Turn off blockers. Things reload. Playback error again. Then the tab crashes with an error repeatedly occurred.

The only thing that works is the YT app, which I hate because there is no back button and no open in tabs.

Anyhow I am not surprised that either safari or yt is breaking things, with as much trouble I have in Safari.

We just lost the yt app on all our atv3 for no good reason, really. If I were to guess, probably because it uses an older video protocol behind the scenes and may not serve enough ads ??

 

[jonblatho]

I should clarify I meant to my iPhone’s Home Screen. PIP is supposed to allow me to say, write a text message while still allowing video to run. YouTube seems to specifically block this function unless you pay them. I cancelled my trial and the functionality went away but it works on other sites.

Ah yes. While the UI is a bit clumsier, there are some Shortcuts floating around that do force it to work for YouTube videos, though, if you’re interested in that functionality.

The ones I found with a Google search require an additional app, but I found one that just runs JavaScript on the website with no additional app required.

 

[Anthony Sullivan]

Why does Google insist on creating their own user interface for the Youtube app. The old app was much better and followed Apple's guidelines. This, one is horrible for scrolling through long list of my subscriptions and no way to select individual videos from playlists.

Why does an app developer insist on their own interface...for their own app? Seriously?

 

[smithrh]

Been seeing this error message ever since they rolled out YT Premium monthly extortion subscription. I suspect it has to do with YT/G serving up ads.

This right here.

Pretty sure pre-roll ads cause this - I've noted an almost 100% correlation to this happening on Safari on the Mac to when YT serves up pre-roll adds on the ATV app.

 

[OneTraveler]

The "something went wrong" error clearly comes from adblock. Watch YouTube with AdBlock on....i get maybe 20% of videos to play. If i temporarily turn it off, then video will play (after refresh). With it off, they all play. 100% of the time.

 

[MacinMan]

The "something went wrong" error clearly comes from adblock. Watch YouTube with AdBlock on....i get maybe 20% of videos to play. If i temporarily turn it off, then video will play (after refresh). With it off, they all play. 100% of the time.

If you've found it connected to ad blockers, how come people don't pay for YouTube Premium? I used to use ad blockers years back before trying Red, and now Premium, and I find for me anyway, paying to remove ads is a much better experience. I also find the other things that come with it, are nice and help justify the cost beyond just removing ads.

 

[squirrel77]

I has the same issue with my Amazon fire 4k in the last few days too. Similar error. Had to delete and reinstall, problem gone. Don't know if it's a new version of the app, guessing not as it should update automatically.

 

[DeepIn2U]

In recent days, some Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD users have been receiving a "something went wrong" error message when attempting to load videos using the YouTube app on tvOS. The issue does not appear to be widespread, and it seems to arise only when a user is signed into their YouTube account on the Apple TV.

YouTube has confirmed on Twitter that it is investigating the issue and working on a fix, but in the meantime, some users in the Apple Support Communities have found success with a workaround that involves deleting and reinstalling the YouTube app on the Apple TV and then signing in with the "using my phone" option.

YouTube has not provided a timeframe for when the issue will be resolved.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1373106055916482560

https://twitter.com/x/status/1373802422485803008

Article Link: YouTube Investigating Issue With 'Something Went Wrong' Error in Apple TV App

Hey Google the one thing that went wrong with Apple TV was months ago he screwed up the UI,!,!

 

[Blowback]

If you've found it connected to ad blockers, how come people don't pay for YouTube Premium? I used to use ad blockers years back before trying Red, and now Premium, and I find for me anyway, paying to remove ads is a much better experience. I also find the other things that come with it, are nice and help justify the cost beyond just removing ads.

Not being sarcastic...really...but can you elaborate on the 'other things'..? Thanks.

 

[MacinMan]

Not being sarcastic...really...but can you elaborate on the 'other things'..? Thanks.

Well, for me the things I appreciate are two main things:
Background audio on the YouTube app.
They do have the originals as well, but I don't watch those
Initially, they included a subscription to Google Play music, which is now YouTube Music.

I'm sure there are more, but removing ads, the background audio option, and the music service make it worth paying the $10 a month (which was the Red price) New users that didn't have red on switch, i think it's either $12, or $13 a month. I don't know the exact price for non red users. When they upgraded the service, I kept the price I was paying.

 

[Blowback]

Well, for me the things I appreciate are two main things:
Background audio on the YouTube app.
They do have the originals as well, but I don't watch those
Initially, they included a subscription to Google Play music, which is now YouTube Music.

I'm sure there are more, but removing ads, the background audio option, and the music service make it worth paying the $10 a month (which was the Red price) New users that didn't have red on switch, i think it's either $12, or $13 a month. I don't know the exact price for non red users. When they upgraded the service, I kept the price I was paying.

Thanks for the answer.

 

[MacinMan]

Thanks for the answer.

You're welcome. I know Premium includes more in the package than Red did, however, you'll need to look that information up to see if anything applies to you beyond removing ads. I never bothered to dig deep into the added benefits, because as mentioned above I have what I want out of the deal. Not to say I'll find other things I like and use in the future though. There is one thing I will ad I forgot above. The other reason I like paying for Premium is because I didn't want to have to pick and choose creators to support individually especially in the same kind of content. When I watch a video, they'll get a bit of revenue because I'm a Premium Member. That was also a part of red. So in that way, I support everyone's content I watch. Even if it's just a little bit, and if their content is even monetized.

P.S. I found out about Google Play music, now YouTube Music when I got my first google home speaker. It just worked and that's when I found out it was included in my subscription. I have an originial Google Home, and a nest Audio, and five echos of various types.

 

[JosephAW]

I still get this on my 3rd gen when I try to mirror my iPhone 11 full screen on the Apple TV with YouTube.
Mirroring works fine if I don’t go to full screen move with a video but leave it in the safari window. Lousy quality though because it’s just a magnification my my screen.

 

[femike]

The youtube app on the Apple TV is still awful. Not sure whether Google or Apple is at fault there, maybe both.
But tvOS needs a total revamp, advancement.

 

[canyonlight]

I have the same problem with Amazon Prime. So far not on YouTube.

 

[George Dawes]

The interface on YT on the atv is truly abysmal

 

[burgman]

I've had some issues on ATV, but the YT App on Roku has been a dumpster fire lately.

 

[Westside guy]

I don’t have this issue with YouTube. The Amazon prime app though, happens after every episode.

Oh man. The Amazon Prime app is a great example of how NOT to design a streaming app. It's unbelievably bad.

 

[mjs916]

The youtube app on the Apple TV is still awful. Not sure whether Google or Apple is at fault there, maybe both.
But tvOS needs a total revamp, advancement.

My main issue with the Apple TV version of YouTube is that I can’t switch audio sources by swiping down like I can on most other apps. I actually have to leave the app or use my iPhone to switch sources. Anyone aware of another way I should use? Is there a working verbal command through the remote or Siri?

BTW my YouTube error went away sometime yesterday. I was using airplay from my phone as a workaround so I can’t say exactly when.

 

[mjs916]

Ah yes. While the UI is a bit clumsier, there are some Shortcuts floating around that do force it to work for YouTube videos, though, if you’re interested in that functionality.

The ones I found with a Google search require an additional app, but I found one that just runs JavaScript on the website with no additional app required.

Thank you! I keep forgetting about Shortcuts.

 

[ph001bi]

It's not on Apples side. That's not how things work. All Apple devices worked just fine, only Apple TV and it wasn't after some update, it just stopped working.

The problem is on my Mac and it started when I installed the Big Sur beta back in August, if it works with Opera and doesn't with Safari, then it's on Apples side.
Interestingly I use the Google App to authenticate. If I try to log using Safari, the Google app sees

It's not on Apples side. That's not how things work. All Apple devices worked just fine, only Apple TV and it wasn't after some update, it just stopped working.

The problem is on my Mac and it started when I installed the Big Sur beta back in August, if it works with Opera and doesn't work with Safari, then it's on Apples side.
Interestingly I use the Google App to authenticate. If I try to log using Safari, the Google app sees an Intel Mac running 10.15.7 but if I try to log using Opera, the Google app see an Intel Mac running 11.3.8 which is correct. The only conclusion is that there is a bug with the way Safari interacts with Youtube and this is affecting several Apple devices.