The American video-sharing platform – YouTube was created in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim, who were all early employees of PayPal and then later bought by Google in November 2006 by the US for $1.65 billion.
YouTube has become the first site that strikes everyone’s minds when it comes to sharing or watching videos. With the rise in digital accessibility and opportunities, YouTube has provided platforms for many to reach out globally.
Also Read: How To Use The YouTube Watch Later Feature?
As every platform has some glitches, one of the most common errors that YouTube users face is ‘to watch YouTube videos unavailable’ In this article, we will focus on this error and how to watch unavailable YouTube videos.
YouTube Videos
Users can upload, view, rate, share content, add videos to their playlists, report and comment on videos, and subscribe to other users or pages. The YouTube videos are obtained from two sources:
- User-generated
- Corporate media videos (As part of YouTube partnership program media corporations including CBS, the BBC, Vevo, and Hulu offer media content.)
The usage and viewing of YouTube increased dramatically especially during the time of the COVID -19 pandemic. The features to upload and view videos can be enjoyed only by the registered users whereas anyone can view the contents uploaded on the platform.
If you are a verified account then you can upload videos up to 12 hours long and can even do live streaming of the events. The videos on YouTube have increased viewership and their purposes such that the complexity of the platform has also increased, for the better.
Generally, you can just tap on the link of the video on YouTube and watch it but sometimes the video player displays the ‘Video unavailable’ error and one cannot watch unavailable YouTube videos as such.
We will further look at the techniques and steps to be done when such an error occurs and watch the video that is unavailable.
How to Fix Unavailable Video Error?
The fixes and techniques discussed here are only applicable to computers or PCs, mobile phones, and not to video game consoles or other gaming devices.
1. Restart YouTube
Let us begin with the most simple solution that would fix the error. Restarting your YouTube should fix any error caused due to network interruption or other reasons. If this doesn’t work also try restarting the web browser and the router.
If this didn’t help, then try the following techniques.
2. Change the YouTube Video Quality
If you are streaming YouTube videos on PC then try changing the quality of the video if the error occurs. Follow the steps to check and change the quality or the resolution of the YouTube video:
- Open YouTube and click on the video link to play it in the video player.
- Click on the gear-shaped symbol at the bottom right corner of the player to open the Settings panel.
- Click on the ‘Quality’ option from the list in the panel.
- The resolution ranges from:
- Highest 1080p
- 720p
- 480p
- 360p
- 240p
- Lowest 144p
- Change the resolution of the video. If it is set at a higher range of 1080p or 720p then reduce it or if it is fixed at lower ranges of 144p then increase it to 240p or 360p.
3. Check the Internet Connectivity
Based on the resolution of the video that you set the different speeds of the internet would be required. If you are using a high-resolution setting then the minimum internet speed required for a YouTube video would be 7 Mbps (Megabits per second) and for a low-resolution video, a minimum speed of 500Kbps (Kilobits per second) would be required.
Also Read: Ways To Fix Your WiFi Connected But No Internet Issue
The interrupted connectivity and slow speed of the internet can cause errors while streaming videos on YouTube. So, when any issue occurs it is suggested to check the download speed of your internet. Follow these steps to do the same.
- There are several free online sites to check your current download speed of the video.
- Click here to use the ‘Speed test by Ookla’.
- Speedtest is currently available for iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Google Chrome, and Apple TV.
If all these techniques didn’t work then there is the possibility of the video being blocked in your country. Read further to know how to bypass YouTube country block.
4. Unblock the YouTube Video
YouTube has restrictions based on the geographical areas that prevent the viewing of certain videos in the restricted country. Here are some of the ways through which you can access them.
5. Web Proxy
A web proxy or proxy server is that application or device that acts as an intermediary that seeks information from other servers that the user needs.
YouTube uses the IP address to identify and track the country of the user. The web proxy will help you to play a video restricted in your country by changing your IP address of a different country and hiding your real IP address.
There are several proxy servers available. Click here to check them out.
Also Read: Free Proxy Servers To Visit Sites Anonymously
6. VPNs
Virtual Private Network or VPN helps to connect your device to a public network instead of the private network and receive the data required across the public networks similar to a private one. This is one of the best ways to bypass the block on videos as your real location is hidden and encryption is used to protect the connection.
Based on the VPN you use you can spoof your identity, change the geo-location and alter the IP address to a different country where there is no restriction over the video.
VPN is the best solution to keep your online identity private, secured and helps in bypassing:
- Government restrictions
- ISP (Internet Service Provider) limitations
- Geographical restrictions
7. Download the Video
This is yet another simple and effective technique to view blocked videos. You can download YouTube videos for free by the following methods:
- By typing ‘SS’ at the beginning of the URL to open the ‘saveform.net’ website where you can even change the file format like MP3, MP4, etc., and store it on your device.
- You can also use the official website for downloading YouTube videos by using the ‘yout.com’ website.
- Simply copy and paste the video URL in the space provided on the website and download the video in whichever format you want. You can also choose a particular portion of the video and download it.
Hope this article was useful to watch unavailable YouTube videos on your computer or mobile phones, for free.
Also Read: Want To Block A YouTube Channel?
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