YouTube works flawlessly most of the time, but there are times when users face issues while viewing videos. Many users have encountered situations where a video won’t play, and they see a YouTube black screen instead.

Some have said that the black screen on YouTube lasts for about 2 to 4 seconds, and then the video starts to play. So, if you have also encountered a black screen issue on YouTube, here’s how to fix the problem.

1. Sign Out of your YouTube Account

If you’ve just encountered a black screen on a YouTube video, first, you should sign out of your account and sign in again.

While this isn’t a sure-shot fix to the problem, it has helped many users. Here’s how to sign out of your YouTube account. To sign out of your YouTube account, click on your account drop-down and select Sign out.

This will immediately sign you out of your YouTube account. Once signed out, log back in with your Google account.

2. Check Your Internet Connection

Before trying any other methods, first make sure that you are connected to the Internet. Even if you are connected to the Internet, check whether it is working.

Sometimes, users get a black screen on YouTube just because of internet connectivity errors. So, first, verify that the internet connection is working properly.

3. Update Your Web Browser

If the internet works fine and you are still experiencing a black screen issue on YouTube, you must update your web browser.

Regardless of your browser, you need to update all pending updates. It’s also a good idea to update the browser as it fixes many underlying issues.

4. Disable the Ad-Blocker

If you are using an ad blocker extension or setting up ad filtering from Private DNS, it’s time to disable all ad-blocking features.

YouTube doesn’t favor those who use ad blockers to remove ads, as you must pay to remove them.

Sometimes, you may experience problems like a Black screen or a distorted video interface. You can eliminate such problems by disabling the ad blocker extension you’re using on your web browser.

Also, if you have set up private DNS like Adguard to block ads, it’s recommended that you disable it as well.

5. Clear Cache and Cookies

Sometimes, outdated or corrupted cache files also create problems like YouTube’s black screen. So, in this method, you must clear your browser’s cache and cookies to fix the problem.

However, please exclude the passwords and usernames from the Clear data page. To clear Chrome’s cache and data, press the CTRL+SHIFT+Delete button. On the next page, select cookies and cached images and files and click the ‘Clear data’ option.

6. Flush DNS Cache

Like outdated cache files, DNS caches are prone to corruption. Over time, they can become outdated and create internet connectivity issues.

So, flushing the DNS cache is one of the best ways to deal with the Black Screen problem on YouTube. Flushing the DNS cache on Windows 10 is also pretty easy, and it would probably fix YouTube streaming problems.

7. Disable Hardware Acceleration

Google Chrome has a feature called ‘Hardware Acceleration’. This feature forces certain tasks to use GPU instead of CPU to enhance the browser’s visual output. The hardware acceleration sometimes conflicts with YouTube, resulting in a black screen. Here’s how to turn off Hardware acceleration in Chrome.

1. Open the Chrome browser and click on the three dots. From the list of options, click on the Settings.

2. On the Settings page, scroll down and click on the Advanced Settings option.

3. Under the advanced settings, turn off the toggle for the Use hardware acceleration when available option.

8. Disable Chrome Extensions

Chrome extensions are another thing that can create problems with video playback. Sometimes, the adblocker or tracker blocker extensions interfere with the YouTube video playback, resulting in a black screen.

In this method, you need to turn off all Chrome extensions to check whether the video is playing fine. If the video playback is fine, you need to toggle each extension one by one to find the one causing the problem.

9. Try a Different browser

If you are still getting the black screen problem even after updating the web browser, it would be best to use a different web browser for PC.

You must check whether YouTube shows a black screen on a different browser. If the video plays fine on a different browser, the web browser is the culprit.

10. Download the Video and Watch

If nothing has worked for you, the ultimate option is to download and watch the YouTube video. If you download the video on your storage, you can watch it repeatedly without the internet.

This will save you internet bandwidth but will increase your storage usage. To download the videos, you can use the Online video downloaders. Several online video downloaders work with YouTube.

These are the best methods to fix the YouTube Black screen problem. I hope this article helped you! Please share it with your friends, too. If you have any doubts, let us know in the comment box below.