It could get really frustrating if the Youtube videos keep pausing and unpausing by itself constantly. If you have faced this issue then you are not alone. This particular problem is more common that you might think.

We have seen several complaints from users regarding this and the issue is rarely with Youtube itself. Rather, there are several other factors for this, and we have recommended the possible fixes for them as well.

1. Check your Headphone/Headphone Jack

Most people would never figure this out but this is one of the most common reasons why this strange Youtube video pausing issue happens.

The thing is, your phone has a built-in mechanism which automatically stops the video playback, whenever a headphone/audio device is removed. This feature was built to avoid accidentally blasting, whatever you are watching, on your speakers when the headphone is removed.

While this feature is really neat, this causes problems with video playbacks when there is an issue with the headphone or headphone jack. That’s right, there are two possible ways this could go wrong.

Try connecting your headphone jack to a different phone and if it works fine, then the problem is with your phone. To make double sure that the problem is definitely with the headphone jack, connect a different headphone to you device and see if the problem still persists.

If either one of them is the reason, then it is time to get them serviced. If not, well, read ahead.

2. Check your Internet Speed

The second most common problem is the internet connection used to stream videos on YouTube. You would need a minimum of 2MBPS connection to properly stream 480p videos without any interruptions. Anything less than that would be a problem. Youtube would still try to lower the video quality and try to stream the video but that when the internet connection refuses to cooperate, things get messy.

When you see a white ring swirling at the center of your screen, you can be sure that the there are some issue with your internet speed.

Try using a speedtest such as fast.com or speedtest.net to measure your internet speed. If all looks good, try connecting a different device to the same network and see if the problem still persists. If the internet speed is optimal on the new device while connected to the same network, then you know the issue is with your old device.

3. Check and troubleshoot your Network Connectivity

Sometimes the issue might be with the network itself. There would be no issues at Youtube or on your device, rather the network connectivity would be facing issues.

Just to make sure the issue is with the network connectivity, try connecting multiple devices with the network and make sure the issue is same across all devices. This way we can make sure that the issue is with the network itself rather than the devices.

In such cases, try to restart your modem/router. Unplug the power cord of the modem/router for a brief period of time and then reconnect it. Try using a different modem/router and see if that fixes the issue.

4. Check how the Bandwidth is being used

Simply put bandwidth is the measure of speed at which data transfers between your device and the internet. There are two scenarios:

1. Multiple devices are parallely connected to the same network and all of them are streaming/downloading content. In this cause, the bandwidth allocated to each process would be limited.
2. On the same device, there might be another apps or even multiple apps simultaneously using the bandwidth available. For example, if there is a system update download in progress (which is usually huge in size), then you might face issues when you try to stream content on Youtube. Another example for this is that there might be app updates happening in the background. Go to Google Play Store or App Store and see if there are updates in progress.

Make sure your device is not in either of the above two scenarios. If you do find yourself in either of them, try limiting the number of devices connected to the network or wait until another resource heavy app is done with using up your bandwidth.

5. Update Youtube

At the end of the day, Youtube is a piece of code and codes are prone to bugs and issues. It is always a good idea to make sure you have the latest version of any app on your device which in our case is Youtube. Software updates often come with bug fixes along with patches for any security flaws.

Open Google Play Store or App store, depending on your device, and see if an update is available of Youtube. If it is available, update and see if the issue is fixed.

6. Reinstall Youtube

When all else fails, we have one final option. That is to completely uninstall and remove Youtube from your device and then freshly reinstall it again from the App Store or Google Play Store.

Uninstalling the app completely removed any data and cache associated with the app which might be causing the issues. Reinstalling would provide a fresh start and has a better chance to get rid of the Youtube video pausing issue.