How to Fix An Error Occurred on YouTube Permanently

Changing your DNS can be of help you deal with this YouTube error

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Key notes

  • We've all seen the infamous An error occurred on YouTube while trying to watch a video and it's most likely caused by your connection.
  • This annoying problem can also be triggered by an issue with your browser.
  • You can try to update your audio drivers by using dedicated software.
 
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Most of us visit YouTube daily, but some users have reported an error message that says An error occurred, please try again later.

This error will prevent you from watching videos, but fortunately for you, today, we’ll show you how to fix this error on Windows 10 and 11.

Note that you may even have a similar error watching YouTube on the TV where it says an error occurred please try again later.

Additionally, another common error message encountered by users is something went wrong error on YouTube. Some of the solutions in this article will help you resolve it as well.

What is an error occurred please try again later?

An error occurred, please try again later message will prevent you from watching YouTube videos. It has been observed in Firefox as well as some other browsers.

Speaking of issues with YouTube, users reported the following variants:

  • YouTube An error occurred when searching – Users reported this error on YouTube while searching for videos. This is most likely a glitch that you can resolve by restarting your browser.
  • An error occurred when watching YouTube – According to users, this error usually occurs while trying to watch YouTube videos. However, you might be able to fix it by clearing the cache or by changing the video quality.
  • YouTube An error occurred while performing this operation – This is just a variation of this problem, and you can fix it using one of our solutions.
  • An error occurred YouTube Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Internet Explorer, Opera – This error can appear in any web browser, and if you encounter it, be sure to try one of our solutions.
  • YouTube videos not playing – There are many reasons why YouTube videos aren’t playing, and if you have this problem, we suggest you try some of our solutions.
  • An error occurred YouTube Flash Player – Sometimes, this issue might be caused by Flash player, and to fix it, you need to uninstall Flash from your PC.
  • An error occurred while attempting to create a youtube account, please try again later – In many cases, you will need to clear your cache and retry creating the account.

Why does my YouTube say an error occurred?

Several things may trigger this error, but many users have attributed it to errors in the DNS settings on your computer. However, it is not limited to this and also may be caused by the following:

  • Third-party extensions
  • Corrupted browser
  • Problems with site cookies
  • Video streaming quality
  • Old cache data

Whichever group you belong to, we will proffer a solution to help resolve the error.

How do you fix YouTube error occurred please try again later?

1. Change or update your DNS Settings

  1. Click on the Start menu and type control panel, then select the Network and Sharing Center option.
    an error occurred please try again later youtube
  2. From the left pane, click on Change adapter settings.
    an error occurred please try again later youtube
  3. A new window will now appear. Locate your network connection and right-click it. Choose Properties from the menu.
    An error occurred when watching YouTube
  4. Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) from the list and click on the Properties button.
    An error occurred YouTube Firefox
  5. Check Use the following DNS server addresses and set the Preferred DNS server to 8.8.8.8 and the Alternate DNS server to 8.8.4.4. Click OK to save the changes.
    An error occurred YouTube Flash Player

If you’re frequently getting an error occurred please try again later while trying to watch YouTube videos, the problem might be your DNS.

By default, your PC uses your ISP’s DNS, but sometimes you might have problems with it, and you can change your DNS by performing the steps above.

After doing that, check if the problem is resolved. Changing these settings will force your Internet connection to use Google’s DNS instead of your default one.

A few users reported that this solution worked for them, so feel free to try it out. If Google’s DNS doesn’t work for you, change the settings to the default values, and you’ll be back to your default DNS.

An even better idea is to download and install a VPN. One added benefit to this is that you can circumvent various geographic restrictions from YouTube. Secondly, you will increase your security and privacy in doing so.

We recommend installing PIA – private internet access. It offers better connection speeds than most services and top servers in various locations around the world.

⇒ Get Private Internet Access

2. Use Forget About This Site option

  1. Launch your Firefox browser.
  2. Use hotkeys Crtl + H to open your browser history.
  3. Now search your browsing history and find any YouTube link.
  4. Right-click it and choose the Forget About This Site option.
    YouTube videos not playing
  5. Restart Firefox and try playing any YouTube video.

Forget About This Site is a useful Firefox feature that allows you to remove cookies, saved passwords, and cache files for a specific website.

This is a simple trick that might help you with An error occurred, please try again later error, so feel free to try it out.

3. Update your audio drivers

  1. Right-click on the Start menu and select Device Manager.
    an error occurred please try again later youtube
  2. Expand Audios inputs and outputs, right-click on your audio driver, and select Update driver.
  3. Select Search automatically for drivers and wait for it to get updated.

Some users claim that after updating their audio drivers, the issue was resolved for them, so you might want to try and find the latest audio drivers for your sound card.

You can try to visit your motherboard or sound card manufacturer’s website and locate and download the latest Windows 10 and 11 drivers.

However, manually updating the drivers can be tedious and time-consuming, so we recommend using dedicated software to download all the outdated drivers on your PC automatically.

It would help if you thus considered updating your drivers securely by employing a solution from the best driver update software.

4. Clear cookies and cache and update your plugins

  1. Launch the browser.
  2. Click the menu button in the top right corner and choose Library.
    YouTube An error occurred while performing this operation
  3. Next, click on History.
    An error occurred when watching YouTube
  4. Now click on Clear recent history.
    An error occurred YouTube Chrome
  5. Select what type of data you wish to remove. In our case, we have selected cache and cookies, but you can choose other types of data if you want. Select the desired time range and click on the Clear now button.
    An error occurred YouTube Flash Player
  6. When cookies and cache are deleted, restart Firefox.

To fix an error occurred please try again later error, you might want to clear cookies and cache.

Although we’ve shown you how to delete cache and cookies in Firefox, similar steps apply to most other modern browsers.

If you use any browser plugins, especially Shockwave Flash, you might want to update them to the latest version to fix possible incompatibility issues.

You can also make your task easier by installing a tool to clear cache and cookies. Our top recommendation in this regard is Fortect because it is light, easy to use, and provides tons of valuable features.

This software cannot only clear your cached files and cookies but also help you clean junk files, repair your registry, update your drivers, and more.

5. Disable Shockwave Flash

  1. launch the Firefox browser.
  2. Type the path below in the address bar and hit Enter:
    about:addons
  3. Go to the Plugins section and find Shockwave Flash. From the dropdown menu, choose Never Activate.
    YouTube videos not playing

Sometimes Shockwave Flash can cause an error occurred, please try again later to appear while watching YouTube videos, so make sure that it’s disabled.

If you don’t use Firefox, make sure that you disable Shockwave Flash on the browser that you’re currently using.

The process of disabling Shockwave Flash is similar for all modern browsers.

6. Disable hardware acceleration and try changing the video resolution

  1. Start the Firefox browser.
  2. In the address bar, paste the path below, then hit Enter:
    about:preferences
  3. Scroll to the Performance section and uncheck both Use recommended performance settings and Use hardware acceleration when available.
    YouTube An error occurred when searching
  4. Restart Firefox and try playing any YouTube video.

Some users have reported that hardware acceleration can cause issues with YouTube.

If you use a different browser, you should know that you can similarly disable hardware acceleration in any other browser.

Hardware acceleration can cause various issues, but after disabling it, the problems with YouTube videos should be resolved.

7. Plug in your headphones or speakers to your computer

This sounds like an unusual solution, but users have reported that plugging in your headphones or speakers to the audio jack while playing YouTube videos fixes this problem.

So if you’re using built-in speakers, try connecting headphones or speakers to fix this issue.

Usually, there is a red cross sign on the volume control icon in Taskbar, and if you notice it, reconnect your speakers or headphones and try playing YouTube videos again.

If your volume control is not working, we have got you covered with some quick tips to solve the issue.

8. Uninstall/repair Bitdefender

  1. Click on the Start menu, type control panel, and select the Uninstall a program option.
    an error occurred please try again later youtube
  2. If you have Bitdefender installed, click on it from the list of programs, then click on the Uninstall option.
  3. Follow the prompts from the uninstallation wizard to remove the app.

According to some users, it seems that Bitdefender can also cause this YouTube error, and to fix it, you’ll need to remove or repair Bitdefender.

It has been reported that repairing Bitdefender fixes the YouTube issue, but if repairing Bitdefender doesn’t work for you, you might want to uninstall it.

Several users reported that they fixed the issue simply by updating to the latest version of Bitdefender, so be sure to try that.

If you don’t use Bitdefender, try disabling or temporarily uninstalling your antivirus software to fix this issue.

Sometimes switching to a different antivirus solution can fix the problem, and if you’re looking for a new antivirus, be sure to try some of our updated best antivirus selections.

9. Change the quality of your videos

  1. Log on to YouTube and play a video.
  2. Click on the gear icon on the video.
  3. Click on Quality and select any video quality.
  4. Replay the video.

An error occurred please try again later error message will prevent you from watching YouTube videos, but according to users, you can fix this problem simply by changing the video quality of the video.

Keep in mind that this is just a workaround, so you’ll have to repeat it for every YouTube video that you try to watch.

10. Update the browser

  1. Open your browser.
  2. Click the Menu icon in the top right corner and choose Help from the menu.
  3. Click on About Firefox.
    an error occurred please try again later youtube
  4. The browser will check for updates and allow you to install the latest updates if there are any.

11. Reinstall your browser

  1. Uninstall Firefox using the same steps in solution 9.
  2. Visit the Firefox website and click the Download Firefox button to get a new installation file.
  3. Click on the downloaded file and follow the installation wizard to reinstall Firefox.

If you’re getting An error occurred please try again later error message while watching YouTube videos; you might want to try reinstalling your web browser.

Users reported this issue in Firefox, but after reinstalling it, the problem was resolved. This solution also applies to other web browsers such as Chrome.

Keep in mind that uninstalling your browser will remove your cookies, history, and saved passwords, so you might want to export them before you reinstall.

There you go. Any of these fixes should work just fine. Please note that not all of them will work, and we expect you to pick solutions based on your specific situation.

If you still have problems playing videos on YouTube, we also have another great guide on how to fix YouTube on Windows.

An error occurred please try again later error will prevent you from watching YouTube videos, but you should be able to fix this annoying problem using one of our solutions.

Let us know in the comments what solutions worked for you.

More about the topics: Browser errors