10 Ways to Fix YouTube Server Error 400 on Android and iPhone

YouTube is a popular platform where you can find a wide range of content, from entertainment to education. However, using the app on your Android or iPhone may not always be a pleasant experience. Sometimes, YouTube may fail to load videos and display a 400 server error instead, rendering the app unusable until you fix it.

Poor internet connectivity, server-side glitches, and bad cache data are just a few of the reasons why this might happen. Below, we walk you through all the possible tips for fixing the error. So, let’s take a look.

1. Check Your Internet Connection

YouTube typically shows the error 400 on your Android or iPhone when there’s a problem with your internet. Hence, you should first rule out any issues with your internet connection. You can do this by running a quick internet speed test on your phone.

If there’s an issue with your internet, switch to a different connection and then try to use YouTube again.

2. Force Close and Reopen the App

Restarting an app is another simple yet effective solution for resolving issues with apps like YouTube. Doing so will terminate all the app’s processes and give them a fresh start.

To force-close YouTube on Android, long-press on its app icon and tap the info icon from the resulting menu. On the App info page, tap Force stop at the bottom.

On an iPhone, swipe up from the bottom of the screen (or press the Home Screen button twice) to bring up the app switcher. Swipe upwards on the YouTube card to close the app.

Reopen the YouTube app and see if it still shows the ‘There was a problem with the network 400’ error.

3. Restart Your Phone

If restarting the YouTube app does not solve the problem, you can try restarting your phone. If you have an Android phone, press and hold the power button until the power menu appears, then select Restart.

For those using an iPhone, press and hold the Sleep/Wake button along with one of the volume buttons. Then, move the slider from left to right to turn off your iPhone.

Wait for your iPhone to shut down completely, and then press and hold the Sleep/Wake button to turn it back on.

4. Enable Mobile Data for YouTube (iPhone)

On iOS, you can manage mobile data access for each app individually. If you’ve previously disallowed mobile data access to the YouTube app, it will not be able to connect to the internet unless you are connected to Wi-Fi. To fix this, open the Settings app and scroll down to tap on YouTube. Then, enable the toggle next to Mobile Data.

5. Check the Date and Time Settings

Is your phone set to an incorrect date or time? While that may not seem like a big deal, it can affect YouTube’s ability to establish a connection with its servers. To fix this, you must enable the automatic date and time feature on your Android or iPhone.

Android

Step 1: Open the Settings app and tap on General management.

Step 2: Tap on Date and time and turn on the toggle next to ‘Automatic date and time.’

iPhone

Step 1: Open the Settings app and tap on General.

Step 2: Tap Date & Time and turn on the toggle for Set Automatically.

6. Check if YouTube Is Down

It is not unusual for services like YouTube to experience server outages occasionally. If there is an issue with YouTube’s server, the app will continue to display the 400 error, and you can’t fix it. You can check YouTube’s server status on Downdetector to see if it is a widespread issue.

Visit Downdetector

If the servers are down, simply wait for some time. Once YouTube fixes the issue, you should not get any errors.

7. Change DNS Server

It is possible that the default DNS server provided by your Internet Service Provider (ISP) is having issues, which is why you are receiving the 400 error. If this is the case, switching to a more reliable DNS server should help resolve the issue. Here’s how to do that.

Android

Step 1: Open the Settings app on your phone and tap on Connections.

Step 2: Tap on More connection settings. Then, scroll down to select Private DNS.

Step 3: Select the ‘Private DNS provider hostname’ option, type dns.google in the text field, and tap Save.

iPhone

Step 1: Open the Settings app and tap on Wi-Fi. Tap the info icon next to your Wi-Fi network.

Step 2: Scroll down to tap on Configure DNS and select Manual from the following screen.

Step 3: Tap the minus icon to delete the prefilled entries under DNS servers. Then, tap on Add Server.

Step 4: Type 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 in the text box and then tap Save in the top-right corner.

8. Turn Off Restricted Mode on YouTube

YouTube’s Restricted Mode is a useful feature that filters out potentially mature content. However, it can sometimes interfere with YouTube’s processes. You can try disabling Restricted Mode in YouTube to see if it fixes the server error 400.

Step 1: Open the YouTube app, tap on your profile icon in the top right corner, and select Settings.

Step 2: Tap on General and disable the toggle next to Restricted Mode.

9. Clear App Cache (Android)

Outdated or corrupted cache data can also affect YouTube’s performance and result in server errors. You can try clearing the YouTube app cache on your phone to see if that restores normalcy.

Step 1: Long press the YouTube app icon and tap the info icon from the resulting menu.

Step 2: Go to Storage and tap the Clear cache option at the bottom.

10. Update the App

If you are still encountering the ‘There was a problem with the server 400’ error, the YouTube app on your phone may be buggy. Head over to the Play Store or App Store to update the YouTube app and check if that solves the error.

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Getting server error 400 on YouTube can be frustrating, but it is not that difficult to fix. Go through the above tips and let us know which one works for you in the comments below.