How to Fix YouTube Server Connection Error [400] on Android

What We Have Covered in This Article

Last Updated on September 30, 2021 by Editor Futurescope

We’ve all experienced it.

The YouTube common issues while playing videos on an Android device. One of the most annoying issues is the error message: There was a problem with the server [400] error. This common error message prevents you from playing your favorite YouTube videos.

YouTube needs no introduction. It ranks as the second most visited site in the world. This video streaming site attracts over 2 billion active users every month and averages around 30 million users every day. Most YouTube users, about 70%, use YouTube mobile app to access YouTube. These high numbers result in some users experiencing error issues.

If you have experienced issues while loading YouTube videos on the Android app version, you’ve landed on the right spot. Within the next eight minutes, you shall know how to fix YouTube server connection errors [400] on Android. More so, you’ll learn about other kinds of error messages on YouTube and the troubleshooting step to take.

Common YouTube Error Issues

Though the YouTube experience is top-notch, you are still likely to face issues while playing video content. The errors may differ from one device to another; some issues affect PC users while others occur on iPhone/iPad or Android devices.

While using the Android YouTube app, you may receive these kinds of error messages:

‘No connection’
‘Please check your network connection (Retry.).’
‘There is no network connection at the moment (Retry).’
‘There is no network connection at the moment. Please try again later (Retry).’
‘Error loading. Tap to retry

You might also receive the following error messages while using a mobile web browser to access YouTube:

‘Oops! Something went wrong.
‘An error occurred
‘An error occurred while performing this operation.’
‘There was a problem with the server [400]
‘500 Internal Server Error’.

There can be many causes of these errors. Some errors may result from technical issues on YouTube’s end, but mainly from the user’s device e.g insufficient memory. Most of these errors have standard troubleshooting methods.

Before trying the troubleshooting methods in this article, you should determine if the problem is from YouTube’s end or yours. Try playing YouTube videos on other devices, and if they are running smoothly, the problem might be on your side. Alternatively, if all have error issues, YouTube may be experiencing technical issues that it usually resolves quickly.

Here are some troubleshooting methods to fix YouTube errors:

1. Restarting Your Phone

Most of the playback errors on YouTube can be solved by rebooting your phone. Mobile phones CPU overheats when you overwork your device, which results in lagging. The lagging issues will also affect YouTube performance. Restarting your phone allows the phone to cool off and solve temporary network issues. After rebooting, open the YouTube app and check if the video will now play.

2. Clearing YouTube Cache and Data

Corrupted data on YouTube can make the app develop errors. such as “Your client has issued a malformed or illegal request.” The basic step to this issue is clearing the app’s data and cache files. Us the below-mentioned steps to clear YouTube app cache and data:

Open the Settings app on your phone
Select the Apps & Notifications option, then click on See all Apps
You will see a list of all your apps. Scroll down and locate YouTube, then click it to open the cache menu option.
Click on Storage & Cache to open the cache settings.
Tap the Clear Storage icon, then Clear Cache, and confirm your action to erase the YouTube data and cache.

Clearing the cache of the YouTube App is a form of “YouTube factory reset,” which reverts it to the default setting. Another optional setting is using YouTube on incognito mode which does not store the cache and cookies of a site. Go to the browser of your choice, switch to incognito mode and enter YouTube on the search bar.

You can also erase the cookies using the Chrome setting option. Visit the advanced settings on Google Chrome browser settings and select the reset option. Clearing of browser cache of chrome should be done at regular intervals to enhance performance.

3. Checking Your Internet Connection

The most common cause of YouTube errors is an unstable internet connection. If you are using a Wi-Fi wireless connection, run a speed test to determine the optimum WiFi connection speed. To test the internet speed, follow these steps:

Open your preferred web browser, and Google search the keyword speed test.
On the results page, select the first site, speedtest.net, which tests for internet speed.
Run a speed test and check the results.

If the results indicate that the internet speed is high, another issue is causing the error. On the other hand, if the speed is low, try rebooting your router or connecting to a different Wi-Fi connection. Alternatively, you can switch to a mobile data plan.

To resolve a bad internet connection while using mobile network, enable your airplane mode for a few minutes and turn it off. Alternatively, you can switch the data on and off or reboot your phone to solve the network issue. Always ensure that your mobile has an active data connection before using YouTube.

4. Checking Your Time and Date Settings

YouTube is a time-sensitive software, and incorrect dates and times may cause server errors. If your date and time are not correctly set, use these steps to adjust the time automatically:

Go to Phone Settings and search for Date and Time Setting.
Activate the Set automatically feature, which sets your date, time, and time zone automatically. Ensure that you are not in aeroplane mode.

Once you set the date and time correctly, launch the YouTube app to confirm if the 400 bad request error is now resolved.

5. Uninstalling YouTube App Updates

Uninstalling updates should be your option if you are still experiencing error issues, even after clearing the cache and data. To uninstall YouTube Android application updates, follow these simple steps:

Go to your phone’s setting and open the Apps sub-menu
Click on All Applications. Locate YouTube and click it
On the top-right corner of your screen, tap the 3-dotted icon, which is besides Apps info
Click the Uninstall update icon that appears after tapping the 3-dotted icon
Tap the OK option that will appear on a pop-up screen.

This will uninstall the updates and revert the app to its original factory settings. You can update the app with the latest version again, but keep using the original factory settings if the issue re-occurs. Check if the bad request issues have been resolved after this troubleshooting method.

6. Checking Your Network Settings

You can resolve the network settings issue by going to your device’s settings, then Mobile Networks sub-menu, and reset the APN settings you are currently using. Likewise, reboot your Wi-Fi router or try changing the DNS in your phone’s DNS settings.

Take Away

This article gives you the top-of-the-list troubleshooting methods an average user can use to fix the annoying issue of YouTube 400 – bad request errors, among other issues. If you are a YouTube Premium user and an unexpected error occurs while accessing YouTube TV, YouTube Music, or age-restricted content, you should get in touch with the Google support team. You can get additional details on authorization requests, Google OAuth 2.0, Google workspace, Google API Client Library, API response, and other useful information here.

YouTube also has age-restricted videos and mature content not accessible to underage audiences. You cannot view such content if the restricted mode is active. The mode works on the device level so you must switch it on or off manually on every device.

Please share with us which way worked for you and share with all your friends.