Background play isn't working

Make sure your YouTube Premium membership has not expired. In the YouTube app, tap your profile picture  Paid memberships and scroll down to Manage.

If you recently lost access to YouTube Premium and then re-subscribed, note that it will take a few hours for saved videos to become available again once you've re-subscribed. If you need to watch a video right away, tap More and select Retry download.

YouTube Premium benefits only work in countries where YouTube Premium is available. Check that you're in a location where YouTube Premium has launched.

Make sure that you're using the latest version of the YouTube app. Visit your device's app store and check if you have any pending updates for the YouTube app.

If you have a new phone, or you've recently restored your phone, it may include an old version of the YouTube app (e.g., versions below 12.0 are considered outdated).

Check the settings on your mobile device to ensure you have enabled background data for YouTube.

Check any other apps you have open to ensure that none of them are playing audio. Background play will not work while other apps are playing audio.

Video downloads require a strong internet connection. Make sure that your device is connected to a 3Mbps or faster Wi-Fi network, or a mobile network with a data plan that supports 3G, 4G, or LTE speeds. If you're not sure what your current internet speed is, you can test your speed online.

Check that you haven't blocked all notifications for the YouTube app. You can confirm this within your device settings. If you've blocked notifications, the YouTube app might not be able to run smoothly and/or access the internet in the background.

If this happens, you'll need to re-enable YouTube notifications at the OS level and, if you still don't want to receive notifications, you can disable them from the YouTube app settings.

If you're still having trouble, contact support. When contacting support, please mention the following: