In this post, we provide 4 fixes you can try if you’re encountering a YouTube 500 internal server error.
YouTube is no doubt one of the most popular websites, in addition to being the second largest search engine online.
However, there are times when you come across some errors while browsing on YouTube. One of them is the so-called YouTube 500 Internal Server Error.
If you’ve encountered this error, don’t worry as you’re not alone. In fact, this is a legitimate error which YouTube users might experience every once in a while.
Fortunately, fixing this can be easy as waiting for YouTube to sort itself out or clearing your browsing history. That said, here are some reliable fixes you can try.
Quick Fix: An Incognito Browser Solution
The solution he advises goes like this:
Open a “New incognito window”.
Now paste and go to the copied URL to this incognito window.
Try refreshing the error page to see if it’s fixed.
What is the YouTube 500 Internal Server Error?
If you happen to experience the YouTube 500 Internal Server Error while you are playing any of your favorite YouTube videos, there’s no need to worry.
The problem isn’t because of your computer or perhaps your internet connection. This error is actually on the server side of YouTube and its hosting servers.
In some cases, it might be because their servers are being hacked – in which case you can’t do anything but wait for the YouTube team to fix it.
In fact, hundreds of YouTube users have experienced the same problem, and they had reported this issue to the YouTube support team in hopes for an answer. However, you can also perform some quick fixes by yourself before you even proceed to send a ticket to their customer support.
How to Fix the YouTube 500 Internal Server Error?
This particular error only happens occasionally and can be experienced by YouTube’s users from all around the world. However, there are some cases in which only you can experience it. If that’s the case, then these fixes can help you.
1st Fix: Patiently Wait for the YouTube Team to Fix It
If you’ve encountered a YouTube 500 Internal Server Error while watching your favorite videos on YouTube, you can usually receive a message stating that they’re already sorting out the issue and looking for a fix.
If you experience this error, all you need to do is wait for a few seconds, or even a minute, then try to reopen the YouTube site as what iMobie recommends. In this case, you’ll have to leave it to the YouTube team to locate, analyze, and fix the error quickly.
2nd Fix: Try to Refresh YouTube
In some cases, the error might only last temporarily. In this scenario, refreshing the YouTube page will help as suggested by Driver Easy. Here’s how:
Press either F5 or Ctrl + F5 on your keyboard
Alternatively, you could also click the refresh icon which is located on the top left corner of your browsers right next to YouTube’s website address to attempt to reload it
Lastly, you may also try clicking the Back/Forward buttons so you can hopefully get rid of the YouTube 500 Internal Server Error
3rd Fix: Clear Your Cache or Browsing History
This fix may vary depending on the browser you’re using. In this fix, we’re going to cover Google Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer, Safari, and Opera. This fix, which is provided by a user in the Quora community, includes the following steps:
On Google Chrome
Click Settings
Go to Show Advanced Settings
Go to Clear Browsing Data
Check and clear all browsing histories, cookies, other sites and plugins, saved passwords, cached images, and files
After that, go back to the YouTube website and see if the problem is fixed
On Firefox
Go to Firefox Settings
Go to Clear Private Data
Go to Clear Private Data Section
Go to Cookies/ Cache
Click on the Clear Private Data button
Click OK
You may again go back to YouTube and try to revisit it
On Microsoft Edge
Go to Settings
Head to the Clear Browsing Data section then click the “Choose what to clear” option
In here, you can choose which you want to delete. The most important ones include the browsing history, cookies, cache, and your recently closed tabs. To choose, simply click the checkbox right next to each of them
Click the Clear button afterward
After doing the above steps, go back to the YouTube page
Go to Browsing History/ Temporary Internet files and website files
Click Delete and then revisit the YouTube website
On Safari
Click Privacy Section in the Preferences section
Under Cookies and other website data section, click Remove All Website Data. You can also click on Details if you want to get rid of website-specific cookies. You may also just click Develop menu then the Empty Caches option.
Afterward, proceed to check if the YouTube website is functioning again
On Opera
Click Settings
Go to Clear Browsing Data
Check the Cookies and other site data option then click Yes
Then go back and try to reopen YouTube
Video Guide: How to Clear Cache and Delete Cookies on Google Chrome?
4th Fix: Contact YouTube Support Group
Once you have already tried all the above options but are still not able to fix the error 500, your final method to fix the problem is to contact YouTube’s support group. You may contact them via phone at 1(650)253-0000. You may also connect to them via their YouTube, FaceBook, or Twitter pages.
Forum Feedback
To understand more about the YouTube 500 internal server error, we searched through several tech forum threads, including the Google Product Forums. In general, people were interested in YouTube 500 internal server error highly trained monkeys, YouTube 500 internal server error fix, and YouTube 500 internal server error 2018.
A user complained that he was getting the 500 Internet server error when he was trying to access his YouTube channel.
He contacted support, and they explained that they were aware of the problem and that they were working on fixing it.
They reassured him that the problem wasn’t in his device and that he had to wait until they figured out the issue.
Another computer expert said that the 500 Internet server error might appear if you’re trying to access YouTube Channels by copying and pasting the URL into the browser toolbar.
He advised that you try to access YouTube’s main page to see if it would work for you.
The user also mentioned that this was a common error and that YouTube was doing their best to fix it.
Another forum member said that he experiences the same YouTube 500 Internet server error a couple of months back and that it was resolved relatively quickly.
He was hoping that YouTube would get back to normal.
However, he warned that some might get a temporary account suspension as a glitch and that they shouldn’t worry about it.
A poster complained that he got a message that “a team of highly trained monkeys has been dispatched to deal with this situation” along with long lines of text that didn’t make any sense to him. From what he saw on the YouTube Help Forum, a lot of people were posting the error message they received and that the YouTube was working hard on solving these codes.
An individual also reported that he got problems with YouTube subscriptions and that he was getting the 500 Internet server error. He mentioned that it was happening for almost three months and that he had no idea how to fix it.
Another person said that he was trying to edit some information on a YouTube video he had just uploaded and that he kept getting the 500 Internet server error. He commented that the situation had been the same for almost a day.
A forum poster also mentioned that he was getting 500 error when he was trying to edit his private videos and that he couldn’t even share them. He was wondering if there was another way to share the videos without encountering the 500 Internet server error.
Another user shared that he was baffled by the 500 error message that he received and that he was worried his computer had been hacked due to the weird phrasing and the lines of code. However, after he did some research on the Internet, he realized that it was a YouTube server error and that he had nothing to fear.
A computer expert explains that the YouTube 500 internal server error is a general message which shows because the server is not sure what is causing the problem.
The person adds that the issue is not with the user’s computer or Internet connection, but with YouTube and its host server.
He says that you can do little to resolve the error on your own and that you have to wait patiently for YouTube to take care of it.
An individual commented that you could try to refresh the YouTube page a couple of times to see if the error would resolve. He also advises that you delete your cookies and browser history and then restart the browser. Then load the YouTube page again and check if you still get the same error message.
A person remarks that you can use a YouTube video downloader to download some videos to watch when the YouTube server is down. He also mentions that you never know when YouTube will be down for hours and it’s better to be prepared.
Another person said that you could attempt to fix the YouTube 500 internal server error by restarting your router, browser or computer. However, in his opinion, you’d be wasting your time because the error is not due to something wrong on your end of the connection. So, he recommends that you sit tight and wait.
Conclusion
Now that it is already clear that the YouTube 500 Internal Server Error message has nothing to do with your device or internet connection, then there is indeed nothing to worry about. This type of error only means that the request to connect to the YouTube server has been thrown off to a server that cannot be identified; therefore, the request may not be able to find its right path.
And since we do not know when the YouTube 500 Internal Server Error will occur, you can instead download the videos you want so you can watch them even when you are offline or when YouTube is experiencing an error.
Hopefully, the fixes we’ve provided above can help you fix the internal server issue. However, even if you have tried all of the recommended fixes but the error still remains, then it’s either you wait for their team to fix it, or contact them directly.
Ryan is a computer enthusiast who has a knack for fixing difficult and technical software problems. Whether you’re having issues with Windows, Safari, Chrome or even an HP printer, Ryan helps out by figuring out easy solutions to common error codes.
