For a lot of people, YouTube is their main source of entertainment. With millions of YouTube channels available, it doesn't take a lot of time to find something worth binge-watching.

But if YouTube keeps pausing the videos, it may ruin the experience. So why does YouTube pause the videos, and how can you fix it?

1. You Have Poor Internet Connection

If you notice YouTube videos constantly pause, or the site has problems loading, you might be dealing with a slow internet connection. Fortunately, there are a few easy tricks to improve your connection.

  • Close unnecessary apps. Your internet could be slow because many running apps are hogging the bandwidth. Close any app that you don't need anymore.
  • Move closer to your router. As you move away from the router, the Wi-Fi signal gets weaker. Also, remember that when it comes to Wi-Fi, 2.4GHz has a better range, while 5GHz is better for speed. If you're quite close to your router, you can switch from 2.4 GHz to 5GHz, so you can watch YouTube videos without interruptions.
  • Restart your router. When you restart your router, you allow it to remove its short-term memory (or cache), so it improves its overall performance. Also, when it reboots, your router will select the least crowded channel, providing a better connection to the connected devices.
  • Use a Wi-Fi extender. If you can't move your devices closer to the router, or you can't roll out an Ethernet wire through the house, a Wi-Fi extender will increase your router coverage area.

2. Your Headphones Keep Disconnecting

person listening through their headphones

If you're watching YouTube on mobile and your headphones disconnect, YouTube will automatically pause the video. If your headphones plug or phone's port is broken, or your Bluetooth headphones don't have enough power, they will keep disconnecting.

Instead of looking for that position where your headphones work, you should replace them or take your phone to an authorized service and check the port.

If you're using Bluetooth headphones, there could be several reasons why they keep disconnecting, thus causing YouTube to pause.

  • Move closer to your device. Most Bluetooth headsets have a limited range of 20 to 30 feet. If you're too far away from your computer or phone, your headphones will disconnect. Simply moving closer should fix the problem.
  • Charge your headphones. If your headphones are low on battery, it's difficult for them to keep a stable connection. To keep it from happening again, you can get Bluetooth earbuds with long battery life.
  • Disconnect your headphones. It's pretty common advice, but turning off and on your Bluetooth connection might help fix any issues you're having.

3. You Need to Update the YouTube App

If you haven't updated the YouTube app in a while, you'll run into all sorts of problems, including YouTube pausing the videos by itself.

To fix it, go to the Play Store or App Store, search for YouTube and tap the Update button. Once your phone installs the update, you should be able to watch YouTube without interruptions.

The same goes for the YouTube app for Windows. You can launch the app and update it from its settings or use the Microsoft Store.

4. YouTube Is Set to Take a Break

If you spend a lot of time watching YouTube videos, you know that it will pause the video after a while. While this could give you a chance to stretch a bit and relax your eyes, it can be annoying if YouTube takes a break too often. This is how to fix it:

  1. Launch the YouTube app on mobile.
  2. Tap the Profile icon from the top-right corner and select Settings.
  3. Head to General.
  4. Turn off Remind me to take a break. Also, you can set a customized timer for YouTube to stop playing.

If you're watching YouTube online, you can't set YouTube to skip the breaks. However, you can use a browser extension, such as AutoTube - YouTube nonstop, to watch YouTube without interruptions.

5. You're Using a Malfunctioning Browser

Chrome browser open

If YouTube pausing videos isn't the only problem you're encountering while browsing, your browser might the at fault. Most of the time, updating your browser to the latest version is enough to fix the problem.

If you're still experiencing issues after the update and you plan on binge-watching YouTube, try a different browser so you don't stop the fun.

6. A Browser Extension Is Outdated or Corrupt

If you've installed many extensions on your browser, the chance is that one of them is causing your YouTube problem. Fortunately, you can easily remove or disable your browser extensions.

To fix it, open a new window in Incognito or Private mode. This will have your browser working without any extensions. If YouTube works, as usual, you should disable all extensions and enable them one by one to isolate the problematic ones.

Most of the time, extensions designed to help you control media content will cause these issues.

7. You Need to Remove Cache Data

Your computer or phone will keep cache data from every website you visit, so it reopens the site faster next time you access it. If your browser accumulates too much cache data, it will have a negative impact on its performance. You can try deleting the cache data in Chrome or your favorite browser and see if this solves the problem.

If you're watching YouTube on Android, access your phone's Settings menu and tap Apps and notifications. There, select YouTube > Storage and tap CLEAR CACHE.

8. Your Phone Ran Out of Storage

This is a common problem in older smartphones with a storage capacity of 16 or 32GB. YouTube stores data on your phone as it preloads the videos, so you can watch them without interruptions.

To fix it, you should clear some storage space on your phone by uninstalling apps or deleting files. However, you shouldn't lose the memories you've stored on your phone just to watch YouTube. Instead, you can save your photos and videos by using one of the most secure cloud storage services.

Watch YouTube Without Interruptions

As we've discussed, when YouTube keeps pausing videos, you might be dealing with a problematic internet connection. If the problem persists, you can try using a different browser, test a different headphone set, or have YouTube playing without taking a break.

Now that you've fixed the problem, you could try an ad blocker to get rid of those annoying ads while watching YouTube.