Is YouTube Down? Understanding the Recent Global Outage and How to Check

What Happened During the Recent YouTube Outage?

On 19 December 2025, YouTube experienced a significant global outage that affected thousands of users worldwide. Over 12,000 outage reports were logged on Down Detector at its peak, with users encountering 502 server errors in countries including the United States, Spain, and Japan. This incident highlighted the critical role YouTube plays in our daily digital lives and raised important questions about service reliability.

Understanding Server Errors and Outage Symptoms

Users encountered a 502 server error when attempting to access YouTube or YouTube TV, with the error message reading ‘Please try again in 30 seconds’. The outage began around 1:04 PM and ended near 1:40 PM, lasting approximately 36 minutes. According to reports, the outage primarily impacted the website, whilst the mobile app appeared to function normally for some users.

How to Check If YouTube Is Down

When you suspect YouTube isn’t working properly, several reliable methods can help confirm whether it’s a widespread issue. You can visit YouTube’s official accounts on social media platforms like X or the official Google Cloud status page, or use downtime detection websites to see if other users are experiencing similar issues. Monitoring services have received 171 user-submitted reports of outages in the past 24 hours, suggesting YouTube may be experiencing issues even without official acknowledgment.

What This Means for YouTube Users

YouTube outages, whilst relatively rare, can significantly disrupt millions of users who rely on the platform for entertainment, education, and business purposes. Understanding how to identify and respond to service disruptions ensures you’re not left wondering if the problem is with your device or internet connection. By knowing where to check for real-time status updates and user reports, you can stay informed and wait out temporary service interruptions with confidence.