YouTube users were frustrated on February 17, 2026, when they noticed a problem with the platform. Many couldn’t even load the home screen before trying to search for videos; others saw a completely blank screen. They quickly reported the issues on Downdetector that evening, with most complaints coming from the West Coast. Hours later, on February 18, Google acknowledged the problem had been resolved. So, what caused the extensive outage?
Find out what we know so far about the YouTube outage here.
How Long Was YouTube Down?
The YouTube outage only lasted about two to three hours for most users, but that was more than enough time. Many people, especially YouTube Premium customers, complained online during the shutdown.
“@YouTube, you better fix this outage asap. #Youtube playing with my emotions right now. Especially because I pay for the premium version with no ads,” one X user tweeted.
Why Did YouTube Have an Outage?
Google acknowledged the widespread issue with YouTube in a status message on February 17. In its first statement, the YouTube team wrote, “Hi everyone, We’re aware some of you are having issues accessing YouTube right now. Our teams are aware, and we’ll provide updates as soon as we have them. Thanks.”
In a second update, Google clarified what the problem was. “An issue with our recommendations system prevented videos from appearing across surfaces on YouTube (including the homepage, the YouTube app, YouTube Music and YouTube Kids),” Google wrote. “The homepage is back, but we’re still working on a full fix. We’re also seeing a small number of reports that some people are unable to login to YouTube TV. This is related to the broader issue across YouTube, and we’re also working on a fix here. More updates to come!”
In its final message regarding the outage, Google updated users that the platform was back up.
“The issue with our recommendations system has been resolved and all of our platforms (YouTube.com, the YouTube app, YouTube Music, Kids, and TV) are back to normal!” a third statement read. “We really appreciate you bearing with us while we sorted this out.”
