Users worldwide reported that YouTube was down for many people for at least an hour on Tuesday night, October 16. The reason is not yet known, but reports came in fast worldwide. This is unusual for one of the most popular websites in the world. So far, YouTube hasn’t issued an official statement about what happened except to note that they are working on the problem and to later note that it was fixed. Although the site may have occasionally had brief issues in the past, being down this long is very rare. Some regions are reporting that the site is beginning to start working correctly again as of about 10 p.m. Eastern, but others were still having issues. By 11 p.m. Eastern, YouTube had reported that the problem was resolved, without providing an explanation. By 1:30 a.m., YouTube was still responding to earlier tweets, explaining the problem was fixed, and offering advice to those with YouTube TV who felt they should get some kind of refund. It appears the site was down for about 90 minutes.
YouTube Says the Problem Is Resolved, But Hasn’t Identified the Cause of the Outage
YouTube hasn’t identified the problem yet, but did acknowledge on Twitter that they are working on the issue, and then later said the problem was fixed. They wrote: “Thanks for your reports about YouTube, YouTube TV and YouTube Music access issues. We’re working on resolving this and will let you know once fixed. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and will keep you updated.”
YouTube later reported that the problem was fixed: “We’re back! Thanks for all of your patience. If you continue to experience issues, please let us know.”
However, the problems aren’t completely fixed. Around 1 a.m. YouTube was still acknowledging some issues with YouTube TV. But around 1:30 a.m., they said that this issue should be fixed by now too.
If you’re still having trouble with YouTube TV or feel that you should get some kind of refund for not being able to watch a game, for example, you can contact a specialist here.
Down Detector Reports Skyrocketed Worldwide in a Short Amount of Time
Here were reports from Down Detector during the crash:
You can see that the errors skyrocketed. Look at the reports above and the reports next, just a few minutes later:
Errors Included a Blank Screen, a Black Screen when Loading YouTube, a 500 Error, & an Invalid Response Error
Errors ranged from just seeing a blank screen to getting a 500 internal server error to receiving “invalid response” errors. Others reported seeing ” https://www.youtube.com/?pbjreload=10″ when they tried to load the homepage or a video. The most recently reported problems involve watching videos, logging in, and problems just viewing the website.
You may have just seen a blank screen in some cases:
Reports were coming in from people across the country and different parts of the world.
You may also have seen a 500 Internal Server Error on some videos. The error messages read: “500 Internal Server Error Sorry, something went wrong. A team of highly trained monkeys has been dispatched to deal with this situation.”
Here’s a screenshot for a closer look at the 500 Internal Server Error:
Or you may have seen an “Invalid response received” error:
Or you may have gotten a blank, black screen while trying to load a video:
Some reported first recognizing the problem when their real-time stats began to plummet.
And then the memes started:
But the most interesting responses are from police, who are asking residents to please not call 911 about YouTube being down:
YouTube Outages Are Rare & Typically Resolved Faster Than Today’s
YouTube outages like this one are rare and typically resolved faster than today’s.
In July 2018, YouTube TV went down briefly during the World Cup.
In April 2018, YouTube channel pages all went down in one afternoon. This brought a 500 internal server error similar to what we’re seeing today. However, during that time, individual videos could still be watched. The error only affected main channel pages.
In June 2017, YouTube was down for many users, mostly in the United States’ East Coast.
In 2013, YouTube went down for 30 minutes with a very similar error that was never explained. Anyone attempting to use the website encountered the error, so it was extensive like today’s.
In February 2008, the entire site went down after a Pakistan ISP was ordered to censor YouTube to prevent Pakistanis from seeing a trailer to an anti-Islamic film. Pakistan Telecom changed the BGP entry for YouTube, and a bad address was accidentally cascaded around the net when the upstream providers passed the new route along without verifying it, Wired reported.
It’s unclear at this time what has happened. This appears to be a bit unusual, as YouTube typically resolves any issues very quickly. This is a developing story.
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YouTube Went Down for Millions Around the World