YouTube Experiences Global Outage, Over 1 Million Users Report Issues
Early Thursday morning in Asia (Wednesday evening GMT), the world’s largest video-sharing platform — YouTube — experienced a widespread technical outage, preventing hundreds of thousands — and eventually over 1 million users worldwide — from accessing videos, websites, and apps.
According to Downdetector, a website that tracks service outages in real-time, the disruptions began at around 7:00 AM in East Asia (23:00 GMT), affecting YouTube, YouTube Music, and YouTube TV.
FILE - YouTube logo is displayed on a mobile phone screen for illustration photo. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Outage Spreads Globally, with the U.S. Most Affected
Downdetector’s user-generated heat map indicated that the United States reported the most error submissions, with a peak of 393,038 reports at 7:57 AM (23:57 GMT). However, major disruptions were also recorded in Japan, Brazil, and the United Kingdom.
Because Downdetector relies on user-submitted data and social media posts, the true extent of the outage may have been even broader.
Meanwhile, YouTube Music and YouTube TV experienced fewer disruptions, each with under 5,000 error reports in the U.S. during the same time.
The YouTube app logo is seen on a smartphone in this picture illustration. (Reuters//Dado Ruvic/Illustration)
Users Flock to Social Media to Report the Issue
As soon as YouTube began malfunctioning, users turned to social media platforms — particularly X (formerly Twitter) — to share their experiences and search for answers. The hashtag #YouTubeDown quickly became a trending topic worldwide.
Sample user reactions included:
“Is YouTube down for anyone else or is it just my Wi-Fi?”
“For the first time ever, YouTube is actually down. What do I even do now?”
“I thought it was my internet, but apparently not.”
YouTube Responds and Fixes the Problem
YouTube Responds and Fixes the Problem
YouTube responded via its official account on X, stating:
“This issue has been fixed – you should now be able to play videos on YouTube, YouTube Music, and YouTube TV!”
Earlier, YouTube had acknowledged the disruption, posting:
“We’re aware that some of you are experiencing issues watching videos on YouTube, YouTube Music, or YouTube TV. We’re investigating and will update this thread with the latest info. Really appreciate your patience.”
Although services have now returned to normal, YouTube has not disclosed the root cause of the outage.
A YouTube sign is shown near the company's headquarters in San Bruno, California, Wednesday, March 12, 2025 [Jeff Chiu/AP Photo]
Outage Lasted for Nearly One Hour
The total duration of the outage is estimated to have lasted around 60 minutes before services were fully restored. During this period, Downdetector recorded a rapid escalation in user reports:
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Over 200,000 reports as of 4:36 PM PT
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Nearly 300,000 reports by 4:40 PM PT
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Over 600,000 reports by 5:00 PM PT
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More than 1 million reports by 5:28 PM PT
Although the number of new reports slowed afterward, this incident is considered one of the largest YouTube outages of the year.
This global YouTube outage is a reminder that even the most robust tech platforms are not immune to sudden disruptions — affecting millions of users worldwide. Although YouTube has resolved the issue quickly, its silence on the root cause leaves users and analysts with unanswered questions about system reliability and future incident response.