Using YouTube without being able to see the thumbnails equals chaos. These aren’t just there to look pretty, they also show preview information about the video and help you determine, based on your criteria, which video is worth watching and which one is not.

Watching a video without a thumbnail is like starting to read a book without a cover. That is why, if you find yourself in the situation where you cannot see Youtube thumbnails, you will want to fix this problem as soon as possible so that your experience on the platform is not significantly hindered.

The fact that the thumbnails do not load can be the product of different factors. Fortunately, in most cases there is a solution and we will show you in this article.

What to do if Youtube Thumbnails won’t load on Android

If you notice that only a few thumbnails are loading, or none at all, there are some tricks you can apply to fix this problem.

restart your phone

There is a possibility that the problem is being caused by errors or temporary problems in the system and the way to fix it is simply by restarting your device. After you have restarted your phone, open YouTube again to confirm that the problem has been fixed.

In the same way, it is recommended that from time to time you restart your device to rule out this type of inconvenience not only with the YouTube app, but with all applications in general.

Check the network

Another possible factor that could affect YouTube thumbnails not loading for you is your internet connection. For that, there are several online tools that you can use to really know what your Internet speed is. In this way you can check if the connection speed is causing you to not be able to enjoy YouTube normally.

If, when doing the speed test, you confirm that the Internet is the problem , you should take the necessary actions to improve your connection, such as making sure to place the WiFi router in the right place.

Now, in case you are using your mobile data to get into YouTube , make sure you have the proper settings.

How to configure mobile data to use YouTube

If you’re having issues with YouTube thumbnails and you’re using your mobile data, make sure you have these settings turned on:

• Go into Settings.
• Then head over to Applications. You must select the section where all the apps on your device are displayed.
• Select YouTube.
• Press the Mobile data option.
• Select the Background Data option.
• After following these steps, go back into the app to see if it worked for you.

Disable your VPN

The fact of using VPNs or proxies can negatively affect the speed of your Internet connection. Therefore, it makes sense that if you are using a VPN, it could be causing the thumbnails to not load. Temporarily disable it to verify that it is not the problem.

Reset the YouTube app

In case the problem is with the app, there is a small chance that it will be fixed if you reset the local data of the app. While it’s highly unlikely that this is causing your thumbnail issue, there is a small chance that it will be fixed if you do, so there’s nothing to lose by trying.

When you delete your local data, it won’t affect your history within YouTube or the app’s settings, so you don’t have to worry.

How to clear YouTube data on Android

These are the steps you must follow:

• Open Settings.
• Select Apps.
• Open YouTube from the list of available apps on your device.
• Tap Storage.
• Clear the data and restart the phone.
• Open YouTube again to check if the thumbnails appear or not.

Uninstall YouTube updates

Another alternative is to reinstall the YouTube app or restore the factory version. Factory resetting the app may be the best option as YouTube is usually a built-in app that cannot be removed, so all you need to do is uninstall app updates.

How to uninstall YouTube updates on Android

This is how you can go back to the factory version of YouTube on Android:

• Go into Settings.
• Go to Applications and select YouTube.
• Once there, tap on the 3-dot menu in the top right corner and select Uninstall updates.
• Confirm the action in the dialog and open YouTube.
• After that, go to the Play Store and update the app to its latest version.
• In case the YouTube thumbnails are still not showing, try using YouTube in a browser and report your problem with the app under Account > Help & feedback.

Nothing seems to work?

If you’ve already tried everything and nothing seems to work, then the problem may be with the YouTube servers in your region. It is normal that during maintenance periods this type of error is reported by users. In these cases, you have no choice but to wait for YouTube to fix the problem or for maintenance to end so that you can use the app normally.

YouTube thumbnails won’t load on your computer?

Now, if what happens to you is that YouTube thumbnails do not load from your computer, these are some of the things you can do to fix it:

• Clears the data of the YouTube site. For that, you just have to click on the lock in the address bar and open the site settings. There you can delete all YouTube data stored in the browser.
• Disable the extensions in charge of blocking ads. These extensions generally work fine with YouTube, but in some cases they can actually block things that are not supposed to be blocked.
• Disable VPN/Proxy if you have any installed.
• Try to access YouTube in an incognito window.

Those would be the tricks to follow in case the YouTube thumbnails do not load. I hope it has been helpful to you!

The post This is what you should do if YouTube thumbnails won't load for you first appeared on CuteRank.