Apple TV 3 Owners Report Issues Viewing YouTube Content

Google appears to have handicapped its YouTube support for the third-generation Apple TV, based on hundreds of user complaints on Apple’s support forums and in YouTube’s Help Center.

youtube apple tv
Multiple users are reporting problems accessing certain YouTube content such as music videos. When attempting to watch the content, viewers are being met with the message "An error occurred loading this content. Try again later."

One Reddit user who contacted Apple customer support reports that Apple claims the issue is on Google’s end, following recent changes it made to the YouTube platform. However, Google has yet to address or acknowledge the problem, despite numerous reports being filed and submitted over the course of more than two weeks.

Have you had trouble viewing YouTube content on a third-gen ‌Apple TV‌? Let us know in the comments below.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Tag: YouTube
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 18

Apple Announces iOS 18.2 Launching Today With These New Features

Wednesday December 11, 2024 5:23 am PST by
Apple has announced that iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 will be released today following more than six weeks of beta testing. For the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models, the update introduces additional Apple Intelligence features, including Genmoji for creating custom emoji, Image Playground and Image Wand for generating images, and ChatGPT integration for Siri. There is also ...
Generic iOS 18

Apple Seeds Second Release Candidate Versions of iOS 18.2 and More With Genmoji, Image Playground and ChatGPT Integration

Monday December 9, 2024 10:06 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS 15.2 updates to developers and public beta testers for testing purposes, a week after releasing the first RCs. The first iOS 18.2 RC had a build number of 22C150, while the second RC's build number is 22C151. Release candidates represent the final version of beta software that's expected to see a ...
iPhone SE 4 Single Camera Thumb 3

iPhone SE 4 Said to Feature 48MP Rear Lens, 12MP TrueDepth Camera

Monday December 9, 2024 4:48 am PST by
Apple's forthcoming iPhone SE 4 will feature a single 48-megapixel rear camera and a 12-megapixel TrueDepth camera on the front, according to details revealed in a new Korean supply chain report. ET News reports that Korea-based LG Innotek is the main supplier of the front and rear camera modules for the more budget-friendly ~$400 device, which is expected to launch in the first quarter of...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

MacBook Pros With OLED Displays Won't Have a Notch, Roadmap Shows

Monday December 9, 2024 7:36 am PST by
Apple plans to remove the notch from the MacBook Pro in a few years from now, according to a roadmap shared by research firm Omdia. The roadmap shows that 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models released in 2026 will have a hole-punch camera at the top of the display, instead of a notch. It is unclear if there would simply be a pinhole in the display, or if Apple would expand the iPhone's...
macOS Sequoia Night Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.2 With New Apple Intelligence Features

Wednesday December 11, 2024 10:02 am PST by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.2, the second update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that was released in September. macOS Sequoia 15.2 comes over a month after the release of macOS Sequoia 15.1. Mac users can download the ‌macOS Sequoia‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. macOS Sequoia 15.2 adds Image Playground, an app that lets you create...
vipps nfc tap to pay iphone

World's First Apple Pay Alternative for iPhone Launches in Norway

Monday December 9, 2024 1:28 am PST by
Norwegian payment service Vipps has become the world's first company to launch a competing tap-to-pay solution to Apple Pay on iPhone, following Apple's agreement with European regulators to open up its NFC technology to third parties. Starting December 9, Vipps users in Norway can make contactless payments in stores using their iPhones. The service initially supports customers of SpareBank...
maxresdefault

Apple Releases iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2 With Genmoji, Image Playground, Siri ChatGPT and More

Wednesday December 11, 2024 10:03 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2, the second major updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 updates that came out in September. The new updates come over a month after Apple released iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General >...

Top Rated Comments

AdamFootUK Avatar
61 months ago
I’m also having issues as an Apple TV 4 user, but only because the app is so badly designed for Apple TV ?
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thequietaussie Avatar
61 months ago

I’m also having issues as an Apple TV 4 user, but only because the app is so badly designed [S]for Apple TV[/S] ?
;)
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CarlJ Avatar
61 months ago

Idk, I don't see people having as many UI issues on other devices as on 4th gen Apple TVs. I literally have to stop using the Siri Remote before I have an anxiety attack and use my iPhone as a remote because of how sensitive it is and a pain in the ass to use the app with the Siri Remote.
The YouTube app is a cross-platform mess that only begrudgingly supports the AppleTV. One of the problems is they don't really support the trackpad, it's built for a D-pad. If you stop trying to swipe, and instead just lightly tap on the top, bottom, or sides of the trackpad, it works a lot better. (Also, there's a setting in the settings app for how sensitive the Siri trackpad is.)

I've learned to operate within its limitations. The two that still frustrate me no end are:

One, every time you unpause, YouTube insists on covering the bottom half of the screen with largely unnecessary controls and "you might also like" advertisements for other videos (dammit YouTube, I unpaused this video, that means I want to watch this video - stop using half the screen to tell me about other videos), and you can't dismiss this from the trackpad, only using the menu button (or waiting), and if you hit the menu button to dismiss it just as it decides to auto-dismiss, then the menu button performs its other primary purpose and takes you out of the video. So infuriating!

And, two, when their lower-half travesty of videos and controls is on the screen, every time you move from the timeline down to the other controls, if the video is paused, IT UNPAUSES THE VIDEO FOR YOU! Dammit YouTube! I paused it to and brought up the bottom, you know, have it stay in the same place while I went to add it to a list or something - why are you starting the video back up? It's precisely what I don't want at the moment. It's like it's trying to trick you into hitting the menu button to dismiss the mess on the bottom half of the screen, and maybe jump out of the video entirely.

Also, serious points off for using the row under the video title to tell me that it's "Recommended for you". With upwards of 17 trillion videos on YouTube now, every video listed on my screen is going to be somehow recommended for me - I also don't care how many times it's been viewed. Instead, tell me the date the video was posted. Lots of times there'll be 3-4 videos from the same source, and I want to watch them in order. Armed with the date I can do that. If all 4 just say "Recommended for you", then I have to guess.

The iPad YouTube app handles the video controls at the bottom, and the date/info under the the thumbnail issues much better. I wish we could have that on the Apple TV.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
allenvanhellen Avatar
61 months ago
OK, let’s just keep buying new streaming boxes every 5 years and throwing the old ones in the trash. Great.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iParis Avatar
61 months ago

;)
Idk, I don't see people having as many UI issues on other devices as on 4th gen Apple TVs. I literally have to stop using the Siri Remote before I have an anxiety attack and use my iPhone as a remote because of how sensitive it is and a pain in the ass to use the app with the Siri Remote.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Justin Cymbal Avatar
61 months ago
Makes sense that the third gen Apple TV is slowly losing support... After all it came out in 2012

I still have a few 3rd gen ATVs lying around - mostly just use them when I travel incase I forget it in the hotel
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)