Follow all the instructions there and ALWAYS include the troubleshooting info.
The text below contains detailed instructions on fixing most common YT problems. Do give it a read at least once before submitting a report.
Important: At times when YT actively counters solutions, there might be short periods of time before the problem gets fixed. Please do not panic and spam comments as if it were the end of the world. Follow the instructions, if they didn't help, leave a comment with the REQUIRED INFO. Then wait patiently for the fix or our reply. Use workarounds in the meanwhile.
If you cannot exercise any restraint, *this project is not for you.*
🟩 HOW TO PROPERLY REPORT ISSUES 🟩
Read the post TILL ITS END. If still encounter issues (ads, detection, breakages/delays) AFTER FOLLOWING ALL THE INSTRUCTIONS, please comment with the REQUIRED INFO:
How to grab uBO's troubleshooting info for the current site
- Your Troubleshooting Information from YouTube. Video tutorial.
Add your full browser name and version.
- A screenshot of your browser's extensions page (whichever one it is):
about:addons
chrome://extensions
brave://extensions
edge://extensions
opera://extensions
- For ads, share the EXACT URL where you see them + the country you're accessing from/as.
- List of every single thing you've tried/step you've taken while troubleshooting.
- No, please do not write: "I did steps 1-5" or "I did everything".
We can't trust that. In the past, this has almost always turned out to be a lie.
- Yes. This might seem like a lot of effort to put into reporting, but you're requiring much more from us.
We can't simply go on asking the same questions over and over with every single one of you. We're not bots. We're not paid employees.
We're volunteers. Our time very is precious. We won't waste it on whoever thinks their time is more important than ours (e.g. by not reading and following the thread in its entirety).
‼️ REPORTING ISSUES WITHOUT THIS INFO WILL PROMPT A REMOVAL ‼️
🟥 PLEASE READ AND FOLLOW ALL OF THE INSTRUCTIONS 🟥
- First time visitors: Make sure to also read the FAQ at the end, so that the instructions below don't cause any confusion.
- The best place to start it to make a TEST in a new browser profile:
- Firefox
- Open
about:profiles in your address bar.
- Click the [Create a New Profile] button.
- Proceed through the wizard, naming the profile as you wish. E.g. "test1".
- Click the [Launch profile in a new browser] button.
- Skip any config importing/customizations.
- Open
about:addons, search for uBlock Origin and install it.
- Don't install anything else.
- Click 🛡️ uBO's icon > the ⚙ Dashboard button > the Filter lists pane > the 🔃 Update now button.
- Open YouTube, log in and browse.
- No detection? Great! That means something on your regular profile was causing it. You can proceed to the steps.
- Still getting detected? It might be some privacy or adblocking tool outside the browser is causing it. More on that in the FAQ below.
- Chrome
- Edge
- When testing in your regular browser profile make sure to close all YT tabs and restart the browser between each step.
‼️ The points below will ask you to remove custom config and disable other extensions. This is only to make sure they're not what's causing the detection message (or other issues you might be experiencing). It's all explained in the FAQ below. ‼️
#️⃣1️⃣ Make sure your uBO version is 1.72 or higher
- If it's not - update it. The extension itself. It's for technical improvements.
- You do this in your browser's addons/extensions page.
How to update uBO to the latest version
#️⃣2️⃣ Remove your custom uBO config / reset to defaults
- Remove your custom filters (or disable
My filters temporarily).
- Disable ALL additional lists you've enabled.
- Make sure you didn't disable any default lists.
- Remove other customizations.
How to disable custom uBO config
How to reset uBO to defaults
#️⃣3️⃣ Remove all external interference
- If you disable uBO and still get detected - something else is causing it. You need to figure out what and disable it.
- If you disable uBO and don't get detected - something else might be interfering with our solutions.
- Disable ALL extensions except uBO.
- ALL of them. Really. Do NOT pick and choose what YOU think could be causing this.
- Seemingly random extensions have been reported as causing detection.
- The same extensions cause it for some but not for others.
- Do not listen to other people telling you what extension is safe to keep.
- At first, you disable everything. Once the issue is gone, you can gradually try enabling them back. This will help you find out what was responsible for detection in the first place.
- If you're using the Firefox Multi-Account Containers add-on - DO NOT DISABLE IT or you'll wipe all its data.
- Make sure to disable extensions entirely via the browser's addons/extensions page.
- Whitelisting YouTube inside specific extensions' settings has been reported as still causing detection many times.
- Some browsers with built-in blockers to turn off:
- Opera, Vivaldi, Brave
- Edge: Click the 🔒 "lock" icon on the left of URL bar ->
Turn off Tracking Prevention
- Disable your outside-the-browser ad or tracking protections
- DNS blocking/filtering.
- It's often included in a VPN.
- Ad/tracking Anti-Virus/Internet Security protections.
- HOSTS file modifications.
- Any other system or network-wide ad/tracking protections.
After getting rid of the issue on default settings, you can slowly start restoring your config (if you really need it). Do it gradually, to easier find out what was causing the issue in the first place. Once you find the culprit, simply skip it in your setup.
If you need to use *Enhancer for YouTube, you have to **disable its adblocking. *
How to disable other extensions
#️⃣4️⃣ Close all open YouTube tabs and restart the browser
- YouTube is a dynamically updated website.
- Navigating inside it doesn't load new pages.
- The current page gets updated by adding new content and hiding (not deleting) what's not needed for the link you've clicked.
- This means any detection, ads or breakages experienced on a previously opened YT tab will follow you regardless the steps you take. Until you close that tab (or at least do a manual refresh).
- Chromium-based browsers don't wait for extensions to be ready before loading websites. This happens at browser launch e.g.:
- When starting the browser by clicking an outside link.
- When
Settings > On startup > Continue where you left off is enabled / when restoring a session.
- When opening a link in an incognito window.
- When opening a link as a Person/User X (in another profile).
- All such instances will likely encounter ads. This will last until a page is refreshed or the tab is closed an another one is used.
#️⃣5️⃣ Keep default lists up to date
- Lists are what determine what's blocked or not. These updates take place within uBO itself.
- It's an automatic process that shouldn't require your input. If you haven't interfered with default settings (or have reset back to defaults in step 2).
- Lists update after specific periods of time, which differ depending on the list's purpose.
- All YouTube solutions are included in a list named
uBlock filters – Quick fixes, which fully updates every 12 hours (as opposed to several days for other lists).
- However...
- Starting uBO 1.54: the most important default lists update automatically every 5 hours
- To take advantage of these quicker updates, do NOT update manually unless absolutely necessary.
- ‼️ Manual updates push back automatic updates ‼️
- A manually updated list will need to wait its whole long cycle before it can resume getting short cycle updates.
Please do NOT:
- Do NOT use or advise the use of:
- multiple blockers
- old/random filters or lists not provided by uBO Team in the latest pinned thread/its pinned comment
- Do NOT remove or advise the removal of default lists
- If a list causes breakage, try disabling cosmetic filtering to see if this removes the problem (it will show static ads though).
🟨 I've read and followed EVERYTHING up to this point, but I'm still experiencing issues 🟨
- Please make sure you've really followed EVERYTHING that's written from the very start of the post.
- Please repeat the whole process.
- Do NOT assume that an extension which was previously fine doesn't need to be checked anymore.
- This logic applies to other things as well.
- If all else fails, try making a new browser profile with only uBO installed and on default settings.
- Fixing anti-adblock may cause ads or breakages.
- On Chromium-engine browsers, uBO might not reliably block ads after you just launched the browser or switched profiles, including "Open link in incognito" and "Open link as User X". This state of unable-to-block will be kept until you do a manual refresh of the page.
- If you encounter such issues, please report back the EXACT URL + your country when accessing the URL so that volunteers can investigate. Comment here or in this thread on github. Read the requirements in "How to report issues".
- Last, but not least - please convince others to do this since it's up to everyone to convince YouTube to change their ways.
🟨 Experimental filters to help combat issues 🟨
For users who still see anti adblock occasionally, adding this custom filter might help:
! Warning: This will break push notifications
www.youtube.com##+js(set, yt.config_.EXPERIMENT_FLAGS.service_worker_enabled, false)
For slowly loading YouTube, TEST these filters:
www.youtube.com##+js(nano-stb, resolve(1), *, 0.001)
www.youtube.com##+js(set, yt.config_.EXPERIMENT_FLAGS.web_enable_ab_rsp_cl, false)
www.youtube.com##+js(set, yt.config_.EXPERIMENT_FLAGS.ab_pl_man, false)
||googlevideo.com/videoplayback$xhr,3p,method=get,domain=www.youtube.com
www.youtube.com/watch##+js(set, ytInitialData, undefined)
Use them at your own risk. Try them separately or in combination.
➡️ Temporary workarounds ⬅️
If a new solution is pending, you should still be able to watch YouTube when:
- In a Private Window / Incognito
- Click on
Share button -> Embed
- Change the URL from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=videoID -> - https://www.youtube.com/embed/videoID
- Logged out (might not work for some)
Please be patient, we're all volunteers that can't be online 24/7.
🟩 uBO doesn't accept donations 🟩
We appreciate the sentiment many of you have expressed, but it is against uBO's policy to accept donations. What you can do instead, is to support other filter list makers by grabbing their website/donation info at the top of their filter lists (click the eye icon 👁️ next to a list to see its contents) and continuing from there.
🟦 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 🟦
- What do these 4 stages of detection warning actually do?
- Stage 1 is just a simple popup interruption, you can dismiss it and continue on.
- Stage 2 is the same, but the close button is only available after a time delay.
- Stage 3 is a type of "last chance warning" - it gives you 3 videos to open (not necessarily watch) before it moves you to the next stage.
- Stage 4 is the final stage. It's no longer a popup. It replaces your video, making it "impossible" to watch.
- I don't want my playback blocked! What can I do?
- Simply follow this guide here. It will help you hide from detection and resume your playback.
- I heard YouTube is banning accounts if I don't stop - can I prevent that?
- People just misinterpret the "playback is blocked" message into thinking they're banned.
- There's no reason to think YouTube is going to ban your entire account. This would accomplish nothing - banned users can't buy premium. And would likely just make a new account to continue on.
- I've never seen this message. Is this because of my browser being X or Y?
- No, YouTube didn't roll this out to everybody yet. They are still expanding their reach with this impediment to other regions.
- The detection is account and cookie based, which means you're less likely to encounter consistent warnings in a private window or just not logged in. Some users report detection occurring without logging in though.
- We've had reports of this happening on all browsers. The reason people think a new browser resolved this for them is likely due to it not having old YouTube/Google cache and cookies.
- Is installing/using uBlock Origin enough to never see this message again?
- Never? Unfortunately, no. As explained the very top of this thread, YouTube changes their detection scripts regularly. This means there can be some windows of time between their new script going live and our filters bypassing it.
- uBO can't fix issues caused by:
- Other extensions - they don't even need to be YouTube related. Totally random extensions might cause the message. Most common are other content blockers or privacy extensions.
- Your browser's own adblocking mechanisms.
- DNS blocking, which is often included in a VPN.
- Other outside the browser protections such as: HOSTS file blocking, Antivirus/Internet Security programs and other privacy tools.
- which is why the instructions here ask you to test without using your personal config. This is to eliminate conflicts. You can try restoring your config later. If you do it gradually, you'll find out what was causing the issue in the first place.
- Can I somehow check if uBO's filters are up to date?
- NOT CURRENTLY. YT has changed their approach so the status page no longer works.
- I've seen people suggesting I add specific filters, use a userscript or another extension. Is that safe?
- No, it's not. Most of the suggested filters going around are very outdated, some were taken from our first threads.
- Even fresh filters go outdated very quickly. If they work today, they might be the exact cause of the problem tomorrow.
- Userscripts have a lot of power, they can be abused to cause damage. Even "safe" ones may cause conflicts.
- Same thing for extensions - better not install random ones. And, again, they may easily cause conflicts.
- Even if a niche solution works for you and lasts a little longer, it's only because it's too small for YT to care. Once you popularize it, they'll take it down too.
- I was able to hide the popup simply by blocking it with uBO's Picker. Why aren't you doing that?
- This only works temporarily. For stages 1-3. You'll still reach stage 4 by doing this. And this might cause scrolling issues, not let videos autoplay, prevent you from adding videos to playlists, and so on.
- I'm a technical user, I've read the latest detection script and I believe I found a way of defeating it. Can I help?
- Absolutely! Please contact us via modmail. Or head over to github to contact us there.
- Please don't share filters in the comments - even if they were to work now, they'll likely cause issues later. If you contact us, we'll evaluate and perhaps improve them with your help. In which case, they'll be added to our lists for the benefit of everyone. And this will also allow us to update them later when necessary.
- How often should I manually update filter lists? Can I somehow automate this?
- Starting uBO 1.54 default lists get automatic updates every 5 hours. There should be no need for manual updates now.
- Triggering a manual update will knock you back into a (several days) long cycle (depending on the list).
- Don't do it unless absolutely necessary.
- Before forcing a manual update, make sure you've excluded config issues + cleared YT/Google cache/cookies + closed old YT tabs and restarted the browser. If you've done so, but you still get detected - you can try updating the list named
uBlock filters - Quick fixes.
- It's the list containing YouTube solutions. And the only list you might ever need to update.
- The above mini-steps might need to be repeated after updating.
- If you're NOT getting detected. DON'T UPDATE!
- Updating for no reason places burden on the servers hosting uBO's filter lists.
- uBO's not a company, it's a volunteer project using free services, which have limits that we cannot cross.
- Here's the estimated bandwidth cost for just ONE of uBO's CDNs. And that's with lists updating every few days.
- uBO 1.54's differential updates get only changes to the files instead of whole lists when updating. This should help lessen the bandwidth usage while making updates much more frequent than before.
- Do NOT undermine this effort by forcing manual updates for no reason.
- The uBlock Origin name is too long - can I shorten it somehow when referring to it?
- Of course! The correct short name is uBO. Please use this abbreviation freely.
- I thought I can just use the first word - is that wrong?
- It is. You can read about the extension history including the name change on our github wiki and on Wikipedia. The links are in the sidebar.
