[Update: Possibly fixed] YouTube app on Apple TV freezing issue after pausing videos being looked into (we have a workaround)

New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….

Original story (published on October 30, 2020) follows:

The third generation Apple TV was released way back in 2012. The 8-year-old device continues to receive updates and is still pretty popular. However, there is a new issue. The YouTube app is reportedly freezing for many after a bad update.

As a result, a slew of complaints have emerged on official Apple TV as well as YouTube forums.

My Apple TV updated a few days ago. Now when I watch a video on YouTube then pause the video. My Apple TV freezes and restarts. All the other apps work just fine it’s just YouTube. I contacted Apple support and they said to contact YouTube support.
Source

I see I’m not the only one having problem with Apple TV. I’m using Apple TV 3rd generation. Watching YouTube video and I press the pause button and it will lock the video and disable the remote. After several minutes Apple TV will resets. Also, NFL Pass will not load on my Apple TV 3rd Generation. However on ROKU both YouTube and NFL work just fine.
Source

As apparent from the above comments, the issue is triggered when a video is paused on the YouTube app. It causes the Apple TV to hang and then eventually reboot on its own.

The cause of this appears to be a bad update, software version 7.6 to be precise. The problem was non-existent on the previous 7.5 version. Also, it seems to be only affecting the Apple TV (3rd generation) as of now.

But, it is also a bit odd that the issue is only faced on the YouTube app. Other streaming apps like Amazon Prime and Netflix do not face any problem as such.

From this, it appears that there is a compatibility issue between Apple TV and YouTube after the update. The same has been suggest by a Product Expert on the YouTube forums:

I notified YT and now waiting on the reply. YT probably needs to makes some minor adjustments to be in sync with that update.
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However, it has been over a month since the complaints first started pouring in, and neither Apple nor YouTube has acknowledged the issue.

Since the issue arose after the 7.6 update for Apple TV, your best bet would be to downgrade to version 7.5 until something is done regarding this bug.

Here is a workaround as provided by BMfromV:

1. Download the old version of the firmware. For me it was the version from 24th March 2020 (I took it from https://ipsw.me/product/AppleTV). Be careful in choosing your version of Apple TV!

2. Connect the Apple TV to the computer via a micro-usb cable.

3. Restore the downloaded firmware (for more details https://www.imyfone.com/apple-tv/downgrade-apple-tv/).

4. Disconnect from computer and connect to TV.

5. All data is lost and you need to configure everything from the beginning
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Make sure you choose the correct software before going forward with the installation. Also turn off auto-update after the process, so that the software does not update to version 7.6 on its own.

This is clearly just a workaround, though, and Apple and YouTube need to pull their socks up and fix this annoying bug immediately.

Same problem here and is being talked about a lot on Apple forums. There needs to be a fix. Downgrading to 7.5, restoring data and config + shutting off auto update is not a fix.
Source

That being said, let us know in the comments below if you have already received a bug-fixing update for the Apple TV YouTube freezing issue. Also, inform us of any other workaround, if any, in the comments below.

05:55 pm (IST): The freezing issue when pausing a YouTube video on the 3rd generation Apple TV appears to have been fixed via the Apple TV Software Update 7.6.2 as per some users who were experiencing the problem. We’ve shared some reports below:

Apple TV Software Update 7.6.2 is released. Installed it on my Apple TV 3rd gen and the YouTube hanging bug is fixed. Pausing YouTube streams will now show a ‘Resume’ screen. (Source)

Finally, about time! I can confirm that the latest patch addressed the YouTube issue and now users are able to pause YouTube videos without the Apple TV freezing up and crashing. Good news indeed. (Source)

Hey it works! Updated to 7.6.2 and no longer crashes when pausing on YouTube. Our long dark collective nightmare is finally over. (Source)

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