Sometimes, YouTube acts up and doesn’t show any of the video thumbnails. This can be an annoying situation, especially if you want to browse and watch different content on the platform. Without thumbnails, it can be difficult to know for sure what the video is all about. If you’re experiencing this right now, you’ll be glad to know that there are easy solutions to remedy the issue. We’ve compiled a list of different troubleshooting steps you can take—one of them should do the trick.
Restart Your Device
One of the first things you must always do when your device isn’t working the way it should is to restart it. It’s quick and simple to do, and it usually fixes the issue right away, as well.
Check Your Internet Connection
If restarting your device doesn’t help, the next thing you should do is check your internet connection. Most of the time, missing YouTube thumbnails is caused by a slow or unstable internet connection. To check whether this is the case, head over to a website that can check your internet speed. If you notice that your internet’s speed is truly low, there are different causes for this. We’ll explain some below:
Someone Is Downloading or Uploading Something
Multitasking is sometimes unavoidable, especially if you’re busy or have many tasks to do. For instance, if you’re uploading or downloading files while trying to watch YouTube videos simultaneously, this can cause your internet connection to slow down significantly. As a result, YouTube won’t be able to show the video thumbnails because your internet isn’t strong enough. To fix this issue, it’s best if you do things one at a time; you’ll experience a better internet connection by doing so.
There Are Many Connected Devices
Another possible reason why YouTube isn’t showing the video thumbnails is that there are too many devices connected to the WiFi network at the same time. Because the internet connection is being shared among different devices, how you stream content on the internet will be affected, too. If you want a faster internet speed, try disconnecting those devices that aren’t being used.
Remove Incompatible Extensions
In some cases, YouTube isn’t showing thumbnails due to an incompatible extension. How do you know if you’ve installed one on your web browser? Well, you must first go to Incognito mode and check YouTube if it’s still unable to show thumbnails. If it can load thumbnails just fine, then this means there’s a chance that an incompatible extension causes it.
To fix this issue, check each one of your extensions in your browser’s toolbar. Look for the incompatible extension, and then remove it from your browser. After doing so, try checking YouTube on your main browser, and you should see that the thumbnails are back.
Clear Your YouTube Watch History
If you’re on your Android phone watching YouTube, there are times when the app suddenly stops working for whatever reason. In such instances, all you need to do is Force Stop the app and then clear your YouTube watch history. Here’s how to do the latter:
- Launch your phone’s YouTube app and tap on the Account icon located on the upper-right side of your screen.
- Click on Settings.
- Go to the section where it says History and Privacy.
- Then, click on Clear Watch History.
Clear Your Browser’s Cache
If your web browser’s cache memory is too full, it could also cause YouTube not to show the thumbnails. So, one way to try and remedy this issue is to clean out your browser’s cache data as often as possible. Every web browser out there offers this option, whether you use Google Chrome, Safari, Mozilla Firefox, and others. You can usually find the option to clear your cache in the Settings.
Conclusion
While not being able to see YouTube’s video thumbnails can be frustrating, it’s not the end of the world yet, especially since there are easy ways you can fix the issue. Try one or all of the methods we’ve listed above, and YouTube should be able to show the thumbnails in no time.
