Video streaming platform YouTube faced a widespread disruption earlier today that affected users across nations. A “Something Went Wrong” error message appeared on screens when people attempted to watch videos or access the app. The issue was not isolated to a single country. Outage-tracking platforms showed a sharp spike in complaints within a short span of time.
In the US alone, more than 320,000 users reported problems on Downdetector. A large portion of complaints pointed to difficulties accessing the app and streaming videos. The outage appeared to hit during peak morning hours in some regions. Users across India, the UK and other countries shared similar experiences.
The incident also impacted YouTube TV, the platform’s live television streaming service. Nearly 10,000 outage reports were logged for YouTube TV, which indicated that the disruption was not just limited to the main platform. Subscribers who wanted to stream live television channels also faced interruptions.
The outage took place on Wednesday, February 18 and reportedly peaked between 6:30 AM and 7:30 AM. Close to 20,000 complaints were registered during that window in India alone. Around 74 per cent of users reported trouble accessing the app, while 16 per cent cited video streaming failures. Many encountered repeated error messages while trying to refresh the platform. The spike gradually declined as services began stabilising.
