If you use youtube often, you’ve probably run into a few issues every now and then. The absence of YouTube thumbnails is one such issue. It’s possible that this will irritate you. You have no clue what the video will be about because all you see is the title.
You probably already know that YouTube images can serve as a concise synopsis of a video. More than that, it can sway you to watch the associated movie right away. Therefore, it can be annoying when YouTube images don’t load.
Why are YouTube Thumbnail Images not Showing?
Discovering the origin of the issue is step one in fixing it. As a result, a boring grey rectangle will replace any missing YouTube thumbnails. Cache and cookies, a bug, an application, etc. could all be to blame here.
The vast majority of these issues originate from the combination of your device’s options and YouTube’s own preferences. Another possible cause is the browser you’re using or the version of the program you’re running. This issue has multiple potential resolutions, each of which depends on its source.
Solutions to YouTube’s Thumbnail not Showing Problem
As previously mentioned, several options exist for dealing with the images problem. First, try the option that has the highest chance of success, then if that doesn’t work, try the next most likely one. These procedures are also easy to follow because they are pretty standard.
1. Assess Your Current Internet
YouTube thumbnails frequently failing to display due to connection issues. Examining the following factors may help improve your connection’s performance:
- Connect your devices to the network. An ethernet connection would work here.
- To run a speed test, open a web browser and input the address speedtest.net.
When the website loads, hit the “Go” button. - Connect your device to a more stable network if the current one seems too sluggish or shaky.
2. Set up a Virtual Private Network
This may be due to a DNS server issue or the fact that YouTube is blocked in your region. If you want to set up a virtual private network (VPN), you just need to head over to the Google Play Store and get either a free or paid edition. Although connecting to a virtual private network (VPN) can resolve the issue of missing YouTube thumbnails, reconnecting to the Internet without a VPN will cause the thumbnails to once again vanish.
3. Delete Recent Documents from Your Web Browser
The next most frequent reason for missing YouTube thumbnails is browser cache and cookies. Here, you must free them. The procedure entails the following steps:
- If Chrome is your browser of choice, select “Preferences” (the three dots in the right corner of your screen).
- Then, select “Clear browsing data” from the list of more tools.
Thereafter, select “clear data” from the “Clear browsing data” box that has appeared (the blue square button). - If that’s the case, your Chrome history has been deleted.
4. Erase Viewing Activity from the YouTube Program
Additionally to clearing your browser’s memory, you should also clear the cache in your YouTube app. This will free up some room for your gadget. The procedure is as follows:
- Release the youtube program on your mobile device. Select “Settings” from the menu that appears after clicking the account symbol in the upper right.
- Therefore, select “History & Privacy” from the menu. Tap “Clear watch history” in the pop-up that displays.
- You need to exit the YouTube program and relaunch it. Put it to the test and see if it helps.
5. Force Stop Your Youtube App
Forcibly closing the YouTube program on your device is your next best bet if the aforementioned solutions have failed. The goal is to force a reload of the program. Here’s what you do to compel the app to close:
- The “Preferences” menu is where you need to be. Click on “Application Organizer” once you’ve located it.
- The next step is to get down the selection until you get to “Youtube,” and then tap it.
Select “Force Halt” now. As a result, you can end all open programs. - The next step is to launch YouTube and check if previews are appearing.
6. Look for an Incompatible Extension Checker
YouTube images not appearing can sometimes be attributed to an incompatible extension. In addition, you can switch to the anonymous browsing option in your browser. Now, here’s what you must do:
- You can change your browser’s settings to incognito mode from the normal mode.
- Click “New incognito session” to continue. To proceed, please uninstall the unsuitable add-on.
- The browser will display an error message if an unsupported add-on is present. Right-click the application and select “Remove from Chrome” to get rid of it.
- Then, switch to the private browsing session and load YouTube there. Check to see if preview images are showing up.
7. If Fails, Restart your Device
The final option, a gadget restart, is also the simplest to implement. You need only keep the power switch depressed for a moment. Restarting it is as simple as turning it off and on again. Sometimes simply restarting your phone is all that’s needed to fix a small issue. Also check strategies to grow your youtube channel.
Conclusion
Having read this, you should be prepared to deal with issues such as the previews for videos on YouTube not showing up. Quite simply, clearing cache on a regular basis is required to get rid of insignificant app or gadget problems. Therefore, you shouldn’t freak out if your YouTube screen is filled with dull grey squares.
