YouTube suffered a massive global outage beginning on February 17, 2026. Over 320,000 users in the United States alone reported issues on DownDetector, while users worldwide faced similar problems.

Many saw the “Something Went Wrong” error when trying to use the app or website. YouTube TV was also affected, with nearly 10,000 reports of disruptions.

Other services affected

The outage appeared to extend beyond YouTube. Users also reported problems with Google Search, Gmail, and Google Meet. Downdetector tracked significant spikes in complaints for these services, suggesting a wider issue affecting Google platforms.

User reactions

Social media and Downdetector comments reflected frustration and confusion. Many users reported being unable to log in or access their favourite content. Examples included videos in playlists working partially, blank pages appearing, and only the sidebar loading. Some users expressed humorous frustration, calling the outage “the end of the world” or questioning why YouTube regularly goes down.

How to handle the ‘Something went wrong’ error

Common troubleshooting steps include refreshing the page, restarting the app or device, checking the internet connection, clearing cache and cookies, disabling VPNs, and updating the YouTube app. However, given the global scale of the outage, the problem is likely on YouTube’s end, and individual fixes may not work.

Downdetector noted that issues began around 8:04 PM EST on February 17. In India, users reported errors around 6:00 AM IST on February 18.

YouTube has not yet issued an official statement explaining the cause of the outage.