YouTube and YouTube TV apps are crashing on Apple TV for some

Ben Schoon | Apr 4 2023 - 7:25 am PT

It doesn’t seem like much time goes by without YouTube TV running into issues on Apple TV, and the latest update is wreaking havoc yet again, as users report crashing issues with both YouTube TV and YouTube.

For the past week or so, YouTube TV has been crashing for many Apple TV users without clear cause. The app crashes at random intervals while in use, sending users back to the homescreen unexpectedly. Some users have tried reboots, reinstalls, resets, and even rolling back to older tvOS versions in an attempt to fix the problem, but without success. It’s not particularly hard to find affected users, with reports across Reddit, Twitter, and more.

Some users also report similar behavior with the regular YouTube app on Apple TV, but those reports aren’t nearly as widespread.

The issues seem to have cropped up roughly a week ago, not too long after Google confirmed the start of a new server-side update for YouTube TV on Apple TV. It’s not entirely clear if the two are directly connected, but it would certainly be one heck of a coincidence if not.

While there’s no easy workaround in this case, YouTube has confirmed that work is underway on the issue, and that the primary device affected is Apple’s first-generation Apple TV 4K. Apparently, a memory leak is suspected as the cause of the crashing issue for YouTube’s TV apps on Apple TV.

The crashing issue comes at a rough time for YouTube TV, as the provider is currently one of the better places to watch the NCAA “March Madness” tournament, which just finished up over the weekend with UConn winning the National Championship.