The translation of the text is: «Problems with YouTube on February 17, 2026: what happened?»
18 february 2026 в 19:13
YouTube users faced issues on February 17, 2026, when they noticed a malfunction on the platform. Many were unable to load the homepage, and some saw a completely blank screen. That evening, they quickly began reporting problems on Downdetector, with most complaints coming from the West Coast. A few hours later, on February 18, Google confirmed that the issue had been resolved. What caused this widespread outage?
According to available information, the YouTube outage lasted only about two to three hours for most users, but that was more than enough time. Many, especially YouTube Premium subscribers, expressed their dissatisfaction online during the outage.
«@YouTube, you need to fix this issue urgently. #YouTube is playing with my emotions. Especially since I pay for the ad-free premium version», - one user wrote on X.
Google acknowledged the widespread issue with YouTube in a status message on February 17. In their first statement, the YouTube team wrote: «Hello everyone, we know that some of you are having trouble accessing YouTube. Our teams are aware, and we will provide updates as soon as they are available. Thank you».
In the next update, Google clarified what the problem was. «An issue with our recommendation system prevented videos from appearing on various YouTube platforms (including the homepage, YouTube app, YouTube Music, and YouTube Kids)», - Google stated. «The homepage has been restored, but we are still working on a complete resolution of the issue. We are also seeing a small number of reports that some users cannot log into YouTube TV. This is related to a broader issue on YouTube, and we are also working to resolve it. Stay tuned for further updates!»
In their final message regarding the outage, Google informed users that the platform was back up and running.
«The issue with our recommendation system has been resolved, and all our platforms (YouTube.com, YouTube app, YouTube Music, Kids, and TV) are back to normal!» the third statement read. «We greatly appreciate your patience while we dealt with this situation»
According to available information, the YouTube outage lasted only about two to three hours for most users, but that was more than enough time. Many, especially YouTube Premium subscribers, expressed their dissatisfaction online during the outage.
«@YouTube, you need to fix this issue urgently. #YouTube is playing with my emotions. Especially since I pay for the ad-free premium version», - one user wrote on X.
Google acknowledged the widespread issue with YouTube in a status message on February 17. In their first statement, the YouTube team wrote: «Hello everyone, we know that some of you are having trouble accessing YouTube. Our teams are aware, and we will provide updates as soon as they are available. Thank you».
In the next update, Google clarified what the problem was. «An issue with our recommendation system prevented videos from appearing on various YouTube platforms (including the homepage, YouTube app, YouTube Music, and YouTube Kids)», - Google stated. «The homepage has been restored, but we are still working on a complete resolution of the issue. We are also seeing a small number of reports that some users cannot log into YouTube TV. This is related to a broader issue on YouTube, and we are also working to resolve it. Stay tuned for further updates!»
In their final message regarding the outage, Google informed users that the platform was back up and running.
«The issue with our recommendation system has been resolved, and all our platforms (YouTube.com, YouTube app, YouTube Music, Kids, and TV) are back to normal!» the third statement read. «We greatly appreciate your patience while we dealt with this situation»
© Kolganov Andrey
