Youtube Loading Slow?

Youtube has been really slow for last few weeks, some users say months. After all it takes ages lately before you can run a video, all you see is endless loading and slow buffering. Let’s presume you don’t have a dial-up connection, if so it’s very advisable not to run videos in high quality (HQ) or high definition (HD).

1. Go to your account setting - Playback Setup - Click On, I have a slow connection. Never play higher-quality video. Save Changes... If this does not work, Read below for more information, how to speed up your youtube account...

If you have ADSL connection or higher, follow these steps to make Youtube loading fast again. We are going to change DNS servers you got from your ISP.

This particularly method to speed up Youtube is shown for Windows Vista, but should look quite similar on XP, or even with Windows 7.

01] Go Windows Start button, and run Control Panel.
02] Click on Network and Sharing Center.
03] Select Manage network connections.
04] Double click on active internet connection, probably named as Local Area Connection.
05] Click Properties.
06] Now double click Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4), located in middle form.
07] Select Use the following DNS server addressed, and change them to:

Preferred DNS Server: 208.67.222.222
Alternate DNS Server: 208.67.222.220

Updated on 19.09.2011: If you are located in Europe, I would recommend you to use Google’s public DNS servers:

Preferred DNS Server: 8.8.8.8
Alternate DNS Server: 8.8.4.4

08] Click OK to confirm changes to Open DNS servers.

Great. Youtube videos should be loading fast again.

Do you still have problems?

A big cause of slow YouTube video playback is down to slow, or damaged Internet connection. The problem you have is that each time you watch a YouTube video online, it will actually download the entire movie to the “Internet Cache” of your PC. With YouTube videos now ranging from 100mb to 2gb in size, this requires a high powered Internet connection on your system, which many people don’t have.

Click onto “SpeedTest.net“
Check your connection speed
If it’s slower than what you’re paying for; or is below 500kb/s, then you should consult with your ISP to fix the problem

Flush DNS

Most operating systems and DNS clients will automatically cache IP Addresses and other DNS results, this is done in order to speed up subsequent requests to the same hostname. Sometimes bad results will be cached and therefore need to be cleared from the cache in order for you to communicate with the host correctly. All major operating systems allow you to force this process, outlined below are the common steps you will need to follow in order to flush your DNS cache.

Windows 98/NT/2000/XP Flush DNS

Flushing the DNS on Windows is an easy process, outlined below is the steps that should be run if you wish to clear your DNS cache.

Open up a command prompt (Start > Run > "cmd.exe" > OK).
Type in the command "ipconfig /flushdns"
Windows Vista / Windows 7 Flush DNS

Flushing DNS on newer versions of Windows is almost as easy as the earlier versions but due to Microsofts security additions you must run the command prompt with administrator privileges.

Click the start button and navigate to the command prompt (Start > All Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt)
Make sure that you right click on the command prompt application and choose "Run as Administrator"
Type in the command "ipconfig /flushdns"

Note: It is also possible to type in "cmd" into the Windows Vista / Windows 7 start menu search field and then right click on the cmd.exe result instead of having to navigate through the various sub menus.