A strange YouTube login bug is locking some users out of the website

YouTube only recently put out one login fire after fixing a bug that locked some viewers out on TVs and gaming consoles. But while that problem was getting attention, another sign-in headache appears to have been quietly frustrating a much smaller group of YouTube users on the web.

Reports stretching back roughly two weeks describe accounts that work normally across other Google services but refuse to sign in to YouTube in a browser. A Reddit user said clearing cookies, switching browsers, using Incognito mode, changing passwords, and even trying another computer made no difference. Their affected accounts still worked in YouTube’s mobile app.

Another YouTube Community report describes almost the same behavior. The user could access their Google Account normally, and Google Dashboard and Takeout still recognized their YouTube data. But browser sign-in repeatedly ended with YouTube’s “Our tubes must be clogged” error. A Diamond Product Expert linked that case to an older ongoing thread tracking the same apparent problem.

Fresh complaints are still appearing. An Edge user reported being able to access Gmail and other Google services, while YouTube immediately redirected them to an error page. Other accounts reportedly worked, further suggesting this may be tied to particular YouTube accounts rather than a specific browser.

Forum Product Experts have escalated the issue, but Google has not publicly confirmed a wider problem or explained what is causing it. We also couldn’t reproduce the bug on our accounts, so it clearly isn’t affecting everyone. Still, reports of issues persisting across multiple browsers and computers for roughly two weeks suggest a small group of users is genuinely stuck.

Android Authority has contacted Google to ask whether it is aware of the issue, what may be causing it, and when affected users can expect a fix. We’ll update this article if we hear back.