YouTube playback speed not working: What company said and how to fix it

YouTube has fixed a widespread issue that affected the playback speed controls on its Android app. The glitch, which was reported by numerous users on Reddit and other platforms, prevented people from changing a video's playback speed from the default 1x setting. The Google-owned company YouTube has officially acknowledged the issue and later announced that it fixed the problem.“This is fixed! You should now be able to adjust playback speed normally on your Android device,” YouTube said.

How YouTube playback speed issue affected users

The YouTube playback speed issue, which began affecting users around August 5, prevented users from adjusting the speed via the gear icon. Users claimed that the controls were unresponsive, with some even noting that the tap-and-hold feature to briefly increase playback speed to 2x was functional. The problem was not limited to standard accounts; even YouTube Premium subscribers were experiencing the bug, which did not appear to affect the YouTube website or the iOS app.

“We’re aware some of you are experiencing issues adjusting playback speed while watching videos on Android devices. Our teams are actively investigating this issue! We’ll update this thread as soon as we have new information. Thanks so much for your patience while we sort this out!,” stated a member of the YouTube team posted an update on the official community forums.

Do this if your YouTube playback speed is still not working

Previously, users reported that standard troubleshooting steps, such as restarting the app or their phone, did not resolve the problem. However, after the announcement regarding the fixing of the issue, the company advised users to restart the app.“If you're still having trouble, please close and reopen the YouTube app. Let us know here if you're still experiencing any issues!” a member of the YouTube team posted.