# Is it just me, or does iPad have a hard time with YouTube? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 6, 2012, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-does-ipad-have-a-hard-time-with-youtube/636895 "2012-10-06T12:54:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Oly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oly/32/8255_2.png) [@Oly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oly)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-does-ipad-have-a-hard-time-with-youtube/636895/1 "2012-10-06T12:54:28Z")
Every other video is blocked, has YouTube “restrictions”, or, most, needs a flash player that iPad can’t accept. Thing is, back in the old days, before the latest round of OS improvements, iPad had a built in YouTube ap that would play anything. Now it’s gone. I dont really care if they put that back or not, but I’d just like to get back into the youtube loop. Any way to fix this? ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-does-ipad-have-a-hard-time-with-youtube/636895/2 "2012-10-06T13:22:01Z")
Not had a problem myself and have never encountered the flash player trouble (aren’t most YouTube videos html5 now?), but preferred the days of the standalone app. I have encountered a couple of videos where the uploader has refused permission for the video to be displayed on mobile devices, but no idea why they would do that (it’s never any of the major contributors or partners). ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-does-ipad-have-a-hard-time-with-youtube/636895/3 "2012-10-06T13:23:06Z")
> [@Szlater](#): > > Not had a problem myself and have never encountered the flash player trouble (aren’t most YouTube videos html5 now?), but preferred the days of the standalone app. I have encountered a couple of videos where the uploader has refused permission for the video to be displayed on mobile devices, but no idea why they would do that (it’s never any of the major contributors or partners). This. ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-does-ipad-have-a-hard-time-with-youtube/636895/4 "2012-10-06T13:51:02Z")
> [@Oly](#): > > Thing is, back in the old days, before the latest round of OS improvements, iPad had a built in YouTube ap that would play anything. Or, possibly, the built-in YouTube app only offered those videos that it knew it could play? Google/YouTube has developed [an app for iOS 6](http://youtube-global.blogspot.ca/2012/09/introducing-new-youtube-app-for-your.html) that’s supposed to fill that gap. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-does-ipad-have-a-hard-time-with-youtube/636895/5 "2012-10-06T13:52:01Z")
I haven’t experienced many problems, though I am only an occasional YouTuber. ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-does-ipad-have-a-hard-time-with-youtube/636895/6 "2012-10-06T14:41:42Z")
> [@Heracles](#): > > Or, possibly, the built-in YouTube app only offered those videos that it knew it could play? > > Google/YouTube has developed [an app for iOS 6](http://youtube-global.blogspot.ca/2012/09/introducing-new-youtube-app-for-your.html) that’s supposed to fill that gap. That app is for iPhone/iPod Touch only unfortunately. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-does-ipad-have-a-hard-time-with-youtube/636895/7 "2012-10-06T14:50:54Z")
> [@Szlater](#): > > That app is for iPhone/iPod Touch only unfortunately. It still works on iPad. It just runs in an iPhone-sized window with an option to double its size. And Google claims the iPad specific version is coming. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-does-ipad-have-a-hard-time-with-youtube/636895/8 "2012-10-06T15:00:37Z")
I wish Google and Apple would hug and make up. ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-does-ipad-have-a-hard-time-with-youtube/636895/9 "2012-10-06T15:10:06Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I wish Google and Apple would hug and make up. Not going to happen. Google want too much money for licensing, and Apple want to stop being reliant on a competitor for functionality. The maps debacle was a prime case, google wasn’t going to allow access to various features (e.g. vector-based maps, turn-by-turn) so Apple had no choice but develop their own mapping app if they wanted to stay competitive and not be beholden to a direct competitor. Wouldn’t surprise me if Apple starts to develop a search engine in the near future either. ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-does-ipad-have-a-hard-time-with-youtube/636895/10 "2012-10-06T15:11:08Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > It still works on iPad. It just runs in an iPhone-sized window with an option to double its size. And Google claims the iPad specific version is coming. Yeah, I don’t consider the window doubling to be ‘working on the iPad’ because it looks like ass. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-does-ipad-have-a-hard-time-with-youtube/636895/11 "2012-10-06T15:20:07Z")
I’m not a big youTube person at the best of times, but I’ve heard that Jasmine is better than the google app for the iPhone, and it does have an iPad version. Not sure if that makes it worth checking out. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-does-ipad-have-a-hard-time-with-youtube/636895/12 "2012-10-06T15:25:04Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I wish Google and Apple would hug and make up. Me too. One was once an underdog with a loyal and loving fan-base, who knew how to make software and hardware work right. The other, a an internet pioneer who figured out how to make the web work right. Then they both got into phones, and that’s when everybody got all stabby. They’ll come back around. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-does-ipad-have-a-hard-time-with-youtube/636895/13 "2012-10-06T15:28:52Z")
> [@Szlater](#): > > Not going to happen. > > Google want too much money for licensing, and Apple want to stop being reliant on a competitor for functionality. > > The maps debacle was a prime case, google wasn’t going to allow access to various features (e.g. vector-based maps, turn-by-turn) so Apple had no choice but develop their own mapping app if they wanted to stay competitive and not be beholden to a direct competitor. > > Wouldn’t surprise me if Apple starts to develop a search engine in the near future either. That won’t happen unless Google starts limiting search capabilities on iOS. That’s just evil, and it would hurt their AdSense biz. Apple would probably then get into bed wits MS, and Bing (god save us all) would gain market share. But I think it’s a non-issue. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-does-ipad-have-a-hard-time-with-youtube/636895/14 "2012-10-06T15:37:35Z")
> [@Oly](#): > > Every other video is blocked, has YouTube “restrictions”, or, most, needs a flash player that iPad can’t accept. Thing is, back in the old days, before the latest round of OS improvements, iPad had a built in YouTube ap that would play anything. Now it’s gone. I dont really care if they put that back or not, but I’d just like to get back into the youtube loop. Any way to fix this? I’ve noticed some of this. I’ll get a red banner that tells me I need Adobe Flash installed to play this video. Stymied at first, I started to notice it only seemed to be when I linked from other people’s or poster’s links. The preference to play it in Flash might be embedded in the URL that they used to view the video, and when hot-linking, it might not switch to an HTML5 version. Just my hunch so far. But next time it happens, try re-searching the video title in YouTube, or see if there’s a pref for HTML5 you can change on the fly. Last-ditch option, the browser app SkyFire will automatically detect any Flash and convert it to play on your iPad/iPod. ---
**Author:** ![Oly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oly/32/8255_2.png) [@Oly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oly)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-does-ipad-have-a-hard-time-with-youtube/636895/15 "2012-10-06T15:46:06Z")
> [@Heracles](#): > > Or, possibly, the built-in YouTube app only offered those videos that it knew it could play? I did some spearmintin in that direction. No cigar. This [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJ25csvQ-IY](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJ25csvQ-IY) video for example (harmless, promise) would play fine on the ap, but when I try to play it directly off YouTube, there’s a banner across the video window reading “sorry, this video is not available on thi device.” The same video plays no problem on my PC. Same for this [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRtGM3f-UBc&feature=g-logo-xit](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRtGM3f-UBc&feature=g-logo-xit) one, and many many more. ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-does-ipad-have-a-hard-time-with-youtube/636895/16 "2012-10-06T15:48:29Z")
> [@Oly](#): > > I did some spearmintin in that direction. No cigar. This [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJ25csvQ-IY](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJ25csvQ-IY) video for example (harmless, promise) would play fine on the ap, but when I try to play it directly off YouTube, there’s a banner across the video window reading “sorry, this video is not available on thi device.” The same video plays no problem on my PC. > > Same for this [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRtGM3f-UBc&feature=g-logo-xit](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRtGM3f-UBc&feature=g-logo-xit) one, and many many more. All those videos just played perfectly well for me on my iPad. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-does-ipad-have-a-hard-time-with-youtube/636895/17 "2012-10-06T17:31:00Z")
> [@Szlater](#): > > All those videos just played perfectly well for me on my iPad. 😕 Same here. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-does-ipad-have-a-hard-time-with-youtube/636895/18 "2012-10-06T17:53:50Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > Same here. Same iOS? (updated to 6, that is)? ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-does-ipad-have-a-hard-time-with-youtube/636895/19 "2012-10-06T19:19:29Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Same iOS? (updated to 6, that is)? Yep, iOS 6 on an iPad 3 ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2012, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-does-ipad-have-a-hard-time-with-youtube/636895/20 "2012-10-06T23:42:27Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Same iOS? (updated to 6, that is)? Yep. iOS 6 here. The links redirect to the mobile YouTube website for me, maybe that’s not happening for the OP. Are you getting an m. address or a www. address? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-does-ipad-have-a-hard-time-with-youtube/636895.md?page=2)