Different YouTube app versions on TV
The YouTube TV experience is an optimized version of YouTube that makes it easy to find and watch high-quality YouTube videos on your television. Learn more about YouTube on TV.
Availability
YouTube is available on many different television devices, including Smart TVs, media streaming boxes, and Google TV devices.
Your experience watching YouTube on TV will differ based on the YouTube app that’s running on your Smart TV or media streaming device. To figure out which YouTube app you’re using, check out the images below to see which app resembles your experience.
Paid content on smart TVs
Your experience watching YouTube paid content on your TV will differ based on the YouTube app that is running on your device. To determine which YouTube app you’re using, check out the images in the sections below to see which app resembles your experience.
YouTube on TV (newer devices)
Music Key
Music videos with the Ad-free badge on desktop and mobile will play ad-free in the YouTube app. Background and offline playback, however, are only available on the Android and iOS mobile apps.
Sign into youtube.com on your TV’s web browser or on your computer if you’d like to cancel your subscription.
Movies and TV shows
Movies and shows purchased on YouTube are available for viewing on select 2013 and newer device models. To access your movies and shows, sign into the YouTube app, and navigate to Purchases.
Paid channels
You can watch videos from any paid channels that you’ve subscribed to by signing into the YouTube app and navigating to My Subscriptions. Please ensure that you have the latest version of the YouTube app installed on your device.
Please sign into youtube.com on your TV’s web browser or on your computer for other actions, such as purchasing and subscribing to a paid channel or canceling an existing subscription payment.
Live events
At this time, live events purchased through YouTube are not available for playback through this app. If you would like to watch your paid live events on the big screen, you can try physically connecting your computer to your TV.
YouTube on TV (older devices)
Music Key
At this time, YouTube Music Key features are not available through this app. If you would like to watch your videos ad-free on the big screen, you can try physically connecting your computer to your TV.
Movies and TV shows
At this time, movies and TV shows rented or purchased through YouTube are not available for playback through this app. If you would like to watch your movies or shows on the big screen, you can try physically connecting your computer to your TV.
Paid channels
At this time, YouTube paid channels are not available for playback through this app. If you would like to watch your videos on the big screen, you can try physically connecting your computer to your TV.
Live events
At this time, live events purchased through YouTube are not available for playback through this app. If you would like to watch your paid live events on the big screen, you can try physically connecting your computer to your TV.
YouTube on Google TV
Music Key
At this time, YouTube Music Key features are not available through this app. If you would like to watch your videos ad-free on the big screen, you can try physically connecting your computer to your TV.
Movies and TV shows
At this time, movies and TV shows rented or purchased through YouTube are not available for playback through this app. If you would like to watch your movies or shows on the big screen, you can try physically connecting your computer to your TV.
Paid channels
You can watch videos from any paid channels that you’ve subscribed to by signing into the YouTube app and navigating to Subscriptions. Please ensure that you have the latest version of the YouTube app installed on your device.
Please sign into youtube.com on your TV’s web browser or on your computer for other actions, such as purchasing and subscribing to a paid channel or canceling an existing subscription payment.
Live events
Live events purchased on YouTube are available for viewing through the Chrome browser app on your Google TV. To access your paid live events, navigate to YouTube.com, sign into your account, then click Purchases.
Other YouTube app
Control YouTube on TV with your phone, tablet, or computer
Connect over Wi-Fi
If you’re using a supported TV or game console, your phone, tablet, or computer will connect to your TV automatically when both devices are on the same Wi-Fi network. Touch or click the 
icon to select the display on which your video will play.
Manual pairing
If you’re unable to connect over Wi-Fi, you can manually pair your TV with your second device.
Step 1: Find the pairing code
- Launch YouTube on your TV or game console.
- Navigate to Settings.
- Scroll to the Pair device screen.
Step 2: Enter the pairing code
- Launch the YouTube Android app.
- Go to Settings.
- Select Connected TVs then select Add a TV.
- Enter the pairing code shown on your TV or game console.
Touch or click the icon to select the display on which your video will play.
Remove or edit a connected TV
Remove or edit a Connected TV by returning to the pairing screen on your mobile device or computer.
- On your computer, go to youtube.com and click Settings > Connected TVs to remove or edit a TV.
- On iOS, touch Settings > Connected TVs and touch Connected TVs again to remove or edit a TV.
- On Android, touch Menu > Settings > Connected TVs > Edit TVs to remove or edit a TV.
- On the mobile site, touch Settings > Connect to TV > My TVs to remove or edit a TV.
To remove all paired devices from your connected TV, go to Settings > Delete > OK.
Send to TV
After connecting your phone, tablet, or computer to your YouTube TV or game console app, click or touch the icon to select the display on which your video will play. Use the video controls on your paired device to play, pause, stop or seek within the video.
*If you’re looking for information about casting from YouTube with Chromecast, visit the Chromecast help center.
Add videos to TV queue
While a video is playing on your TV or game console, you can add additional videos the the TV queue without interrupting playback.
- On iOS, touch a video and select +TV Queue.
- On Android, touch a video and select +TV Queue.
- On the mobile site, touch +Add to TV Queue.
- On youtube.com, select a video and then click +TV Queue
View your TV queue
- On iOS, maximize the video player and touch TV queue.
- On Android, maximize the video player and touch TV queue.
- On the mobile site, the
TV queue will appear in the guide. - On youtube.com, the TV queue will appear on the right side of your screen while casting.
TV queue will appear in the guide.Remove videos TV queue
- On iOS, open the TV queue and touch Remove from TV Queue.
- On Android, open the TV queue and touch Remove from TV Queue.
- On the mobile site, touch TV queue in the guide. Touch X in the video’s thumbnail.
- On youtube.com, hover over the video in the TV queue and click the X in the upper right. To clear your entire TV queue, click and then select Remove all.
Remove from TV Queue.Learn how to manage your connected TVs.
YouTube app & YouTube.com
Chromecast requires YouTube app version 4.5.17 or higher on Android or version 1.4 or higher on iOS. To update to the latest version, please visit Google Play or the Apple App Store.
To cast from www.youtube.com, you must have the cast extension installed on your Chrome Browser.
Watching your favorite YouTube videos on your TV has never been easier. To cast from YouTube to your TV:
- Find a video you want to watch and press the the Cast btn. On the YouTube app, the Cast btn will be in the top right-hand corner. From youtube.com on your laptop, it is in the bottom right of the player.
- Select your Chromecast from the dropdown menu and wait for your video to start playing on your TV.
Note: The Cast btn in the youtube.com player on your laptop functions differently than the Google Cast extension on your Chrome Browser. See Google Cast-enabled vs. Casting a Tab to learn more.You may continue to use your phone or tablet to perform other tasks while your video is playing. To play, pause, or navigate with the scrollbar, use your device as you normally would to control playback. If you want to ‘cast’ the video back to your phone and tablet, simply press the ‘Cast’ btn once more, and select your phone or tablet from the list of available devices.
Playing multiple videos back-to-back
While watching a video, you can add more videos to your TV queue by selecting Add to TV queue on your mobile device or desktop. To see your TV queue, click YouTube logo which functions as a back btn until you see TV queue. Any device that is connected to your Wi-Fi network can cast videos and add to the TV queue. You can read more about this featurehere.
- Some videos may not play using Chromecast. Live content and videos not approved for mobile playback will not work with Chromecast.
- Because YouTube uses adaptive bitrate streaming, videos may appear lower quality at first, then will switch to the highest possible quality after a few seconds. If the video does not buffer at playback speed, the video will be downgraded to a lower quality setting, allowing for smoother playback.
- Casting from YouTube is supported from the YouTube app, YouTube.com, and most embedded YouTube videos.
*If you’re having trouble, please try our Chromecast Troubleshooting tips here.
