YouTube keeps losing connection in Safari on my MacBook Air

Hi,

When using my MacBook Air (M1) to watch videos on YouTube through Safari, I frequently lose my internet connection.

Roughly 25% of the time when I go from one video to the next, I get this:




I click retry and the video instantly starts playing.


Worth noting:

1) This doesn't happen on my iPhone or iPad, whether I'm going through the app or Safari.

2) This doesn't happen on the MacBook with videos on other sites.

3) I contacted my ISP and they didn't detect any issues, but reset the router on their end.


Any insight would be appreciated.


[Edited by Moderator]

Original Title: Youtube losing internet connection


MacBook Air 13″, macOS 15.5

Posted on Jun 18, 2025 11:09 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jun 18, 2025 07:07 PM

You can try turning off “Prevent Cross-Site Tracking” in Safari’s Privacy settings — sometimes that setting causes weird issues with sites like YouTube.

Another thing worth trying is opening YouTube in a private window (Shift + Cmd + N). That bypasses most cookies and cached data, so if things work normally there, it probably means the issue is with Safari’s cache or an extension.

1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jun 18, 2025 07:07 PM in response to ToongTaoDaeng

You can try turning off “Prevent Cross-Site Tracking” in Safari’s Privacy settings — sometimes that setting causes weird issues with sites like YouTube.

Another thing worth trying is opening YouTube in a private window (Shift + Cmd + N). That bypasses most cookies and cached data, so if things work normally there, it probably means the issue is with Safari’s cache or an extension.

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

YouTube keeps losing connection in Safari on my MacBook Air

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.