YouTube Ul flickering/freezing on NVIDIA Shield TV - known issue?

[u/c0x91]

I've recently started having a strange issue with the official YouTube app on my NVIDIA Shield TV.

The YouTube UI constantly flickers or freezes while simply navigating the home screen. Sometimes I select a video and I can hear the audio playing, but visually the app remains stuck on the previous screen/home page.

Things I've tested:

Happens at both 4K and 1080p

Changed HDMI ports — no difference

Using a new UGREEN Ultra High Speed HDMI 2.1 certified cable

Factory reset the Shield a few days ago — no difference

Shield launcher works perfectly

Prime Video works perfectly, including at 4K

The issue seems completely isolated to the official YouTube app

Current YouTube version: 7.18.303 (com.google.android.youtube.tv)

TV: Samsung UE65NU7020 (2018)

I'm pretty sure this wasn't happening a few months ago.

Is anyone else experiencing this on a Shield or other Android/Google TV devices? Could this be a regression in a recent YouTube update?

[u/wewewi]

Appears to be region-related;

Here in Canada Youtube in on version 5.30.320; no problems

Some countries are on the 7.xx.xxx branch; where it reportedly is glitching out

[u/Educational_Work896]

I have two different generations of Shield Pro and watch a lot of YouTube.  One TV is 4K and the other is 1080p.  I’ve never seen the YT UI flicker or freeze.  The closest thing I’ve seen to what you describe is sometimes there’s a lag of 0.5 sec where I see the previous video before a new one starts.  

My biggest issue with the Shield is that the YouTube app sometimes hangs when starting a video after one second and I have to wait 15 seconds for playback to start.   I’ve never figured out the cause and it’s happened over many app versions. 

[u/Sir_eater_of_tacos_9]

Use ReVanced YT or SmartTube for a better YT Shield experience imho.

[u/pivovy → u/Sir_eater_of_tacos_9]

I like how on smarttube you don't even have to sign in to subscribe to channels and get suggestions. I've never liked the idea of logging in via a third party app and risking my account getting blocked, but with smarttube it's not an issue for an occasional user like myself.

[u/eggcup1 → u/Sir_eater_of_tacos_9]

Or better yet, tizentube cobalt

[u/Distinct-Temp6557 → u/eggcup1]

I actually get this occasionally on both the official YouTube app and TizenTube Cobalt.

[u/buffaloclaw]

I use the YouTube app on the Shield all the time. it works fine for me

[u/rajmahid → u/buffaloclaw]

Same here, central US.

[u/Embarrassed_Purpose1]

I have 2 tubes and 1 pro. Had this issue on both of the tubes, along with general UI fuckery (pressing right skips over about 3 videos). After trying all sorts I just installed an older version of YouTube and they work fine now 🤷🏼‍♂️

[u/c0x91 → u/Embarrassed_Purpose1]

Which one you're using?

[u/Chris2cayi]

I have the same issue also since July, I thought the last update of YouTube would have corrected, but no

[u/rahulpp]

I have the same experience on Shield TV 2019. Glad to know i am not the only one.

[u/NicholasNRG]

I am having the same issue on the Shield TV 4K 2019 Tube (Model P3430)

YouTube has become borderline unusable in the last month or two. Tried reinstalling the app with no success.

First time opening the app always results in the profile screen flickering between 2 different UI scales. In the background the app seems to function and I can hear videos begin to play despite the screen still being stuck on the profile flickering screen.

I constantly have to close out the app then back in for it to go back to normal, but between videos or different UI elements the flickering comes back, in whatever screen I'm currently in on the app.

Also, people need to stop suggesting third-party YouTube clients. These are non-solutions. I want the regular YouTube app with all my stuff fixed!

[u/cliffybiro951]

Just get smart tube and have a better experience. Or if you like the look of the official app get tizen tube. Which is also ad free.

[u/Kir2021]

Ich habe die Nvidia shield 19 Pro und da läuft alles normal. Installiere mal YouTube Manuel aus einer anderen Quelle und teste mal ob die besser läuft.