The YouTube “not processing or uploading” error appears for a variety of reasons, including:

• Slow internet connection
• The video has an incorrect file format for YouTube
• Peak internet usage period and this slows the upload process to a crawl
• The YouTube servers are down or very crowded
• The YouTube video file size is too large

It could be any one of those, but it’s my job to help you figure out exactly what’s causing the problem. And to fix them as well. 🙂

If these four steps don’t help, it means the YouTube servers are down, or there’s another issue you don’t have control over. But – while not impossible – this is kind of unlikely to happen, though.

Let me not waste any more of your time and get down to business. Read below for a step-by-step guide on solving this error!

How To Fix YouTube Video Not Uploading?

There is no simple solution to the “video not processing or uploading” error, I’m afraid. However, one of these things might help you:

1. Wait some time (underwhelming, I know…)

You don’t have to repair something that’s not broken… yet. Before you do anything just wait for 10-20 minutes and see if the video starts processing.

Sometimes, the servers are too busy, and it might take longer for the processing… process to start.

For instance, many users said that canceling and reuploading the video didn’t work. The processing was still stuck at 0%, which is to be expected from YouTube.

But it eventually started to move after waiting for a couple of seconds.

You should also know that the larger the video is, the more it takes to be uploaded.

Yeah, I know you would want things to work again immediately, but you’ll need to learn to be patient. 🙂 Most of the time this will fix itself without you having to do anything.

2. Turn your Wi-Fi off and then back on again (yeah, yeah, the notorious tech-support response…)

If you’re uploading a video on YouTube from your mobile device and it’s not processing, the internet speed might be at fault.

Are you on Wi-Fi or mobile data? Either one could be problematic for all you know. In these cases, I recommend using WiFi because your computer’s internet speed is most likely the better one.

To switch between WiFi and Mobile Data, swipe down from the top of your screen to open the Quick Menu (see image below).

You should find the WiFi and Mobile Data options at the top. This should be consistent across all OS versions and mobile manufacturers (thanks to our tech overlords!)

Turn off WiFi, enable Mobile Data, or vice-versa, and then try uploading the video again.

You can also try rebooting or resetting the internet router (make sure you have the right credentials) or changing the ports in your routers.

From my experience, I can tell you that some ports enable faster download and upload speeds.

3. Clear cache and cookies

Sometimes, simply clearing the cache and cookies will solve most problems on a computer (not applicable to mobile phones, in most cases).

Depending on the browser, you’ll find the “Clear cache/browsing data” option somewhere else, but for this guide, I’ll be using Google Chrome.

Begin by clicking the three-dot icon (who came up with these weird names?) in the top-right corner (near your profile picture).

This will show a window with several options. One of them is “More Tools“. Hover your mouse over it and then select “Clear browsing data…” in the pop-up window that appears.

After you select “Clear browsing data,” you’ll see a new window.

Check the following boxes (see the image above):

• Browsing history
• Cookies and other site data
• Cached images and files

Then, select “Clear data” in the bottom-right corner to clear the browser cache and cookies. This will remove all your saved login credentials (you’ll have to relog on to all sites) and reset all background browser processes.

This will clear away any residual bugs or glitches, incomplete data, and faulty code from your browser.

Even the video uploading process will be “canceled.” So, you should save the video tags and descriptions before doing this.

After you’ve cleared the cache and cookies, you may need to log back into YouTube. Remember? Your stored credentials were deleted. 😀

4. Convert your video to a different format

And my last tip is to change your video to a different file type. This is because your video may be using the wrong format for YouTube, and that is the reason why it can’t be uploaded.

Here’s the official Google list of recommended YouTube video formats. Take a look over it and check your videos’ format.

To convert a video to a different format, you can use online programs like Any Video Converter.

Install it, open it, select the video to convert, select a format, and hit Go. You’ll have a different video format in a few seconds!

Using a different browser, lowering the resolution of the video, or compressing the video may also help with the processing problem.

Let me summarize the above…

Sometimes, YouTube underperforms in more than one way. The “video not processing” error is just an example.

The YouTube server may be overcrowded, your internet connection could be slow, or there’s a glitch somewhere.

Anything could cause this error, really. I hope this guide helps you get rid of this annoyance and get back to YouTubeing.

Let me know in the comments below if you need help with anything else!