topic Re: Problem with YouTube Live on Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen) in Speakers and Displays

Problem with YouTube Live on Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen)

Henrico — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 10:48:38 GMT

Hello everyone,

I’m having a problem with my Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen). I can watch regular YouTube videos just fine, but whenever I try to watch a live stream, it either keeps loading forever or freezes on the last frame.

The strange thing is that the same live stream works perfectly on my phone using the same WiFi network.

Here’s what I’ve already tried:

Restarted the device
Factory reset
Updated to the latest software

None of this fixed the issue.

Also, I cannot manually change the quality on live streams on the Nest Hub.

Is this a known bug? Are other people experiencing the same issue? If you’ve found a solution, please let me know!

Thanks!

Update:

I also have another Google Nest (2nd generation) that hasn’t been updated, and casting and watching live streams work fine on that one.

Google has now escalated the issue to their senior team for further investigation.

By the way, casting also doesn’t work on my other Nest that has been updated.

Re: Problem with YouTube Live on Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen)

Murd — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 14:21:25 GMT

Can confirm I am having the same issue, this began in the last day or two. Normal videos work fine but Live streams cause continual buffer.

Re: Problem with YouTube Live on Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen)

LamNest — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 05:18:19 GMT

I am also having the same issue, this began in the last day or two. Normal videos work fine but Live streams glitch on the same frame.

Re: Problem with YouTube Live on Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen)

NJT4149 — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 20:58:02 GMT

I’m having the same issue, it started early this week. We’re trying to watch a Bald Eagle nest livestream, but the Nest Hub Max is stuck looping the same 3-5 seconds of video. All forms of troubleshooting, including a factory reset, did not work.

Re: Problem with YouTube Live on Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen)

JKern125 — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:22:11 GMT

I am also having this exact same problem. I actually experienced this back in January 2026 for a couple of weeks and then live streams started working again up until a few days ago.

Re: Problem with YouTube Live on Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen)

Suilven222 — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 19:06:38 GMT

Same issue here! Seems the same whether you use voice or cast a live YouTube video from phone. Just been happening in the last week for me.

YouTube Live Streams not working on Nest Hub Display

JKern125 — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 03:12:53 GMT

Both of my Nest Hub displays are no longer able to play live stream YouTube videos. The video is stuck repeating the same 2 seconds, over and over. Casting from my iPhone to the display also results in same issue. Regular YouTube videos play just fine on Nest Hub. I have tried factory reset, reinstall Apps, wifi reset, but nothing is working. Seems like a bug. Really enjoyed watching live streams like the Bald Eagles nest, but now they won’t work.

Re: YouTube Live Streams not working on Nest Hub Display

Henrico — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 09:27:29 GMT

I have exactly the same issue with my Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen). Regular YouTube videos play fine, but live streams either keep loading or repeat the same few seconds over and over. I already tried restarting the device, doing a factory reset, and checking for updates, but nothing fixed it. I also have another Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen) that hasn’t received the latest update yet, and live streams and casting still work normally on that one. Google support has escalated the issue to their senior team for further investigation.

Re: Problem with YouTube Live on Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen)

virnab — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 23:38:50 GMT

Hi there!

Thank you for reaching out to our community.

I understand that your Google Nest Displays are no longer able to play live YouTube videos, though regular YouTube videos are working fine. I appreciate the troubleshooting efforts you have already taken to resolve this, such as restarting the devices, performing a factory reset, and attempting to cast from your smartphones without success. I understand your concern and am ready to assist.

Please provide some more information by answering these questions:

Do you have an active YouTube subscription?
Are you using the latest version of the Google Home app? If not, this Google Nest Help Center article provides helpful instructions: Update the Google Home app.
How far from the router is your display?

In the meantime, I recommend following these troubleshooting steps. I understand that some of you have already performed some of them, but please try to follow the instructions in the order provided to help your Google Nest Hubs stream live YouTube videos.

Reboot your modem and router:

Unplug the modem and router from the outlet and leave them unplugged for two minutes.
Check if the modem and router LED lights are off while they are unplugged. If your router has a backup battery, you may need to disconnect the battery pack to ensure a complete power cycle.
Once all modem and router LED lights are back on and the network name appears in the list of available Wi-Fi networks on your smartphone, verify if the displays can connect.

Restart your Google Nest Hub:

Unplug the power cord from your display.
Leave it unplugged for one minute.
Plug the power cord back in.
Check if you are able to play live YouTube videos. If not, please continue with the next steps.

Factory reset the Google Nest Hub:

Before performing a factory reset, please consider the recommendations provided in this Google Nest Help Center article: Factory reset your Google smart speaker or display.

After completing the recommended steps, set up the display again and check if the issue is resolved. To learn more, you can check this Google Nest Help Center article: Set up your Google Nest or Home speaker or display

Please share the information with me and let me know how it goes.

Best regards,

Virna

Re: Problem with YouTube Live on Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen)

WxSnare — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 04:26:17 GMT

Same issues here. Problematic live streams are sourced from a subscribed YT channel. Have power cycled (unplugged) parent devices, router, and mesh wifi. Casting works to other non-Nest Hub devices. Factory reset Nest Hub as well. Google Home app is current and updated.

Re: Problem with YouTube Live on Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen)

Henrico — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 21:08:05 GMT

Hello Virna,

Thank you for your reply.

Here are the answers to your questions:

• Do you have an active YouTube subscription?

No, I just have a regular YouTube account without Premium. I am only trying to watch normal public YouTube livestreams.

• Are you using the latest version of the Google Home app?

Yes, I am using the latest version of the Google Home app.

• How far is the display from the router?

The display is quite close to the router and has a stable Wi-Fi connection.

I have already tried many steps, including:

restarting the device
performing a factory reset on the Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen)
testing both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi

Unfortunately, the issue still occurs.

Regular YouTube videos work fine, but YouTube livestreams freeze or repeat the same few seconds and there is no audio.

Additionally, several other users in the community have reported the same issue, so it seems likely to be a bug.

Moreover, it used to work for everyone, but recently stopped. It would be very unlikely that all devices suddenly developed a problem at the same time, which suggests this is probably a bug.

Do you have a Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen) at your office to test this? Does it work there to play any YouTube livestream? This way, you might be able to reproduce the issue quickly.

Best regards,

Henrico

Re: Problem with YouTube Live on Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen)

Henrico — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 08:56:24 GMT

Hey,

Yes, this seems to me like a widespread problem and not an individual issue.

Re: Problem with YouTube Live on Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen)

DandiLionAround — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 12:13:42 GMT

No YouTube subscription, and I've tried all these steps, still experiencing the freezing issue like others, on both of my nest hub devices it's isolated to live streams.

Re: Problem with YouTube Live on Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen)

Henrico — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 13:29:34 GMT

Hey, Yes, I have the same issue. This seems like a much bigger problem. If it was a router issue it would usually be individual, but since more people are experiencing it, it’s probably a software bug.

Re: Problem with YouTube Live on Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen)

virnab — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 20:34:17 GMT

Hi there!

Thank you for the update. I’m sorry to hear that those steps didn't resolve the streaming issue.

Because your Nest Hubs are updated and your network is stable, we can rule out a device hardware or software failure. At this stage, it's best to contact YouTube support to investigate potential in-app content restrictions.

Let us know if there’s anything else we can help you with.

Best regards,

Virna

Re: Problem with YouTube Live on Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen)

Henrico — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 21:07:42 GMT

Virna,

Thank you for your reply.

Based on everything I and other users have experienced, this clearly seems to be a software bug in the Nest Hub or the YouTube app on the Nest Hub:

The issue only occurs with YouTube Live; regular YouTube videos work fine.
Multiple users in the community are experiencing the exact same problem, so it is not an individual case.
It worked fine before and only recently stopped on multiple devices.
Hardware and network are stable and have been tested, so they are not causing the problem.

I understand that you suggest contacting YouTube support, but since this bug occurs only on the Nest Hub, it seems to be related to how the Nest Hub software interacts with YouTube Live. Could you escalate this to your engineers for further investigation?

Thank you for your help.

Best regards,

Henrico

Re: Problem with YouTube Live on Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen)

JKern125 — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 21:10:18 GMT

Thank you for the reply. I echo @Henrico comments and our efforts to fix on our end. To no success, we keep hitting a dead end. It really does appear to be a bug. Is Google aware of this issue? Is anyone looking into a fix or possible resolution?

Re: Problem with YouTube Live on Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen)

DandiLionAround — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 00:16:36 GMT

It being an in app issue does not make sense as casting is ONLY having an issue on the nest devices. I can cast to my Smart TV and other devices with no issues. It's the Nest that's clearly got the problem, especially considering all these other users having the same issue.

Google Home unable to play YouTube CNA 24/7 video and it keeps loading or looping

metavolta — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 15:40:13 GMT

Google Home is unable to play a YouTube Channel News Asia (CNA) Singapore 24/7 video, and it keeps loading or looping. How to resolve the matter?

Re: Problem with YouTube Live on Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen)

d1ss0nance01 — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 16:58:23 GMT

Same issue here