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

[Henrico]

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.

[Murd]

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.

[LamNest]

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.

[NJT4149]

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. 

[JKern125]

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. 

[Suilven222]

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. 

[JKern125]

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.  

[Henrico]

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.

[virnab]

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:

1. Unplug the modem and router from the outlet and leave them unplugged for two minutes.
2. 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.
3. 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:

1. Unplug the power cord from your display.
2. Leave it unplugged for one minute.
3. Plug the power cord back in.
4. 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

[WxSnare]

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.

[Henrico]

Hey,

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

[Henrico]

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

[DandiLionAround]

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. 

[Henrico]

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.

[metavolta]

It seems that none of the proposed method works whether it’s rebooting modem and reformat nest hub

[metavolta]

Hey Virnab,

Thanks for the troubleshooting steps! 

None of it worked and more Google Nest users (currently 47 and more) have reported similar problems.

It is pretty obvious that the latest software update by Google on nest devices has crippled the live streaming function since none of the users (including me) can watch YouTube properly.

If there is no immediate solutions to this problem.

Can you please ask Google to push the software update to restore it to the last version whereby it is bug free and we can all stream our YouTube videos LiVE on our nest devices.

[virnab]

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

[Henrico]

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

[JKern125]

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?  

[DandiLionAround]

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. 

[d1ss0nance01]

Same issue here 

[virnab]

Hi there!

Thanks for keeping me posted. I understand your concern, and I’m happy to escalate this streaming issue on your Nest Hubs so we can investigate further on our end as well.

To help us find a solution, our team needs a few more details.  When you get a chance, please fill out this form and let us know when you’re finished. We’ll have someone reach out to you via email from there.

Please keep me posted.

Regards,

Virna

[JKern125]

Thank you, Virna. I have submitted my form. 

[metavolta]

Yes I am also facing the same problem!

hopefully Google can pick this up since so many of us have flag this up and just fix this widespread problem for YouTube channels  trying to stream 24/7 

[Henrico]

Exactly 😅 It seems to be happening on every live stream now. So this isn’t an individual issue with a router or device, but a widespread problem affecting many users globally.

[EstebanGian]

Mismo Problema aqui. Tengo 2 Google Home Hub. el Max y uno de 7".  y todos los videos en Vivo se reproduce un bucle .

[metavolta]

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?

[Henrico]

I have the exact same issue on my Google Nest Hub (2nd Gen). Regular YouTube videos play fine, but YouTube livestreams keep loading, freezing, or looping the same few seconds. The same livestream works perfectly on my phone on the same Wi-Fi network.

I already tried restarting the device and doing a factory reset, but the problem is still there. Did you mean YouTube livestreams as well?

[metavolta]

You are right! This does not seem to be an isolated problem and this problem seems to be happening to YouTube channels that stream 24/7 

[Henrico]

Yes,

I actually created a topic about this here: https://www.googlenestcommunity.com/t5/Speakers-and-Displays/Problem-with-YouTube-Live-on-Google-Nes... More than 10 people have already reported the same issue there. I was the one who created that topic. I also experience this with random livestreams, not only with 24/7 streams. It even happens with normal livestreams from popular YouTubers that only stream for about 2 hours.

[GUNSHOW]

Ditto 

[DavidMCA]

Also having the same issue on both Gen 1 and Gen 2 Nest Hubs. YT live works for 4-5 seconds, then freezes. Been happening for two weeks - worked fine prior.

[DavidMCA]

Update: Back in March when I reported this problem to Google Support, I was requested to provide Cast Firmware version. As of March 14, the version was the following: 3.78.508739

Today (April 7) as some are rerporting YT livestreasms were working again on their Nest Hubs, I checked the Cast Firmware version again, and there is a different version now: 3.78.523914

I have only tried one livestream, and it worked! So it appears that Google may have corrected the problem preventing YT livestreams on Nest Hubs. But I will reserve final judgement that the problem is resolved until I've seen more livestreams working. Keeping my fingers crossed...

[oefiesta]

I can now watch live videos on YouTube without problem with the Cast version (automatically updated on my Google Nest Hub 2) 3.78.523914. But I still can't put shutdown timers, either with music or with YouTube, in the firmware version of Google Nest Hub 2: 29.20251023.103.2102100. Anyone else with a sleeper/timer problem?

[GUNSHOW]

Same issues here. It will get stuck on about a 3-5 second part of the live stream and just loop infinitely 

[AlejandroLara]

I'm also having this issue

[aminoux]

Same here. Contacted support, but got through the same useless troubleshooting steps.

Clearly an issue on Google's side. Was working fine before.

[Henrico]

had to send a video yesterday and answer some questions. They said they would escalate it to support immediately, so I’m curious what will happen.

[Chris_58]

I’m so frustrated. I thought it was problem with our unit— did everything including reset and now I can’t get it back on my network because the app won’t update because my phone cannot update to newest version!  That was one we used all day at office for couple of years. Now the unit at home is doing the same thing. Is this an error on their end or is it a way to force updated equipment? 

[BlacksmithSteve]

Same issue here. Been about a week now.