Help

When SmoothTube needs a nudge.

Most issues come from a missing credential, a Google testing setting, YouTube API quota, or a video owner disabling embedded playback.

Subscriptions do not load

• Make sure you are signed in from SmoothTube Settings.
• Confirm YouTube Data API v3 is enabled in your selected Google Cloud project.
• Check that your API key, OAuth Client ID, and OAuth Client Secret from Google Cloud Credentials are pasted correctly.
• If your OAuth app is in testing, add your Google account as a test user from the OAuth consent screen.
• Confirm the signed-in YouTube account actually has subscriptions.

Google authorization expired

If Settings says that Google authorization expired, or subscription refresh stops working about seven days after sign-in, your OAuth project is probably External and still in Testing. Google expires Testing-mode authorization and refresh tokens after seven days when YouTube scopes are requested. The API key is not the cause, and repeatedly pressing Refresh cannot renew an expired authorization.

1. Open SmoothTube Settings and sign in with Google again. SmoothTube keeps cached subscription results available while the account is disconnected.
2. For a personal OAuth project, SmoothTube currently recommends leaving it in Testing and expecting to reconnect every seven days.
3. For longer-lived authorization, review Google's publishing and verification requirements. Do not publish credentials for other users without understanding the warning screens, user limits, and verification requirements.

Google documents the seven-day rule under refresh-token expiration.

Videos, livestreams, or premieres are missing

YouTube API quota affects how much fresh metadata SmoothTube can request. If quota runs out, SmoothTube may show cached or partial results until quota resets.

Livestream and premiere detection can use additional YouTube search quota, so those sections may be the first place you notice limits.

A video does not play inside the app

Some creators disable embedded playback. SmoothTube does not bypass that restriction. Use the Watch on YouTube option; SmoothTube opens those videos in a branded in-app YouTube window when embedded playback is blocked.

Continue Watching does not update immediately

• Watch for at least a few seconds.
• Navigate back using the app back button.
• Restart SmoothTube if local state looks stale.
• Livestreams and premieres can behave differently from normal uploaded videos.

Browser extension does not open SmoothTube

• Install or update SmoothTube from Microsoft Store before loading the extension.
• Reload the unpacked extension after replacing its files.
• Make sure the extension toolbar switch is enabled.
• Approve the browser's Open SmoothTube prompt when it appears.
• Only video, Shorts, livestream, and youtu.be links are redirected. YouTube Music intentionally remains in the browser.

Current limitations

• Playback uses official YouTube surfaces, so some player behavior is controlled by YouTube.
• Public fallback metadata can vary by provider availability.
• Downloads are not implemented because SmoothTube should not bypass YouTube restrictions or unsupported offline flows.
• Google, YouTube, Microsoft, and public fallback providers each have their own policies.