Alex Ruben
How To Resolve Slow Video Uploads on YouTube: Easy Solutions
Ever tried uploading a video on YouTube and felt like the progress bar barely nudged forward? Yeah, it’s frustrating, especially if your internet speed isn’t the problem — which it often isn’t. Sometimes, even with solid Wi-Fi or mobile data, uploads crawl or freeze. This guide covers some of the real-world fixes that might speed things up, from quick router restarts to re-uploading and toggling settings. It’s not magic, but it’s better than waiting forever and hoping everything just sorts itself out.
How to Fix Slow Upload Speeds on YouTube
Check Your Network Speed & Stability
Before messing around with settings, you gotta know if your connection is actually up to snuff. Use Speedtest.net or similar — run it once on your phone or PC. If you see anything below 10 Mbps upload, you’re gonna struggle. Sometimes the Wi-Fi looks fine but the actual upload speed isn’t. On some setups, it fails the first time, then magically works after rebooting your router. Not sure why, but worth trying.
- Open Settings > Network & Internet (or Wi-Fi on most phones)
- Check if the network is stable and fast enough
Restart Your Router — Yeah, Simple But Gold
This is one of those “it might work, don’t ask why” moves that actually helps a lot. Unplug your router, count to 30, then plug it back in. Let it reboot fully — might take a minute or two. This can clear out weird network glitches or overloads that slow down your uploads. After that, run the speed test again. Sometimes, this surprisingly improves upload speeds drastically.
- Make sure you’re plugged into the proper network—no confusing ethernet over Wi-Fi mess
- If possible, plug in via Ethernet when uploading large videos — speeds and stability improve
Toggle Airplane Mode — Refresh the Network Connection
On your phone, toggling Airplane Mode can force it to reset cellular or Wi-Fi connections. Swipe down to open the control panel (or Settings), turn on Airplane Mode, wait a few seconds, then turn it back off. It’s weird, but it can fix stuck connections or slow data. Especially handy on mobile data when Wi-Fi isn’t cooperating. Sometimes, on one device it helps; on another, not so much. Worth a shot.
- iPhone: Swipe down from top right > tap Airplane Mode
- Android: Swipe down > quick settings > toggle Airplane Mode
Re-upload the Video – Better Safe Than Sorry
If you’re still throttling along at a snail’s pace, try re-uploading your video. Yes, really. Open the YouTube app or website, pick your video, and upload it again. To avoid accidental double-publishing, set it as Private. This creates a duplicate that’s processing again — sometimes, the second go is faster or at least restarts the upload process from scratch. It’s kind of annoying, but on a few tries, it helped get things moving again.
- If you see both uploads going simultaneously, delete the older or problematic one from the queue
- Keep an eye on your Internet connection during re-upload — slow is slow for everyone
Extra Tips & Common Pitfalls
Aside from the main fixes, some small tricks can help:
- Upload during off-peak hours — like late at night or early morning, when fewer people are hogging bandwidth
- Avoid streaming, downloads, or other heavy network tasks during uploads
- Update your device’s software — sometimes old firmware or OS bugs slow things down
- If using Wi-Fi, switch to a 5 GHz network if available; it’s usually faster and less congested
And if your internet provider is having a bad day, no amount of fiddling will help. Sometimes, the problem is on their end, not yours. But trying these steps gives you a better shot at getting your videos online without waiting hours.
Wrap-up
Fixing slow uploads isn’t always straightforward, but these tips cover the most common causes. Restarting your router and re-uploading can be surprisingly effective. Just remember: patience, and check your internet speed first. Because of course, Wi-Fi has to make life harder than necessary sometimes. Hopefully, this shaves off a few hours for someone.
Summary
- Test your upload speed, make sure it’s decent
- Restart your router and see if that helps
- Toggle Airplane Mode to refresh your device’s connection
- Try re-uploading the video in case it’s a stubborn glitch
- Upload during less busy hours and reduce network load