Press and hold for more options keeps popping up

In this article, I explain what you can do when you see a dark error screen saying “Something went wrong” while trying to watch YouTube videos on Apple TV. Please see the Apple TV screenshot below:

This issue may prevent you from watching YouTube content. I was recently having this issue too – when I attempted to open certain videos, I would see this message before the video started. Thus I was unable to watch the video. It seems that this error message may sometimes appear as soon as the video starts, and sometimes this error message may interrupt your video while you are in the middle of watching it.

As stated above, I list some things you can try to fix the problem; You should try these in order. You may also be interested in this article on general YouTube Apple TV troubleshooting tips.

Restart your Apple TV

The first step is to restart your Apple TV. If you are having this issue because of a connection problem or an app-related problem, a simple restart may fix it. There are a few ways to do this. You can pick one of them. Here is how can you restart your Apple TV:

• On your Apple TV, go to Settings > System > Restart.
• Disconnect the power cord, wait a few seconds and then reconnect the cord.
• If you have a Siri remote, press and hold the Back (second-generation models) or Menu (first-generation model) button and the TV button together until your Apple TV status light blinks.

Update your Apple TV

Ensure that your Apple TV has the newest version of tvOS. Here is how:

• On your Apple TV, go to Settings > System > Software Updates and click “Update Software.”

Also, ensure that you click on “Update Software” even if “Automatically Update” is enabled. There may be a new update, but your device has not automatically updated yet. Likewise, if “Automatically Update” is disabled, you may want to turn it on.

Update the YouTube app

After ensuring that your Apple TV is up to date, also make sure that the YouTube app is up to date. Here is how you can check this:

• It is likely that Automatic App Updates are already enabled on your device, but you can check this by going to Settings > Apps > Automatically Update Apps.
• You can also update individual apps by going to the App Store app. Open the App Store on your Apple TV, and click the search icon (the magnifying glass icon) and type in YouTube. Then select the App. If there is an update, it will say “Update.” If you see “Open,” that means the app is up to date.

Reset your YouTube settings

Clearing your cache and history, or resetting the app may fix this problem. Here is how:

• Open the YouTube app.
• In YouTube, go to Settings and scroll down. You will find three options you may try:
  • Clear watch history: This will clear the videos you watched.
  • Clear search history: This will clear the searches you made.
  • Reset app: This will clear all of your settings.

Uninstall and reinstall YouTube

If you are still having this “something went wrong” error, you can try removing the app from your Apple TV, and then reinstalling it. Deleting the YouTube app will also delete its data. Please follow these steps:

• Select the YouTube app.
• Press and hold the clickpad center or touch surface, depending on your remote.
• YouTube will start to jiggle.
• Click the Pause/Play button.
• Choose Delete.

After deleting the app, restart your Apple TV. See the related Restart section above if you do not know how. After restarting, open the App Store app, find YouTube and download and install it again.

There could be all sorts of reasons why you may need to delete apps on Apple TV. Perhaps, your Apple TV home screen seems to be completely cluttered with all the apps added on Apple TV, and you wish to customize the home screen from scratch by wiping out all the redundant apps. Maybe your Apple TV has become too sluggish and you want to erase all the useless applications and Apple TV games you no longer play to free up precious space. Whatever the reason, here’s how to delete apps on Apple TV.

Uninstall Apps on Apple TV (2022)

Keep in mind that deleting an app also deletes all the associated data. Also, note that the deleted app will also be removed from any other Apple TVs that use your iCloud home screen setup. Though you can download any app again that you have purchased from the App Store free of charge, your data may not be restored.

Table of Contents

• Delete Apps on Apple TV Using the Second-Generation Siri Remote
• Uninstall Apps on Apple TV Using the First-Gen Siri Remote
• Delete Apps on Apple TV from Settings
• Delete a Folder on Apple TV
• Uninstall Apps from Multiple Apple TVs at Once

Delete Apps on Apple TV Using the Second-Generation Siri Remote

• To get started, select the app you wish to delete.

• Now, press and hold the clickpad center until the app starts jiggling. Then, press the Play/Pause button to access more options.

• Next up, click Delete and confirm.

Uninstall Apps on Apple TV Using the First-Gen Siri Remote

Deleting an Apple TV app with the first-gen Siri Remote is just as straightforward.

• First off, head over to the app that you want to get rid of and select it.
• Now, press and hold the touch surface on the first-generation Siri Remote until the app enters jiggle mode.
• Next, hold down the play/pause button to reveal more options.
• Finally, click Delete and confirm the action.

Delete Apps on Apple TV from Settings

Just like iOS and iPadOS, tvOS also offers a way to delete apps on Apple TV from the Settings app. Times when you are on the lookout for the most storage-hogging apps and wipe them out, it can come in super handy. Probably the best part about this method is that it lists apps based on the amount of storage each one has consumed. Hence, finding the ones that have eaten into more space is not a big deal.

• To get going, launch the Settings app on your Apple TV.

• Now, choose General.

• Next, click Manage Storage.

• On this screen, you should see a long list of apps listed based on the total amount of space they have consumed. Now, click the delete button right next to a specific app and confirm the deletion.

Delete a Folder on Apple TV

If you no longer want to keep a folder on your home screen, you can get rid of it as well.

• Head over to an app in the folder that you want to delete.

• Now, press and hold the clickpad center/touch surface on the Siri Remote to enter edit mode (jiggle mode).
• Press the play/pause button, and in the options that pop op, click on ‘Move to Home Screen’.

• Repeat the steps given above for each app in the folder. When all the apps are removed, the folder will be automatically deleted.

Uninstall Apps from Multiple Apple TVs at Once

On the 4th or 4K Apple TV models, you can set your TVs (associated with the same Apple ID) to delete apps from all devices at one go. To take advantage of this feature, you need to enable the One Home Screen feature which ensures all your Apple TVs have the same apps, arranged in the same way on the home screen.

• Open the Settings app on your Apple TV and choose Users and Accounts.

• Now, choose your user account.

• Next, ensure that the One Home Screen option is turned on.

Now, you can delete apps from any TV connected to your Apple ID and the apps will be deleted from all your Apple TVs.

Delete Useless Apps on Apple TV to Free Up Space

So, that’s all about deleting and managing apps on tvOS. Apple offers the desired control over apps on Apple TV and also allows you to customize the home screen to your liking. And if you have multiple Apple TVs, One Home Screen feature makes the task of managing apps even more convenient. If you have any questions about deleting apps from Apple TV, let us know about them in the comments down below.

How do I get rid of press and hold for more options on Apple TV?

How do I get rid of press and hold for more options?