YouTube Not Showing Full Screen (FIXED!)

Let's fix YouTube if it's not showing the full screen when you watch a video.

YouTube has two different ways to switch from the small screen to full screen. One is to tap the little full-screen icon in the video itself. This will rotate the video and make it full screen. The second option is to just manually rotate your iPhone or Android and it will switch to landscape fullscreen mode. You will want to make sure your rotate lock isn't turned on. Lastly, if the video doesn't fill the entire screen of your phone you can double-tap on the video itself and it will zoom in to fill the entire usable screen space. These tricks work for both iPhone and Android in 2021. If it's not showing full screen on your smart TV you may want to change the aspect ratio or if you're casting the video you may want to adjust how it casts and the screen dimensions on your TV to match YouTube. Typically, YouTube video dimensions are 16:9.

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If you have any questions about what you saw or unresolved issues, leave them in the comments below. Alternatively, you can send me an email by heading to my channel page, tapping on About, and tapping on View email address. I look forward to hearing from you. Have a great day!

[TrevorNace]

Did this work for you?
Yes? 😀 Give me a shoutout in the comments!
No? 😢 Leave a comment with your problem and we'll figure it out together.

[yobarry]

All you did was show how make it go to full screen when everything is working fine. This doesn’t show how to “fix” anything. I’ve tried all those obvious things and I still can’t get it to go into full screen.

[mandcali]

You have basically mentioned the things that I already knew. After an update, i cannot change to wide screen, or after certain delay only then it can go wide screen.

[slc]

You aren't answering the problem. The issue is I have youtube already on full screen. When an ad comes up, the show shrinks down 75% after the ad, with the rest being black screen. In order to restore it to full size, one must shrink it down further, then open it again, then touching the full screen icon in the lower right corner. Why are all the videos shrinking after ads are played?

[edwardsmith]

small box on right is gone...cannot make vid full screen

[Starrmiller]

Omg! I didn't realize this video was from 2 yrs ago.. I'm so glad it was!!

[megan]

Guys, if you're here because the YouTube video is actually playing as a small box in the centre of your screen and it's all black around it—log out off your T.V and sign back in. This just worked for me now.

[x_xenvy]

POV: You're a 3 yo learning the basics of life for the first time.

[georgec]

Omg I’ve checked millions of videos only urs took the point ;) love u

[HiCringe]

Sometimes :yt: shows a message saying "Full-screen activated" or something, how can I disable that? It's very annoying and it's deleting some of the bottom and top screen content

[SHWAT]

I need help every time I make a short it doesn’t fit the entire screen it only fits the middle part is there anyway I can fix this to make my videos seeable

[Johnny-ttzc]

How do you fix the issue of the screen shrinking after an ad plays. It’s annoying AF to have to always shrink the screen and then tap the square to get full screen.

[robertramos]

my uploads on youtube only come out on like 1/3 of the full screen so doing what your saying does not work? my videos do not come out full screen on you tube?

[ibrahimjahi]

When I press the square it just goes to full screen and comes back

[thechestrockfield]

Same problem as the others. It goes to landscape and reverts back on its own.

[cosmicraysshotsintothelight]

No. This is for YouTube on a PC. On a TV it has no such expando icon.

[itsjagbir]

I am watching your video in half screen.

[desertfoxaz]

Why in the world would you assume that I'm watching YouTube on a cell phone? There is no option to do what you're saying if watching YouTube on TV.

[sixdegrees]

Why does it do it though? After an ad my screen goes from full down to a 1/4 size. Why??

[skorpyo]

On browser you can put youtube vids in full screen. The app no.