Why Can’t I Skip Ads On YouTube? (7 Reasons, Fixes)

YouTube is one of the most powerful video platforms in today’s digital world.

Almost no one can live without it.

Of course, some features can be annoying to many people, such as unskippable ads.

After all, no one wants to be bombarded by ads that they can’t even skip.

Why Can’t I Skip Ads On YouTube? (7 Reasons, Fixes)

If you are using YouTube, and you can’t seem to skip ads, you have come to the right place.

Here are the top reasons that can happen and the steps you can take to fix this issue in no time.

1. Getting Ads To The Target Audience

The top reason YouTube rolled out unskippable ads was that most people were skipping ads without seeing anything.

For this reason, the purpose of the company paying for that ad slot was futile.

If the target audience is not going to see their ad, why should they spend money on YouTube ads?

That is the biggest problem YouTube was facing, which is why they introduced unskippable ads.

The company wants to generate earnings, and its main source of revenue is advertisements.

If this revenue source goes away, YouTube won’t really survive.

Remember that not all ads are unskippable.

You can skip many ads, but you can only skip them after you have watched a certain portion of the video.

Fix

There is no fix to this if YouTube has created an unskippable ad.

You can only wait for the ad to pass before you can begin watching your video.

Of course, you can also wait and see if you can skip the ad after a few seconds and continue watching your video in no time.

2. Helping Content Creators

Another reason you can’t skip ads on YouTube is that the platform is trying to help content creators in any way it can.

YouTube believes that it is unfair for content creators to put in so much hard work to create videos that help viewers in many ways.

These creators will get nothing in return for their hard work if people simply skip the ads without watching them.

That is why YouTube changed its ad strategy in 2018 and guaranteed that people see the hard work of these content creators by not letting them skip ads.

It has helped content creators increase their earnings from YouTube with time as more people know about them now.

Every video now has unskippable ads so that these creators can earn from YouTube.

Fix

YouTube wants to help content creators, and you can’t get around the policy.

If you don’t like these ads at all and you want to skip them, then you can download an ad blocker on your browser.

There are many available online, and you can find one with a quick Google search.

Such adblockers will ensure that you can skip ads and that no ads show up while you are on YouTube watching videos.

It will make your life easier, and you will not have to waste time.

Keep in mind to read reviews and download an adblocker that gives you use for a long time to come.

3. Problem With Your Browser

While there are unskippable ads, there are also skippable ads that you can easily skip.

If you can’t do that, then there might be a problem with your browser.

You can check this by opening the same video in another browser and see if the video has a skippable ad on the other browser.

If that is the case, then it means you need to resolve an issue with your browser for the ads to be skippable.

After resolving this issue, you will no longer have to deal with unskippable ads from YouTube.

Fix

If there is a problem with your browser, it is most likely coming from the browser plugin extensions you have.

Such extensions can affect YouTube ads by making them unskippable.

If you want to fix this issue, you can begin by turning off the browser extensions.

You can check to see if the skip button is appearing for you.

Be sure to check all extensions one by one to see which one is causing a problem with ads.

You can close that extension every time you use YouTube, so you don’t have to face this issue.

4. Higher Revenue For Advertisers

Another reason YouTube will not let you skip ads is that they want to benefit their advertisers.

Marketers and advertisers opt for YouTube ads because it brings them higher brand awareness and revenue as people tend to make purchase decisions after watching these videos.

If they don’t watch these videos, it defeats the entire purpose of advertisers opting for YouTube as an ad platform.

YouTube created unskippable ads to ensure that advertisers are getting value for their money.

Without this revenue, advertisers will go somewhere else, and it will also affect the revenue that YouTube gets out of these advertisements.

For these reasons, the chances are that there is no skip ad button on the lower-right corner of your YouTube video screen.

Fix

If you can’t see the skip ad button on the bottom right corner of the YouTube video, it means that you can’t skip this ad.

In such a case, you can’t do anything but wait for the ad to finish before you can begin watching your video.

When such a button does not appear, it means that the content creator or advertiser hasn’t given you that option.

You can opt for the adblocker method when that happens, but even that might not work in some cases.

Chances are you will only have to ignore the ad and let it pass before you can begin watching your YouTube video.

5. Help Content Creators Sustain Their Channels

Content creators work hard at what they do and need to sustain their YouTube channel to make revenue for a long time.

If you skip ads on YouTube or don’t watch videos with unskippable ads, the content creator will lose revenue.

If YouTube viewers don’t watch the unskippable ad, then the creators and advertisers will lose their revenue.

Therefore, YouTube has only rolled out unskippable ads to help their content creators create revenue from their channel.

These ads help them sustain the channel and keep rolling out new content for you to see.

That is why there is no fix here except to watch the video.

Fix

As we said before, there is no fix to this because you will have to watch the ad that the content creator has on their channel.

It will only take a few seconds, and by doing this, you will be helping your favorite content creators to stay online and create more content.

That is because they need your support to keep their channel going.

Even if you don’t want to watch the video, you can do other things on your browser or mobile as the ad is playing in the background.

Doing this will benefit the content creator and guarantee that you don’t have to watch the video for long.

It will be a win-win situation for both.

6. The Creator Or Advertiser Has Opted For The Unskippable Option

YouTube is not the one that gets to decide whether you will get a video with a skippable or unskippable ad.

Such a decision is in the hands of the content creator and the advertiser.

They have the option to select that you will see an ad you can or can’t skip.

If you can’t see the skip ad button on the bottom right corner, it means that the content creator or advertiser has decided that you will have to watch the ad.

Because of this, you will not be able to skip the video no matter how much you try.

Advertisers end up losing revenue when ads are skipped, which is why they can remove the skip option for viewers.

Fix

There is no easy fix for this if the content creator or advertiser has disabled the option to skip ads.

In this case, you can just wait and watch the ad so that you can continue watching your video later on.

You can also try an extension for blocking ads on your browser to start skipping ads.

Remember that such extensions are not always effective, which is why it is a process of trial and error to find the right one that can skip ads for you in no time.

You can give the adblocker extension a try and see if you can skip ads.

If that doesn’t happen, then it means you can’t skip the ad at all, and you will have to watch it no matter what.

7. Higher Brand Awareness

Another aim of YouTube introducing unskippable ads is to ensure that you can gain higher brand awareness of your favorite things.

New businesses keep popping up every day, and one of the ways to find that out is through YouTube ads.

Marketers benefit from higher brand awareness when you watch the ads, which is why some of them are unskippable.

Of course, this can be frustrating, and anyone can get annoyed at the sheer number of ads that YouTube has to show.

That is why you can opt for AdBlock and use it to stop ads.

Remember that you must still support your favorite content creators by watching the ads as it affects the sustainability of that channel.

Fix

If you feel guilty about using the AdBlocker extension, you can still support your favorite content creators.

For example, you can use AdBlock to support your favorite YouTube channels.

You can do this by allowing ads on the channels you choose.

Choosing this setting will automatically pause AdBlock every time you watch content from your favorite creators.

Of course, the extension will still block ads everywhere else so that you don’t have to watch ads from everyone on YouTube.

Such a hack is important to support people you like on YouTube so that they can keep creating excellent content for you.

General Fixes That Can Help You Stay Ad-Free

Now that you are familiar with some specific reasons and fixes, there are some general fixes that can help you skip ads completely.

Here are the top fixes that will help you have an ad-free experience on YouTube in no time:

1. Switch To YouTube Premium

If you are tired of the ads and some other features of YouTube, you can always switch to the Premium version.

The subscription service was created to offer users better features so that they can have the best YouTube experience.

The best part about YouTube Premium is that you can enjoy ad-free usage.

You can watch your favorite content and videos on the platform without the advertisements interrupting your experience every time.

YouTube Premium is not free to use, and you will have to pay for it each month to benefit from these services.

The pricing of the premium version begins at $11.99 per month for an individual plan.

To add more users, the price will increase depending on the number of users in your plan.

You will be able to eliminate ads with this version as you keep enjoying videos without having to worry about constant ads.

2. Opt For A Good Browser

While a good browser will not completely eliminate ads, it can still help you skip them faster and save you some time.

The best browsers for watching your favorite YouTube videos include Opera and Google Chrome.

Almost everyone uses Google Chrome as it is one of the top browsers that is easy and simple to use.

The benefit of using Google Chrome for YouTube ads is that it helps target viewers better than other browsers.

Besides that, it offers high speeds with little to no buffering time at all.

Because of this, you will not have to wait for too long for the video to load, and the ads will also go by faster.

You can also check to see if any extension in your browser is not letting you skip ads on YouTube.

After you solve this browser issue, you can easily watch your favorite content.

On the other hand, Opera is also a great browser for watching YouTube videos.

If you want better viewing abilities, Opera offers you the option of pop-out videos that come into separate frames as you do other things.

The best part about this browser is that it comes with a built-in adblocker to help you block ads.

Therefore, you will not have to spend money or effort on other AdBlock extensions.

You can simply opt for the built-in adblocker that comes with the Opera browser, and it will help you block the YouTube ads that you are not interested in seeing.

If you are using another browser, you can switch to Opera today to block ads effectively.

Should You Skip YouTube Ads?

The main question that remains is if you should be skipping YouTube ads that pop up at all.

We recommend that if you want to support your favorite content creators, then you must continue to watch these ads.

That is because it is a small contribution, and it will help them go a long way in creating more content for you.

Watching ads will not cost you anything, and it will only take a few seconds.

Such support is important if you want to help people on YouTube.

Even if you don’t watch the ad, you can let it play before the video while you can do something else as it will not take up much of your time and benefit someone else.