Google launched the Pixel 7 and the Pixel 7 Pro smartphones in October 2022. Since the launch of the Pixel 7 lineup, some Pixel 7 users have encountered an issue with the Youtube app. Users have complained that whenever they try watching videos on the YouTube app in landscape mode on Google Pixel 7, the smartphone freezes and locks up. This issue is prevalent on both YouTube and the YouTube TV app. When users try to exit the app by swiping up on the vertical navigation bar after watching the phone freezes and locks. Users are unable to use gestures to go back to the home screen or the Recents menu.
What is causing this issue
According to a report by 9to5Google, this issue wasn’t visible on other streaming apps. This suggests that this might be a system/Android issue. The report also claims that the problem doesn’t occur while watching YouTube in regular mode. We tried to replicate the issue on a Google Pixel 7 Pro, but it didn’t seem to happen with our device.
How is this issue affecting users
Some users have reported that their Google Pixel 7 and 7 Pro smartphones are freezing, with their screens going static and touchscreen taps/swipes no longer accepted when YouTube is in landscape mode. The audio might continue to play even with the screen blacked out. Meanwhile, other users have complained that their hardware buttons are also becoming totally unresponsive. However, some users claimed that they were able to lock their devices after a moment.

Google Pixel 7 YouTube issue: Temporary workaround
As per the report, in extreme cases, the phones are staying unusable for minutes before rebooting. Users can try to speed up the process by holding down the power button until a restart happens. The report also explains that this does not happen every time users are watching fullscreen YouTube and there are no specific patterns of the issue’s occurrence.
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