Update 01/10/24: It looks like we missed the update, because this issue seems to have been resolved almost soon after the article went live, at least according to YouTube support. Hopefully that’s the case for you as well.
Original article follows:
A strange glitch has been plaguing YouTube users for the past few hours, leaving them unable to fast forward or rewind videos. Instead of the usual time stamps, users are greeted with a mysterious “-NaN:NaN” error message.
The glitch seems to have started a few hours ago, and it’s affecting users on multiple web browsers including Chrome and Firefox. However, the mobile version remains unaffected. Some users are reporting that the glitch only affects certain videos, while others are experiencing it across the board. Our attempts to reproduce the issue on multiple browsers and platforms have been futile, though.
From the initial flurry of posts on X and Reddit, a few patterns have emerged. The most visible symptom is the NaN error, with timestamps showing as “-NaN:NaN.” Clicking the progress bar or using keyboard arrow keys resets the video to the start. Some users report the bug only affects their primary account, while turning off browser extensions and ad blockers doesn’t seem to help.
YouTube has acknowledged the issue and is already looking into it, but there’s no word on the root cause or when a fix will become available.
In the meantime, users can try a few workarounds, such as using the mobile app version since the issue seems limited to web browsers. Since the issue also seems limited to certain YouTube accounts, some users have found that switching accounts, logging out or using a private browsing window can temporarily solve the issue. Unfortunately, this isn’t a long-term fix for everyone.
This glitch is causing a lot of frustration among YouTube users who rely on the ability to fast forward to skip ads or get to the good parts of videos. We hope that YouTube can resolve this issue quickly so that users can get back to enjoying their favorite videos.
YouTube has not yet provided a timeline for when the glitch will be fixed. However, they are aware of the issue and are working on a solution.
Meanwhile, YouTube is also looking into queue-related issues where adding videos now restarts what you’re watching.