What you need to do to activate YouTube on a device via youtube.com/activate

We’re all obsessed with YouTube by this point. Especially since the pandemic, YouTube has established its success as the number one streaming platform. It’s a place for everyone to express their content and that has made people view it as a cool and exciting way to spend their time.

There’s everything on there nowadays ‒ from music video clips and shows to cooking and make-up tutorials and of course, gaming. People have entire sets of digital battle stations in their homes to watch videos of the highest quality on a huge screen. YouTube has grown so much that we can play YouTube videos on our Smart TV, various consoles (Xbox, PlayStation, Roku, Kodi), and many other devices. If you’re into tech and own a quality huge screen with an internet connection, then you could just sit all day and play any video when you’re alone or when you’re with other people. 

To get this great experience, however, you’d have to connect the device to your existing YouTube account. This is called a paring process, or an activation process. What it will do is verify your phone/TV/console/computer/etc. and activate your account on any of the gadgets that you select. Continue reading if you want to know about the easiest way to do that. 

Follow these steps to activate YouTube through youtube.com/activate :

Connecting your account to your device is pretty straightforward and it shouldn’t be more than a couple of minutes until you can sit back and play any video on any device. To begin with, you need a YouTube account, if you don’t already have one. If you don’t have a YouTube account, you need to register to create one. To register, it’s easiest to use your Gmail account and log in through it. YouTube is currently owned by Google, so you would have to have a Gmail if you want to move on to the next steps. If you’re done setting up your Gmail, you should be able to log in with that on YouTube and move on to the next steps: 

1. Connect your device to Wi-Fi and look for the in-app store (or channel store). Then, you should be able to search for YouTube by typing it in.
2. After you’ve installed the app, start it and log in to YouTube or your Gmail. (If you don’t have a Gmail, you’d need to set one up to continue and establish your YouTube account.)
3. If you’ve followed the steps correctly, you should see an 8-digit code, which you’ll have to save for later. (You should probably note it down and make sure it’s the correct one ‒ it has to match.)
4. On your TV/phone/console/computer/etc. open this link ‒ youtube.com/activate
5. Then, you should be able to log in to your YouTube and after that, you should see a screen pop up.
6. On it, you are requested to type in the code (from step 3) of the gadget for the pairing process to be complete.
7. Type in the code from step 3 on the device you’re trying to set up. Make sure it’s correct.
8. If you’ve typed in the code, click ‘Next’. You should see a pop-up window asking for permission to connect. You can press ‘Allow access’ and you should be done.

If you’ve followed the steps correctly, after pressing ‘Allow access’, the device should automatically refresh. Nevertheless, if it doesn’t, you should refresh it manually. Then, you’re good to go. You can now watch any clip on the most famous streaming platform. The steps should be the same for a computer/TV/smartphone or a console. If you don’t ‘Allow access’, the account won’t be connected and you wouldn’t be able to go on YouTube. If you get lost, or something isn’t working as it should, you can always reach out to YouTube help and they can fix the issue for you ASAP.