- Home area versus current playback area
- How to change your home area on YouTube TV
- How to update your current playback area on a TV
- What changes when you're away from home
- Why YouTube TV keeps asking for your location
- Signs your home area is set wrong
- Family groups: only the manager can move the home area
- Before you change your home area
- My verdict
- Frequently asked questions
To change your location on YouTube TV, go to tv.youtube.com, select your profile photo, then Location, and choose Update next to Home area or Current playback area. You can only change your home area twice in 12 months, and you must be physically in the new area when you do it.
YouTube TV has two locations, and mixing them up is the reason most people get stuck. Your home area is where you live, and it decides your local channels and what you can record. Your current playback area is where you are right now. Moving house means changing the first. Travelling, or a location error on the TV, usually means updating the second. Here's how to do each one, and the limit that stops people changing it whenever they like.
Home area versus current playback area
| Home area | Current playback area | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | The zip code of where you live | Where you physically are right now |
| What it controls | Your local networks and what you can record | Local programming you can watch while away |
| When to change it | You've moved house | You're travelling or seeing a location error |
| Limit | Twice in any 12 months | Update it as often as you need |
| Who can change it | The family manager only | Anyone signed in on the device |
How to change your home area on YouTube TV
- Go to tv.youtube.com in a web browser (or open the mobile app).
- Select your profile photo.
- Select Location.
- Select Update next to Home area and follow the prompts.
YouTube TV won't let you change it if you've already changed your home area twice in the last 12 months, or if you aren't currently in the new area. That second rule matters: you can't set your new home before you've moved, because YouTube TV checks where your device is.
How to update your current playback area on a TV
- Open the YouTube TV app on your TV.
- Select your profile photo.
- Select Location, then Current Playback Area.
- Follow the prompts. On your phone, go to tv.youtube.com/verify and allow the site to use your location.
In a web browser it's shorter: profile photo, Location, then Update next to Current playback area. If YouTube TV can't work out where you are, it sends you to tv.youtube.com/verify to confirm it.
What changes when you're away from home
This is the catch YouTube TV spells out in its help pages. While you're outside your home area, you can watch programming local to where you are, but you can't record or watch the networks local to your home area. So a hotel stay in another city gives you that city's local news, not your own. Your Library recordings still play.
If you travel a lot, YouTube TV asks you to use the service in your home area at least once every 3 months so it keeps giving you the correct local networks. Go too long without that, and you may be asked to verify where you live.
Why YouTube TV keeps asking for your location
- A VPN or proxy is on. YouTube TV says you won't be able to stream while connected to one. Turn it off.
- Location permission is off. In Chrome, check Settings, Privacy and security, Site settings, Location. Other browsers have similar settings.
- Old cookies. YouTube TV says clearing your cache and cookies may help with location problems.
- A managed work or school device. Your administrator may control location settings, so you may not be able to change them.
If channels play but buffer constantly after you've fixed the location, that's a connection problem rather than a location one, and my guide to YouTube videos that won't play walks through the device and network checks.
Signs your home area is set wrong
A wrong home area doesn't always announce itself. The giveaways are local news from the wrong city, a local game you expected to record that never appears in your Library, or sports networks for a region you don't live in. Check the Location screen first whenever something local looks odd: it shows both your home area and your current playback area, and YouTube TV's own troubleshooting guide starts with exactly that check before anything else.
Family groups: only the manager can move the home area
If you share YouTube TV in a family group, only the family manager can set the home location. Everyone else in the group must live in the same household. So if you're a member and you've moved out, changing your own playback area won't fix your local channels. That's a conversation with whoever runs the account.
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Before you change your home area
Because you only get two home area changes in 12 months, don't use one for a holiday or a short work trip. Update the current playback area instead. Save the home area change for a real move, and do it once you've arrived, with your phone's location turned on. If you're thinking about stopping the service around a move, read how to cancel YouTube TV first so you know what happens to your recordings.
My verdict
Travelling? Update your current playback area and leave your home area alone. Moved house? Change the home area from tv.youtube.com once you're physically there. And if YouTube TV keeps nagging about location, switch off any VPN before anything else. Those three habits solve almost every location problem.
Frequently asked questions
How do I change my location on YouTube TV?
Go to tv.youtube.com, select your profile photo, Location, then Update next to Home area or Current playback area.
How many times can you change your YouTube TV home area?
Twice in any 12 months. YouTube TV also requires you to be in the new area when you change it.
Can I watch my local channels when travelling?
No. Outside your home area you get programming local to where you are, but you can't record or watch your home area's local networks.
Why does YouTube TV say I'm in the wrong location?
The most common causes are a VPN or proxy, location permission turned off in your browser or phone, or old cookies.
Can a family member change the YouTube TV home area?
No. Only the family manager can set the home location, and members must live in the same household.
