Troubleshooting

This section is the user-facing map for problems in PipePipe. Start from the exact symptom instead of changing several settings at once: each category below collects the information that is actually useful for a diagnosis.

First steps

1. Check your installed version against GitHub Releases.
2. Repeat the problem once and record the time, affected URL or query, and the selected YouTube extraction endpoint.
3. Open the matching category below. Keep separate symptoms in separate reports.

Current capture: PipePipe 5.3.1-beta · Android 16/API 36. Categories and their order can change between releases.

Current version snapshot

This triage map was checked against the upstream 5.3.0 stable release and the 5.3.1-beta prerelease on 2026-09-03. The main settings capture above comes from 5.3.1-beta; follow the text and current release notes when labels differ.

Find the right branch quickly

Exact symptom	Start here	Do not assume
WebView unavailable	WebView and protected playback	That changing the YouTube endpoint bypasses the WebView check.
Every YouTube video fails; a Google host resolves to 0.0.0.0 or 127.0.0.1	DNS filtering and playback	That changing endpoint, reinstalling, or updating WebView bypasses DNS filtering.
Only one or a few YouTube videos fail while others play	Playback, network, and sign-in	That WebView, DNS, or the whole installation is broken.
AntiBotException, Source error, buffering, live seek failure	Playback, network, and sign-in	That a current WebView or a login proves the cause.
No/incorrect search results	Search and discovery	That a player fix will fix search.
Link opens in the “wrong” player	Background, popup, fullscreen, and queue	That the preferred-open setting controls in-app taps.
Download fails or a partial file remains	Downloads	That final SD-card storage is the only storage used.
Lost local data after migration	Setup, updates, and backups	That an import behaves as a reversible merge.
App/UI/locale/device-specific issue	App and device	That it is automatically a YouTube extractor fault.

Setup and reporting

• Setup, updates, and backups: installation, update source, import, export, and safe migration.
• Reporting a problem: the evidence that makes an issue reproducible.

YouTube and playback

• WebView and protected playback: PipePipe says WebView is unavailable, or a system WebView provider is missing, locked, or incompatible.
• Playback, network, and sign-in: AntiBotException, DNS filtering, Source error, buffering, endpoint choice, or logged-in playback.
• Search and discovery: empty, wrong, or incomplete search results.
• Background, popup, fullscreen, and queue: lifecycle, rotation, picture-in-picture, queue, and playlist transitions.
• Downloads: format, storage, partial file, and merge failures.

Library and content controls

• Playlists, history, and subscriptions: local library, feed, channel, playlist, import, and position problems.
• Filters, comments, and subtitles: content filtering, comments, bullet comments, and caption behaviour.

App and device

• MediaCodec and Android Auto: decoder/surface workarounds and Android Auto visibility.
• Accounts and services: sign-in, cookies, reCAPTCHA, restricted content, and service-specific reports.
• Interface and language: experimental UI, layout, share sheet, notifications, language, and content-country behaviour.

One symptom, one report

WebView, stream playback, and search can fail at the same time after an upstream YouTube change. They still take different code paths. Separating them gives the maintainer a usable reproduction instead of one ambiguous report.