How to download YouTube video on a smartphone or tablet

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Computer Hope

Below are the steps on to download a YouTube video using a smartphone or tablet.

Videos can consume a lot of storage space and quickly fill up your smartphone or tablet's memory.

Downloading a YouTube video on an Apple iPad and iPhone

Downloading a YouTube video to an iPad or iPhone is a fairly straightforward process. However, it does take a few more steps than downloading a video to a desktop computer or laptop. To download any YouTube video to your iPad or iPhone, follow the steps below.

  1. In the App Store, search for the Documents by Readdle app, then download and install the app on your iPad or iPhone.
  2. After the Documents by Readdle app has finished installing, open the app (the app icon is named "Documents").
  3. At the bottom right corner of the app window, click the Safari browser icon (looks like a compass).
  4. In the address bar, type bitdownloader.com and press the Go button at the bottom right of the on-screen keyboard.
  5. Press the Home button on the iPad or iPhone.
  6. Open the Safari browser, and go to the youtube.com website or the YouTube app.
  7. Find the video you want to download, and on the video page, click the Share icon located below the video (an arrow pointing to the right).
  8. In the Share video window that opens, tap the Copy option to copy the video URL (Uniform Resource Locator).
  9. Press the Home button again and open the Documents app once more.
  10. Tap your finger on the Enter the video's link here text box. Once the on-screen keyboard appears, press and hold your finger in the text box to bring up the Paste option. Tap the Paste option to paste the YouTube video URL in the text box.
  11. Tap the green Download button below the text box.
  12. After a few seconds, scroll down the page to the Download Video with Sound section. Tap the green Download button next to the preferred video format to download the video.
  13. On the Save File screen that opens, enter a name for the video file to be downloaded, then tap the done button.
  14. The video is downloaded to the iPad or iPhone, in the Documents app. Tap the Downloads icon at the bottom right of the screen (an arrow pointing down with a line under it) to see the video download progress.
  15. Once the video has finished downloading, tap the video file name to open the Documents screen. If the video starts to play, stop the video and press Done to exit the video.
  16. Tap the Downloads folder icon to view the downloaded video file. When the video download is complete, tap Close in the upper-left corner.
  17. At the bottom-left corner of the Documents app, tap the purple folder icon, then tap the Downloads folder on the My Files screen.
  18. Tap the ellipses icon at the bottom-right corner of the video file and select the Copy option.
  19. On the Copy to screen, tap the Photos option. The video is now located and available in the Photos app on your iPhone or iPad.

If you do not see Photos option on the Documents screen or the option is greyed out, you must grant access permissions to the Documents app. To grant permissions, access the iPhone or iPad settings. Scroll down towards the bottom of the Settings screen and tap the Documents app in the list. Tap the Photos option and select the Read and Write option to grant permission. The Photos option should now be selectable in the Documents app.

If you're having trouble copying the file or it did not copy, you can go back to the Downloads section in step 16 and repeat the remaining steps to copy the video.

After following the steps above, the YouTube video is downloaded and copied to your Photos app, where it can be viewed and copied.

Downloading a YouTube video on an Android smartphone and tablet

Unfortunately, we could not find any good solutions on the Google Play store that allow you to download YouTube videos. Therefore, we recommend getting TubeMate from a third-party download site. Below are the steps to install TubeMate, a free-to-use app (with limited advertising) for Android phones.

  1. On your phone, visit the TubeMate website and tap one of the verified download sites. In our example, we are downloading from Android Freeware.
  2. Click the Install App button.
  3. Click OK for the warning about the .apk file could harm your phone.
  4. Click Open once downloaded.
  5. If you've never installed an app from outside the Play store, you get an "Install blocked" message. Click Settings and check the box for Unknown sources and click OK.
  6. Click Install.
  7. Once the App has finished downloading, open the App and if you agree to the terms of use click Agree.
  8. Find the YouTube video you want to download, copy the video URL, and paste the URL in TubeMate to open the video.
  9. Click the Red Download button to the right of the video.
  10. Select the quality of the video you want to download.
  11. Click the Red download button once the video quality is selected.
  12. Once the video is downloaded, you can access the video file in the Files or My Files app on your Android phone.

To help conserve space on your device, you can also move the video or audio file to your SD card.

Downloading a YouTube video on a Windows smartphone and tablet

If you have a Windows smartphone or tablet, and it is the Windows 8.1 or later version, we recommend using the free video download service from QDownloader.io. To use this service, you must use the Microsoft Edge browser on your Windows smartphone or tablet.

  1. Open the Edge browser.
  2. Go to the YouTube page containing the video you want to download. When you've found the page, highlight and copy the URL in the address bar.
  3. Go to the 10downloader.com website.
  4. The page contains a text box where you can enter the URL of a YouTube video. Tap inside the text box to place your text cursor there, then paste the address you copied in step 2.
  5. Click the green Download button next to the text box.
  6. After a few seconds, scroll down the page to the Download Video with Sound section. Click the green Download button next to the preferred video format to download the video.
  7. If a prompt appears asking to Open or Save the file, select the Save option to download and save the file to your device. If no prompt appears, the video file is being downloaded and saved automatically.

To help conserve space on your device, you can also move the video or audio file to your SD card.

Downloading a YouTube video on a Blackberry smartphone

On a Blackberry smartphone, we recommend using the UC Browser app for downloading YouTube videos. Follow the steps below to do so.

  1. Access the Blackberry App Store and download the UC Browser app.
  2. Find the YouTube video you want to download through the YouTube website.
  3. Tap in the URL address bar and copy the YouTube video URL.
  4. Open the UC Browser app.
  5. Paste the YouTube video URL in the UC Browser app.
  6. Start the download process.
  7. After the video has finished downloading, find the video file on the Blackberry and change the file extension of the video file to "mp4".

Using a media player app on the Blackberry, you can now watch the YouTube video that was downloaded.

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