Map to user-facing messages and recovery actions.
For those willing to jailbreak their device (common tools for iOS 12 include Checkra1n or Unc0ver), you can use tweaks to bypass the "Update Required" screen.
“Why is the app crashing?” one user wrote. “Google broke something with the new layout,” replied another. install youtube ios 1257
This is the most reliable way to get a compatible, older version of the YouTube app without jailbreaking. It only works if you have YouTube on your Apple ID account. Open the App Store on your iOS 12.5.7 device. Tap your Profile Icon in the top-right corner. Go to Purchased (or "My Purchases"). Search for YouTube in your list of apps. Tap the Cloud Icon to download it.
This issue specifically affects "vintage" 64-bit Apple devices that are stuck on iOS 12.5.7. These are beloved but aging pieces of hardware that can no longer receive major iOS updates. The primary devices in this group include: Map to user-facing messages and recovery actions
The latest version of YouTube on the App Store now requires for iPhones. For users on iOS 12.5.7, it's not just the new version that's blocked — even old, compatible versions are no longer served to you by default. This leaves you stuck in an App Store purgatory where the download button is either grayed out or gives you an incompatibility error.
Follow these steps carefully:
: If Method 1 doesn't show the cloud icon, try signing out of your Apple ID in Settings and signing back in to refresh your library .
How to Install YouTube on iOS 12.5.7: A Complete Guide Apple devices running iOS 12.5.7 (such as the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air 1, iPad mini 2, and iPad mini 3) no longer support the latest version of the official YouTube app. Because Google frequently updates its app architecture, attempting to download YouTube directly from the App Store on these older devices often results in an error message stating that the app is incompatible. “Google broke something with the new layout,” replied
: If the app is already installed but shows an update block, some users bypass this by jailbreaking the device to modify the app's internal version number (info.plist) or using specific profile installation links found in community tutorials. Featured App: Picture-in-Picture (PiP)
If you have downloaded YouTube in the past using your Apple ID, the App Store keeps a record of it. You can use this history to force the store to download the last compatible version for iOS 12.5.7. Open the on your iOS 12.5.7 device. Tap your Apple ID profile icon in the top right corner. Select Purchased (or My Purchases ). Use the search bar at the top to search for YouTube . Tap the Cloud icon next to the YouTube logo.