Why won't the YouTube subscribe button work?

Last reviewed: October 20, 2026 · Markdown version

If YouTube shows “Too many subscriptions”, you have hit a limit, and the help page names two: 75 new channels a day, and a total that starts around 2,000. Its wording: “If you see an error message that says "Too many subscriptions," you've reached your subscription limit. You can only subscribe to 75 channels per day” (YouTube Help: Subscribe to YouTube channels (Android), read 20 October 2026). No error, and the button still does nothing? Then one of the other documented causes below is more likely. YouTube's help gives no full troubleshooting list for this button, so this page sticks to what its pages actually say and marks the rest.

1. The daily cap or the total

Seventy-five is a number you can reach in an evening of rebuilding a list on a new account. The subscribe page counts it “per day” and does not say when that day starts or ends (YouTube Help: Subscribe to YouTube channels (Android), read 20 October 2026).

The total is softer than it sounds. “In general, you can subscribe to a maximum of 2,000 channels,” but the same section adds that the limit “grows as your YouTube channel does” and that “Your exact limits may change over time” (same Android page). How the limits work, and what to do near the ceiling, is on is there a limit on YouTube subscriptions? If you are close to it, unsubscribing from channels you no longer watch is the only documented way to make room.

2. You are not really signed in

Subscribing needs an account, not a channel: “You can watch, like videos, and subscribe to channels with a Google Account” (YouTube Help: Create a YouTube channel, read 20 October 2026). Signed out, the button cannot save anything.

Incognito in the YouTube app looks signed in but is not, for this purpose. YouTube says “When you try to do something public like commenting or subscribing, you'll be asked to sign in to complete that action” (YouTube Help: Browse YouTube while incognito on mobile devices, read 20 October 2026). Turn Incognito off from your profile picture and try again.

3. It worked, on a different channel

If you manage more than one channel, the subscription lands on whichever is active. YouTube: “On YouTube, you can only use one channel at a time” (YouTube Help: Switch between channels on a Google Account, read 20 October 2026). A subscribe that seems to vanish may have gone to the other one; why can't I see my subscriptions? covers checking which channel you are using.

4. Subscribed, but the bell will not change

Sometimes the subscription works and the part that looks broken is the bell. On a channel set as made for kids, “the notification bell will be set to no notifications” and “You won’t be able to change this setting” (same Android subscribe page). That is a channel setting, not a fault on your side. Other reasons alerts stay quiet after subscribing are on why am I not getting YouTube notifications?

5. A supervised account

For children's accounts, YouTube publishes a list of the features turned off, covering comments, live chat, creating a channel, uploads and more (YouTube Help: What is a supervised kid account on YouTube?, read 20 October 2026). Subscribing is not on that list, and the page says nothing else about it. The parent-chosen content setting limits which videos a child can find, so a channel outside that setting may simply not be reachable; that is our reading, not YouTube's wording.

When none of that fits

The YouTube pages cited above do not cover an app glitch; the subscribe page's own troubleshooting section covers the limits and browser extensions, not app errors (YouTube Help: Subscribe to YouTube channels (Android), read 20 October 2026). Our suggestion, as general troubleshooting rather than documented behaviour: reload the page or restart the app, then try the same channel from a browser on a computer. If it works there, the account is fine and the problem is the app or browser you started in.

One more case YouTube does name, in the opposite direction: channels appearing that you never subscribed to “might be due to a browser extension subscribing you without your permission” (same subscribe page as the section above). If your list is changing on its own, see why am I subscribed to channels I never subscribed to?