When prompted with "Download an older version of this app?", tap
Getting the YouTube app running on iOS 9.3.5 is tricky because the App Store often blocks older versions and Google has officially discontinued support for the legacy API
If you are jailbroken, open Cydia and install these packages: youtube ipa for ios 935 exclusive
The issue isn't that your hardware cannot play video; it is that Google frequently updates its API, rendering older app versions obsolete. The official YouTube app from 2016-2017 simply cannot connect to the servers in 2026.
Open the info.plist file and locate the keys CFBundleShortVersionString and CFBundleVersion . When prompted with "Download an older version of this app
host older IPAs (like YouTube version 13.02.9 or earlier), these are rarely "exclusive" and often require sideloading via Sideloadly , which may still result in server-side errors. Important Compatibility Notes iOS 9.3.5 Status Official App Store Incompatible (Requires iOS 16+) Last Compatible Version Ver. 13.02.9 (often fails to load content) Recommended Alternative Mobile Safari or Puffin Browser
Look for verified legacy YouTube IPAs (such as classic versions modified with TubeFixer or ClassicApps frameworks) from trusted archive repositories like iOS Ninja or GitHub. host older IPAs (like YouTube version 13
Once you've downloaded the YouTube IPA file, follow these steps to install it using Cydia Impactor: