this sounds like an earlier issue with the Hero... if i remember correctly it was ... old Android combined with an old browser support.

so.. it does sound like you have a bad software setup...

the tech in the stores are wrong.. they have to help you.. it dont matter where you got the SPRINT phone!

have you tried a full hardware reset? it will reset your phone back to a clean setup... and you will loose are your data and apps (not the data you put on your SDcard).

 

It seems to be a prob with that little update that adds swipe and blockbuster. I had mine for 2 weeks and worked flawlessly on even 3g. As soon as i updated it the YouTube was finished after that. I get all those error msgs. Only sometimes on 4g ill get it to play fine. I'm ready to take it back to bestbuy and see if they can give me a new one and I just won't update it

 

I know this is a rather mundane thing to ask, but have you, or the techs you were dealing with, tried going into the YouTube app in the application manager and clearing all data and cache (and defaults, if available), then rebooting?

The old "menu > settings > applications > manage applications > menu > sort by "all" > YouTube > clear data/cache buttons then reboot" routine is always worth a try.

 

I just read this post and tried the youtube app and it works fine. Have you tried using the app on wifi?
Just a thought hope that this helps. Please post some more specifics about the version of both the hardware and software.
Also as mentioned above Sprint has to take care of their customer after all you pay for the monthly service.
Just my two cents.

 

I'm having the same difficulties with my YouTube app as well every video seems to come up as unable to play or touch to retry

Edit: on full 3g coverage

 

Same issue here. This and currently a lot of apps "install unsuccessful" even when trying to update.

 

The app works sometimes on WiFi. The next day after the update it was shot. I don't know the specifics about the hardware and software. But also I'm not paying for fone service to only be able to use YouTube on WiFi. My piece of shit MOTO cliq from t-mobile played hq videos 90% of the time on a 3g connection. And it almost always played in normal quality.

On a side note I downloaded the YouTube app from the market and it plays a little better now but nothing like before. I need this crap fixed. This is annoying

 

Ive had my replacement phone for about two weeks, and youtube will not play videos either nor any video on phone, not even on rockplayer lite. I get an error something like:

The file cannot be played on system player.

 

I also have problems with the You Tube app. I have cleared the cache. I am not rooted. I find it strange that when going to the video url I am given a choice of You Tube or Internet browser to video if I choose INternet, the video plays flawlessly. I can't seem to get the video to full screen when using that method as with the youtube app.

When using the app have to try maybe three of four times and then it mahy play or if it does it might buffer in the middle and ecentually I get the video cannot be displayed message.

 

I followed the advice in another post and updated the You Tube app and now there is no problem. I did not know this app had to be manually updated. Never the less updated and it now plays the exact videos I was having problems with. The updated version is 2.1.6.

 

i updated mine to 2.1.6 tonight and am still having problems with the app itself!

finally after pulling the battery though and clearing everything i can at least get it to work in the browser. well for the time being...

 

The issue we are having (we are a sprint store) seems to be playing videos linked from other sites, ie facebook. The player itself seems to work when browsing through the app, however, there are instances when the customer is trying to play a video posted to facebook and getting this error. at my store we are stuck as to what to do.

Samsung Transform and HTC Hero are the phones i am currently troubleshooting, all newest version of software, but i dont see an update for youtube as its not listed in market (on my hero)

 

The problem with this error is that there are multiple causes.

Most of the time it is a network quality issue. Please note...Not signal. 3g towers are down everywhere. One will get full signal as voice is still up and running. From what it seems so much of sprints efforts have been focused on 4g that 3g is suffering. There are 5 towers out near my office. In these cases speedtests will clearly show the issue, videos will also play fine on wifi and 4g.
Solution of sorts....call sprint and make them aware of the tower issues.

In more rare cases the issue is the proxy settings in the epst darmta menu. Removing those seems to fix it.

And there is the youtube app itself...as mentioned clear cache and data for youtube and check the market for updates.

Another workaround is to look into 3rd party video player apps. For whatever reason installing one of a few choices there usually fixes it.