How to make YouTube load faster in Microsoft Edge

Google makes YouTube load slower in Microsoft Edge, but here's a workaround to make it as fast as in Chrome.

Faster YouTube on Microsoft Edge
Faster YouTube on Microsoft Edge

YouTube introduced its new design almost a year ago, but ever since, if you’ve been using another browser other than Chrome, such as Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Apple’s Safari, you probably have noticed that YouTube loads really slow.

According to Chris Paterson, a program manager at Mozilla, explains that the problem isn’t the browser. It’s the sneaky decision of Google to use a deprecated shadow DOM API that you can now only find it in Chrome, and as a result YouTube can load up to five time slower in other browsers.

If you’re a Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or even a Safari user, it’s possible to force the old design to load YouTube as fast as when using Chrome.

In this guide, you’ll learn the steps to make YouTube load faster in Microsoft Edge.

How to make YouTube load faster in Microsoft Edge

In order to make YouTube five times faster in Microsoft Edge, follow these steps:

  1. Open the Microsoft Store.

  2. Search for Tampermonkey, and click the top result.

  3. Click the Install button.

    Installing Tampermonkey for Microsoft Edge
    Installing Tampermonkey for Microsoft Edge
  4. Click the Launch button.

  5. Turn on the extension. (If you don’t see a popup to turn on the extension, open Settings, click on Extensions, and enable Tampermonkey.)

    Enable Tampermonkey for Microsoft Edge
    Enable Tampermonkey for Microsoft Edge
  6. Visit this OpenUserJs web page to download the script that loads the YouTube classic mode.

  7. Click the Install button.

    Tampermonkey restore classic YouTube script install
    Tampermonkey restore classic YouTube script install
  8. Click the Install button again.

    Installing script for YouTube classic design
    Installing script for YouTube classic design

Once you’ve completed the steps, restart Microsoft Edge, and now YouTube should load fast, but using the old design.

If you’re a Safari user, you can also use the Tampermonkey extension with the same script to force the YouTube to load the old design.

In the case that you’re a Firefox user, Mozilla has the YouTube Classic add-on that allows you to load YouTube a lot faster using the old design as well.

About the author

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me.