How To Fix Black Screen On Twitch

Most people who visit Twitch do so with the same goal: to enjoy high-quality live streams on the world's most popular online broadcasting platform.

Unfortunately, this is sometimes prevented by a confusing error or bug, such as the notorious "Twitch Showing Black Screen" problem that has affected many users.

The causes of this issue can vary and are related to many different factors, including your system and the strength and speed of your internet connection. As a result, there are also a number of different solutions you might need to try to fix the issue.

You can find the possible solutions in this guide.

The Problem Explained

Among the problems a Twitch user can experience, this is one of the most disruptive.

Some bugs are annoying but you can still watch and enjoy a stream in spite of them. In contrast, this bug prevents you from viewing a stream by displaying a black screen and a loading icon, meaning it should be considered a critical bug.

Twitch Black Screen error — Twitch Black Screen Error.

Although it looks intimidating at first, this error is not too difficult to deal with. However, as there are a number of possible causes, you might need to do some troubleshooting to identify the root of the problem.

Fix 1: Flush Your DNS

According to this Reddit thread where users discuss the Twitch Black Screen Problem, flushing the DNS appears to be the quickest and most effective fix.

This might sound worryingly technical, but it can be done in less than a minute. If you don't know how to flush your DNS, follow the steps below.

Click on the search icon in the bottom-left corner of your taskbar in Windows.
When the search bar opens, type "CMD" and press "Enter" on your keyboard. This will open the command prompt.
In the command prompt, type "!ipconfig /flushdns" without quotation marks. Press "Enter" on your keyboard again.

Wait a few seconds until you see the confirmation message, which should be "Successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache", then close the command prompt.

Open Twitch and load the stream you want to watch. The problem should now be fixed.

Note: It isn't mandatory to restart your browser after flushing the DNS, but we still recommend doing it just to make sure.

Fix 2: Clear Your Browser's Cache And Cookies

This is not a complicated fix, but it can be effective for dealing with many Twitch-related bugs.

An accumulation of corrupt data, cache, and cookies can eventually cause issues on the platform, so regularly performing cleanup is recommended.

If you are using Chrome, follow the steps below to do this in less than a minute.

Open Chrome on your PC and click on the three vertical dots in the top-right corner.
In the dropdown menu, choose Settings to open the configuration panel.
Scroll down until you see the Privacy and Security section. Choose Clear Browsing Data to access the final window where you will be doing the cleanup.
Tick the boxes next to the three available options, as shown in the image below. Finish by clicking on Clear Data in the bottom-right corner. Make sure to select All time in the time range field.

Exit your browser and reopen it. Visit Twitch and see if the problem is gone. If this didn't help, changing your DNS should be your next step.

Fix 3: Use Google's DNS

This is another fix that has helped many users overcome the Twitch Black Screen problem. Although it is a bit more complicated, you can apply it easily by following the steps below.

Note: Changing your DNS is completely safe and won't disrupt your system or cause any irregularities in how it functions. In fact, it can result in both performance and security benefits.

If you're keen to learn more details, you can read this official guide from Google.

Click on the search icon on Windows, which is located in the bottom-left corner. See the image below for further guidance.
In the search field, type "Settings" and press "Enter" on your keyboard. In the panel that appears, click on the "Network & Internet" category, as shown in the image below.
Click on the first setting under the "Advanced network settings" category, which is Change adapter options.
You will now see a list of network connections. Right-click the one you're currently using and select "Properties" in the menu that appears.
In the list of options, click "Internet Protocol Version 4" and then select "Properties" by clicking the button shown below.
In the window on your screen, select the "Use the following DNS server addresses" option in the lower half of the panel. Type in the numbers in the fields as they appear in the image below.

Note: If you are unable to see the image, here are the values:

Preferred DNS Server: 8*8*8*8
Alternate DNS Server: 8*8*4*4

Finish by clicking the "OK" button. Visit Twitch and see if the problem persists.

Fix 4: Watch The Stream On A Different Website

If you have an important live stream you want to watch but you can't seem to get rid of the Black Screen Problem on Twitch, you might need to temporarily switch to a different website.

This will ensure you don't miss out on your stream and, once it has concluded, you can go back to trying to solve the problem.

Conclusion

You now know how to deal with the Twitch Showing Black Screen Error, so apply any or all of these fixes and you should be able to enjoy Twitch without being interrupted.

If none of these methods help, the problem you're experiencing might be related to something else, in which case it is probably best to contact Twitch support.

Twitch Notifications Not Working