Dear Customer,
We are aware of an issue with YouTube download functionality.
To resolve this issue, we recommend deleting /storage/app/YouTube/software.json within your YouTube Video Backend or /store/software.xml within your YouTube Media Converter or MP3 Converter software.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. Kindly refrain from opening unnecessary support tickets regarding this matter.
Update #1
We acknowledge that there may be additional issues affecting YouTube downloads beyond what was initially assumed. We kindly ask for your patience as we conduct a thorough investigation into the matter.
Rest assured, our team is dedicated to resolving these issues promptly. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation during this process.
Update #2
(Note: These are intended to be temporary solutions! While they may continue to work, we instead recommend the solution detailed in Update #3 below for ALL products!)
YouTube Media Converter* users can update the relevant value in "lib/Config.php" from 4 to 6, as follows:
const _REQUEST_IP_VERSION = 6; // Force IPv4, force IPv6, or don't force any IP version for audio/video download link generation and browser download requests. Valid values are "4" (force IPv4), "6" (force IPv6), or "-1" (don't force IP version). Note: When "-1", the web server chooses either IPv4 or IPv6 for these requests.
MP3 Converter* (Purchased on Envato/Codecanyon) (Attention: NOT MP3 Converter Pro) users can update the relevant value in "lib/extractors/YouTube.php" from true to false, as follows:
protected $_forceIPv4 = false;
MP3 Converter Pro: We're currently working on a solution.
* Note: Your server will need to have IPv6 configured for this to work. Please review the following page for additional assistance with determining if IPv6 is available and configured on your server: https://whatabouthtml.com/how-to-check-if-ipv6-is-enabled-in-linux
To verify that IPv6 is working on your Server, make a ping test to Google:
ping -6 google.com
If you see the following output, then IPv6 is working. If you see something different, then IPv6 is not working. In the latter case, please contact your Server/Hosting Provider for assistance with IPv6 configuration.
root@demo-cloud:~# ping -6 google.com
PING google.com(fra07s29-in-x200e.1e100.net (2a00:1450:4001:802::200e)) 56 data bytes
64 bytes from fra07s29-in-x200e.1e100.net (2a00:1450:4001:802::200e): icmp_seq=1 ttl=116 time=6.69 ms
64 bytes from fra07s29-in-x200e.1e100.net (2a00:1450:4001:802::200e): icmp_seq=2 ttl=116 time=5.19 ms
64 bytes from fra07s29-in-x200e.1e100.net (2a00:1450:4001:802::200e): icmp_seq=3 ttl=116 time=5.20 ms
64 bytes from fra07s29-in-x200e.1e100.net (2a00:1450:4001:802::200e): icmp_seq=4 ttl=116 time=5.25 ms
64 bytes from fra07s29-in-x200e.1e100.net (2a00:1450:4001:802::200e): icmp_seq=5 ttl=116 time=5.24 ms
^C
--- google.com ping statistics ---
5 packets transmitted, 5 received, 0% packet loss, time 4004ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 5.191/5.512/6.685/0.586 ms
root@demo-cloud:~# Update #3
Issue resolved for All Products
This issue is now resolved for all products, and YouTube downloads are working, with the following actions required:
- Delete /storage/app/YouTube/software.json within your YouTube Video Backend software, or
- Delete /store/software.xml within your YouTube Media Converter or MP3 Converter software.
What happened?
YouTube made a change that affected our software.json/software.xml update mechanism that is consumed by all of our products. This update mechanism is responsible for, among other things, updating YouTube.com cookies that are used by all customer installations during YouTube download link generation. So, when a recent YouTube change invalidated these cookies, YouTube detected the use of invalid cookies during download link generation and subsequently and temporarily blocked the IPs of all corresponding product installations.
After the successful application of an emergency update to our software.json/software.xml update mechanism, and following customers' manual deletion of the aforementioned software.json/software.xml files (in their respective product installations), we can now confidently say that all IP bans/blocks have been removed and all products are now functioning as before and as expected.
Outlook
We do not expect this issue to reoccur. That said, we've learned to expect the unexpected from YouTube. So, to mitigate any potential for a similar issue in the future, however unlikely, we are strongly considering moving/supplementing YouTube.com cookie generation from our centralized update mechanism to/with similar functionality within your individual product installations (in future updates to all products). (Note: Future product release dates are not yet available.) By doing so, each customer would use a tool that we provide to update and/or regularly regenerate YouTube.com cookies for their individual product installation(s). In this scenario, a similar issue could be isolated to only one product installation instead of affecting all customer installations, and, at that time, affected customers would simply be required to update their Google account credentials (used to acquire YouTube.com cookies) to restore download link generation and/or general download functionality in their individual and isolated product installations.
Contact Us
If you have any additional questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our support team and open a new ticket regarding your inquiry.
Thank You!
When YouTube makes changes like this, we can only react as quickly as possible. So, we very much appreciate your ongoing patience, understanding, and patronage.
Update #4
YouTube has introduced a new policy that aggressively blocks requests and imposes temporary IP bans corresponding to repeated playback/download requests that block their video ads.
You can read Google's official statement here: https://support.google.com/youtube/thread/269521462/enforcement-on-third-party-apps
For more information from another source, check out this article: https://www.androidpolice.com/youtube-cracking-down-third-party-apps-like-revanced/
We are currently exploring options to resolve this using a YouTube Premium account and/or other methods.
Please bear with us as we investigate. There's no estimated time yet for a solution.
In the meantime, we encourage you to monitor this announcement as well as our Software Status page for further updates, as they become available.
Thank you.
Update #5
2024-04-22, 6:30 AM EST
We're currently developing and testing a solution that entails the automatic generation and use of a different, random IPv6 interface every X number of hours. (Not only are IPv6 addresses free, but there are approximately eighteen quintillion possible IPv6 addresses available!) So far, this strategy seems to effectively circumvent YouTube IP bans. Again, the entire process is automated, and there will be minimal additional configuration required.
In any case, all products will require code updates, and we should have an ETA for new version releases soon. Moreover, our response time to support tickets may be slower than usual as we work hard to provide you with a functional solution as quickly as possible.
In the meantime, we very much appreciate your continued patience.
Update #6
2024-04-23, 7:30 AM EST
Development and testing of what we're calling a "Dynamic IPv6 Generation" feature (to circumvent recent YouTube IP bans) is nearly complete for our YouTube Video Backend, MP3 Converter Pro, and YouTube Media Converter products. Tests have performed well so far. We're currently putting the finishing touches on the code, and we've begun creating documentation for the new software requirements and features. ETA for new version releases of these 3 products is thought to be within the next couple of days.
Please note that, now that Dynamic IPv6 Generation is required to keep all products functional, there will be no more support for shared hosting plans. So, if you are currently running our products in a shared hosting environment, then you will need to move your installation to at least a VPS or Cloud plan. And, it goes without saying that all products will now require a working IPv6 network configuration.
Stay tuned for further updates, and thanks for hanging in there with us...
Update #7
2024-04-24, 12:00 AM EST
New versions of the YouTube Video Backend and MP3 Converter Pro have been released! These new versions will restore YouTube compatibility and download functionality to those products:
https://shop.rajwebconsulting.com/announcements/28/YouTube-Video-Backend-v3.1.2-released.html
https://shop.rajwebconsulting.com/announcements/27/MP3-Converter-Pro-v3.0.7-released.html
Also, a new version of the YouTube Media Converter is expected to be released in the next 24 hours.
Update #8
2024-04-24, 10:30 PM EST
A new version of the YouTube Media Converter has just been released! This new version will restore YouTube compatibility and download functionality to the product.
https://shop.rajwebconsulting.com/announcements/29/YouTube-Media-Converter-v1.69-released.html
Also, a new version of the MP3 Converter is currently in development. No ETA for its release is available yet.
Update #9
2024-05-01, 8:30 AM EST
MP3 Converter customers are officially instructed to download the latest Envato/CodeCanyon and Site Module product versions as well as start using an additional standalone package, our new YouTube Unblocker, to circumvent YouTube IP bans:
https://shop.rajwebconsulting.com/store/youtube-unblocker
https://shop.rajwebconsulting.com/knowledgebase/53/How-To-install-YouTube-Unblocker.html
Please note that the MP3 Converter, by itself, will not download content from any website, including YouTube. Instead, we address this via the sale of Site Modules, and we give Envato/CodeCanyon customers one free Module with their MP3 Converter purchases.
So, while your MP3 Converter software will continue to receive updates via Envato/CodeCanyon, and your free YouTube Module will continue to be updated via the Module Shop (to accommodate "minimal traffic", as referenced here), we are unable to address recent, more aggressive YouTube IP bans (that now come with more traffic) directly via the YouTube Module alone.
To mitigate the cost of another purchase, existing customers who have purchased the MP3 Converter within the last 6 months are receiving a discount towards a YouTube Unblocker purchase.
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
