The Situation If you are holding an older device (like an iPhone 4s or iPad 2) stuck on iOS 9.3.5, you have likely discovered that the official YouTube app no longer works. Apple has stopped signing the firmware, and Google has updated the app to require iOS 12 or newer. This leaves the device "appless" for video streaming unless you intervene.
This uses a web-based signing service. It is easier but may require a paid subscription for permanent signing or specific "VIP" apps.
Steps:
Before we begin, it is crucial to understand the technical wall you are hitting.
When Apple released iOS 9, YouTube was on version 10.x. Today, YouTube sits at version 18.x or higher. Apple’s IDownload system is designed to fetch the "latest compatible version." However, Apple recently pulled the plug on many legacy API endpoints. If you attempt to download YouTube from "Purchased" history on an iPhone 4s today, you will likely get an error: "This application requires iOS 11.0 or later."
There is no official workaround. The only path forward is manual sideloading via an IPA file.
An IPA (iOS App Store Package) is an archive file containing an iOS app. Sideloading an older IPA allows you to install a version of YouTube that was compatible with iOS 9.
The short answer is no. Google announced that in 2024, they will require Android WebView 100+ and iOS WebKit 15+ for all embedded players. However, the jailbreak community is working on a "proxy server" solution where a remote server translates modern YouTube responses into JSON data that iOS 9 can read.
As of today (October 2023), the YouTube IPA for iOS 9.3.5 remains a cat-and-mouse game. A version that works perfectly in January might break in February. Your best bet is the Web wrapper IPA (TubeFixer), as it simply displays the mobile website without using Google’s broken native code.
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