On this page
9xbuddy.com was still displaying its download form in October 2026. A page that opens can still fail to download a video or return a file without sound. This guide explains those failures, the separate Cloudflare verification issue, and the alternatives available.
The quick answer
- For a reliable file: use yt-dlp with ffmpeg installed. It runs on your own computer and merges HD video with its audio.
- For offline viewing on YouTube: Premium or Premium Lite includes downloads inside the app, within YouTube's rules.
- Stuck on “verify you are human”: that is 9xbuddy's own Cloudflare check. Pause your ad blocker or VPN and reload.
Why 9xbuddy fails
9xbuddy takes a page URL from YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, SoundCloud or many other sites, finds the media link on its own server, and hands it to you. That server has a different IP address from yours, no login and no cookies. Every common symptom traces back to that design.
| Symptom | Cause |
|---|---|
| “Link expired,” a 403, or a download that dies after a few MB | Stream URLs are signed, expire within hours, and are often tied to the IP that requested them. 9xbuddy's server asked; your browser downloads. |
| Slow, low quality, or “sign in to confirm” | YouTube's bot checks (see yt-dlp's PO Token Guide) and throttling of datacenter IPs, where shared extractors run. |
| 720p or 1080p with no sound | Above 720p, video and audio are separate streams that must be merged (muxed) on a computer. One link gives you only one of them. |
| “Verify you are human” loop | 9xbuddy's own Cloudflare protection, triggered by ad blockers, VPNs or shared IPs. Not a platform change. |
| Redirects to app or prize pages | Ads that pay for the server. Such redirects have been reported for this category of site; we have not audited 9xbuddy's ad partners. |
Official options and terms
YouTube: Premium includes in-app downloads for $15.99 a month in the US (Tech Advisor) or ¥1,280 in Japan. Premium Lite ($8.99; ¥780) added downloads on February 24, 2026, except for Shorts and music (YouTube blog). Downloads stay playable while the device reconnects at least every 30 days.
Your own uploads download free from YouTube Studio, up to five times per video per day (YouTube Help).
Other sites: Vimeo and SoundCloud creators can switch on a Download button; if it is missing, they chose not to. TikTok, Instagram and X have native saves with conditions, covered in our TikTok, Instagram and X guides.
The rules: YouTube's Terms of Service forbid downloading except where YouTube allows it, with written permission, or where the law permits. So using 9xbuddy can breach the Terms even when no copyright is infringed.
Your own uploads, Creative Commons works and videos you have permission for are safe ground for copyright. We are not lawyers; this is not legal advice.
Terms and law in detail
Vimeo, Dailymotion and Facebook have comparable clauses. Terms are a contract between you and the platform, and its remedies run against your account.
- Saving someone else's copyrighted video without permission is infringement in most countries.
- Several countries, Japan among them, also prohibit knowingly downloading infringing copies, even for personal use.
- DRM-protected services (Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+) are a separate matter: circumventing DRM is illegal in many countries, and no tool in this guide does it.
Tools and their limitations
Clipmoth is our own product; weigh that as you read.
| Tool | Best for | Watch out for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| yt-dlp + ffmpeg | The 1,000+ sites in its extractor list, full quality, audio and video merged | Terminal only; needs ffmpeg for 1080p and above | Free |
| YouTube Premium / Lite | Offline viewing inside the app | Files stay in the app; Lite excludes Shorts and music | $15.99 / $8.99 per month (US) |
| 4K Video Downloader Plus | Point-and-click for YouTube, Vimeo, SoundCloud | Free tier is limited; old lifetime licenses reportedly not carried over | $15/yr · $25 lifetime · $45 Pro |
| Clipmoth (our product) | App: 1,000+ sites, 4K, playlists, MP3. Extension: HLS/DASH video on ordinary sites | Windows only; the extension does not work on YouTube | Free 10/day · $9.99 one-time |
| Cobalt | One-off TikTok, X, Instagram links; no account, no install | YouTube disabled on the public instance (as of Oct 2026); the link goes to Cobalt's server | Free |
| 9xbuddy and similar | Low-res single files from public pages | Signed, IP-bound URLs fail; HD without audio; pop-ups and redirects reported | Free, ad-supported |
Here is how yt-dlp and our Windows app differ in setup and everyday use.
| yt-dlp (command line) | Clipmoth for Windows | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free, unlimited | Free 10/day · $9.99 one-time |
| Setup | The binary plus a separate ffmpeg install on your PATH for HD | One installer, ffmpeg included |
| Use | Type commands and options (-f, --merge-output-format …) | Paste the URL, pick a quality. Download queue; MP3 is one switch |
| Updates | Run yt-dlp -U yourself | The engine updates itself |
| When it fails | Read the English error output | The reason is shown in plain words (unsupported, login needed, region-locked …) |
| Best for | Fine-grained options, scripts, cookies and proxies; Mac and Linux | Windows users who want to click, not type |
- Command line: install yt-dlp and ffmpeg, run
yt-dlp "URL", and you use your own IP with fixes shipped within days of a platform change. - Desktop apps: 4K Video Downloader Plus and our Clipmoth for Windows (14-day refund) give the same result with buttons.
- Browser extensions: Chrome Web Store policy bans YouTube downloaders, so extensions suit HLS and DASH video on ordinary sites (see our m3u8 guide).
- Online sites: Cobalt is open source and ad-free, but its public instance has had YouTube disabled since mid-2025 (GitHub issue).
When it doesn't work
- Verify loop: pause ad blockers and privacy extensions, turn off the VPN, or use a private window. Still looping? Try a phone on cellular; you may be on a shared IP.
- “Video not found”: open the video logged out in a private window. Private, members-only and age-gated videos are invisible to any server-side extractor.
- Wrong URL: paste the video page itself, not a playlist, channel or short link, and strip
list=,t=andsi=. - Link expires or dies early: start the download as soon as the link appears. If it fails twice, retrying will not help.
- Silent file: pick the highest option that lists audio (usually 360p or 720p), or use a local tool that merges the streams.
Frequently asked questions
Is 9xbuddy shut down?
No. Compare y2mate.com, which IFPI announced was shut down permanently in October 2025 together with 11 other stream-ripping sites (IFPI).
Is 9xbuddy safe to use?
The risk is the advertising around the form: never install an app or extension to “finish” a download, never allow notifications, and never type a password on a page you were redirected to. A page that says your device is infected is an ad.
Why does 9xbuddy work on Vimeo but not on YouTube?
Platforms differ in how strictly they bind stream URLs to the requesting IP, and YouTube is the strictest. The same site can work for Vimeo or Dailymotion on a day it fails for YouTube.
Can I fix a silent file I already downloaded?
Yes, if you also have the audio stream: ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -i audio.m4a -c copy out.mp4 joins them without re-encoding. yt-dlp -F "URL" shows which formats are video-only and which are audio-only.
Files with sound, without the redirects
Clipmoth is our own downloader. The Windows app supports YouTube, TikTok, X, Instagram and over 1,000 sites, with options for 4K video, playlists and MP3.
The Chrome extension saves video playing on websites such as news sites and online courses, including HLS and DASH streams. It does not support YouTube.
Both offer 10 free downloads a day. Premium removes the limit in both for a one-time payment of $9.99, with a 14-day refund policy.
Get the Windows app Add to Chrome (for video on regular websites)