I have always had a problematic relationship with network-attached printers. And among IT professionals, I know I'm not unique in that. 

In fact, I always avoided using them in my SOHO environment because, more often than not, the time when you need to use a printer the most is usually when it malfunctions with a paper jam or your print job vanishes without explanation into the ether. Then you're spending an hour trying to figure out whether your drivers aren't up to date or if there's something wrong with the networking.

But when HP offered me the chance to look at its new LaserJet Pro all-in-one line, in both monochrome and color, I jumped at it. 

Why? I hadn't looked at a new laser printer in at least 10 years, and the monstrosity in my closet's tech stack was out of date, I couldn't print directly to it from my mobile devices, it didn't work well on my new Macs and Windows 11 systems, and from a networking perspective it was insecure. 

Maybe this new printer would be my friend as opposed to a foe?

Installation

I was happy to discover that the years of complex printer installation with huge software requirements were long gone with the HP LaserJet Pro units. The biggest amount of labor was getting the 28-pound bundle of joy out of its box, placing it on a sturdy surface (the shelf in the closet of my wife's office did nicely), plugging it in, and turning it on. I chose to go wireless, but you can also plug in a Gigabit Ethernet connection or USB cable if you want to go hardwired. 

Also: Need a printer? We ranked the best inkjet, photo, and laser printers

And yes, there's also a fax line if you still do that instead of just emailing.

The current crop of LaserJet Pro units has already-installed toner cartridges, so that's another hassle you don't have to contend with. The pre-installed 148A cartridge is suitable for about 2,900 pages. When you need to replace the toner cartridge, the 148X retails for $227 and yields about 9,500 pages. The Color LaserJet Pro MFP unit, which I also looked at, uses a bundle of cartridges, the W211X series, in cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, each going for about $100. Yes, the supplies for these LaserJets are expensive, but that's typical given the higher-quality toner needed.

Software

There are two ways to get the device onto your network. You can install the HP Smart app on your phone and go through the "Set up or add printer" wizard, or you can do it directly from the printer's touchscreen display. 

I chose to set up the device with the display on the monochrome unit. While it sounds simpler, it would not be my recommended route because you have to do a fair bit of typing on it to enter your wireless network credentials, and the screen is only 2.7 inches wide, so it's very easy to fat-finger. I used the app to set up the Color MFP, and it was much easier.

Also: Epson is going to stop selling laser printers. Here's why

If it is your first time setting up an HP printer using the HP Smart app (and also the display), you will be prompted to set up an account on HP's Smart cloud, which allows you to use the app to print, scan, or fax from anywhere on any HP printer, not just the printer you are setting up. It can discover all printers on the network you are connected to and can also link to your various cloud storage accounts, such as Google Drive, DropBox, Box, and Evernote, as well as other WebDav servers.

In addition to standard Wi-Fi print connectivity, you can also print via Wi-Fi Direct, a direct connection to the printer. iOS devices can print to it using AirPrint, built into iOS and iPadOS. To connect to the printer with my Macs, all I had to do was open Settings and choose Printers & Scanners, and it was automatically discovered. With a Mac, you can also use this menu to scan documents with the LaserJet Pro, so if you've installed HP Smart on your iPhone, you don't need to install it on the Mac itself. 

If you want HP Smart on your Mac, make sure you're installing the version from the Mac App Store and not HP's website, as you'll get a security warning if you try to use the HP website one on newer Macs. Yeah, there's always something.

On Windows, you'll want to visit the HP Easy Start website and obtain the software, which installs various drivers and utilities for the printer.

Overall I thought HP did a good job with the software on this printer, and the company appears to have standardized its development toolkit so that Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android versions of HP Smart have a similar look and feel. All of them appear to have been built on MIT-licensed open-source software and Microsoft .NET and C#.

This is a far cry from the stuff HP put out not even 10 years ago, and it's surprisingly a small package, taking up only 130MB on the Mac. The only downside I see to HP Smart is that much of its operation appears to be cloud-centered, so if its cloud is under heavy use, it can be sluggish to respond; this is the flip side of not having such a huge software payload sitting on the client when all of the management is running remotely.

Use

Generally speaking, I have found the LaserJet Pro series to be trouble-free once you get the HP Smart situation squared away, but with a caveat that if the printer is being used wirelessly, you absolutely want to make sure it is in an area with good Wi-Fi reception. I had to flip between two different networks to make sure I was getting good connectivity, and because the printer was placed in the corner of the house that was relatively far from the access point, I had to set the network it was using in the touchscreen display to 2.4GHz as opposed to 5GHz. 

The other issue I encountered with this line of printers is that they're designed to be power-efficient, so they go into sleep mode after only being on for minutes at a time. There can sometimes be a short lag before the printer wakes up when using HP Smart or when sending print jobs to the unit if it has been in its power-suspended mode. So if your Wi-Fi connectivity isn't great, it will take a long time to reacquire the network (or might not even acquire at all), and you'll be wondering why you can't print to it.

Otherwise? It's a classic multifunction LaserJet with two paper trays with light to medium office capacity and excellent print quality, and at retail currently about $420. Given market consolidation, few other SMB laser printers are on the market that will do the same job, with the same connectivity and manageability for the same money. 

The last time I didn't hate a personal/small business laser printer was probably my trusty HP LaserJet Series 5P I bought to print my wedding invitations in 1995, back when Canon still made the laser engines, and I was working for the company as a software engineer. 

Bottom line

It took HP probably over a decade, but it finally released a small-business multifunction laser printer that I not only do not hate but actually enjoy using -- it's fast, it produces high-quality output, it has secure networking, and it also had a fairly trouble-free setup accompanied by excellent mobile device connectivity so that you can print from smartphones and tablets with ease. 

If you are a small business or a SOHO environment with light to medium printing requirements that needs laser-quality output as opposed to an inkjet and also needs to do occasional scanning and faxing, the HP LaserJet Pro MFP series in monochrome or color would be a good choice.

Alternatives to consider 

The color version of the LaserJet Pro MFP is a good choice if color printing is a heavy requirement for your small business besides monochrome document output.

The M40dw is a wireless and networked laser printer for workgroups that only need print capability; it's a classic monochrome LaserJet. 

Denise Sullivan has been writing professionally for more than five years after a long career in business. She has been published on Yahoo! Voices and other publications. Her areas of expertise are business, law, gaming, home renovations, gardening, sports and exercise.

Nathan McGinty started writing in 1995. He has a Bachelor of Science in communications from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Arts in international journalism from City University, London. He has worked in the technology industry for more than 20 years, in positions ranging from tech support to marketing.

Two days after applying for a job on LinkedIn, Sandi Pounder received the good, if surprising, news.

“I am glad to inform you that due to your level of experience and your working skills, the company has decided to hire you as one of our Data Analyst (REMOTE),” the email read. “On behalf of our firm, I congratulate you on your achievement.”

A subsequent email from HR told her she would receive a long list of equipment to her home in Monta Vista, Colorado – including an Apple iMac Pro, external hard drive, file cabinets, HP LaserJet Printer – that she could purchase using a check that would be mailed to her.

In the span of 48 hours, she had submitted a resume, filled out a list of extensive interview questions, and received a job offer.

The process couldn’t have gone more smoothly – until she opened the official offer letter. It was addressed to “Greeshma”.

Pounder quickly discovered she was the target of a job scam, an elaborate ruse to trick desperate job-seekers into handing over their personal information, and in many cases, their money.

Scams have been around for as long as people have, but employment scams have skyrocketed since the start of the pandemic as remote positions become the norm and employers become increasingly dependent on online forms of communication.

The number of job and employment agency-related scams reported to the Federal Trade Commission nearly tripled between 2020 and 2021 from 7,324 to 21,848 in the third quarter of each year.

“Scammers always follow the headlines and are looking to exploit the things that people need in any given moment,” said Kati Daffan, assistant director of the FTC’s Division of Marketing Practices, which responds to consumer fraud. “So we saw a lot of offers – that people could work from home, that people could have flexible jobs, that people could make a lot of money without too much effort.”

Pounder, 52, was re-entering the workforce after taking some time off and selling her home in Wyoming. She had several years of experience in IT, mostly business systems and data analyst roles.

The company she had applied to work for was a legitimate architecture firm based in New York, and though the pay was lower than she would normally accept, it was a remote role and she was interested in working in architecture. While she never spoke to anyone during the application process, she figured it was just how things worked in a pandemic-transformed world.

“That should have been a red flag from the beginning ... if I hadn’t been busy with other things,” Pounder said.

She also double-checked that the person who initially reached out to set up an interview matched the name of the person on LinkedIn listed as the hiring manager. After receiving the offer letter addressed to the wrong person, however, she decided to call the architecture firm to confirm her position.

They told her their LinkedIn account had been hacked.

Others have also reported encountering fake recruiter profiles for legitimate companies on LinkedIn and other job search sites like Indeed.

Heather Lagaso, 42, has been on the hunt for a remote job since her role in compliance and records management at the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health division was cut in November 2021.

In 2022, she encountered 67 fraudulent job postings almost all on LinkedIn or Indeed, she said. She’s been keeping track of the listings in a document she shared with The Times.

“I was honestly looking for anything that offered... a home schedule or some sort of flexibility with it,” due to her son’s medical needs, said Lagaso, who lives in Gervais, Oregon. She noticed many of the jobs were in customer service, personal assistance, or things involving logistics or dispatch.

Some scams were obvious, but others were tougher to spot – including one that involved a web address similar to the real company’s domain name, she said. In that case, she applied through LinkedIn, and was asked to obtain an app called Wire for further communication.

LinkedIn spokesperson Autumn Cobb said members should report scammers so they can take appropriate action and utilise new features to job search safely, such as information on when profiles were created and warning labels on “potential high-risk content”.

“Unfortunately, scammers are becoming more sophisticated,” Cobb said. “We use a combination of human reviews and automated defenses to prevent job scams and we encourage members to watch for signs of potential fraud at every stage in their job search.”

LinkedIn said it proactively removed 87.1 million spam or scam content in the first half of 2022.

Indeed spokesperson Spencer Dandes said the site encourages users to report suspicious job advertisements or make a report to the police if they feel necessary.

“We have a dedicated search quality team who goes to extraordinary lengths deploying a variety of techniques to assess the suitability and validity of job listings,” Dandes said. “Indeed removes tens of millions of job listings each month that do not meet our quality guidelines.”

Pounder’s experience is a classic example of the fake check scam, which makes up about one-third of income scam reports to the FTC, according to Daffan. Lagaso said she also encountered five job scams that involved receiving a check.

“The scammer will send money to somebody and have a very convincing story for why when you receive this money, part of your new job will be to send the money elsewhere or buy equipment or buy gift cards for your boss,” Daffan said.

The scam is effective because banks often make funds from deposited checks available within a couple business days, but it can take weeks to find out they’re fake. By then, the person will have made their purchases and are out with their own money.

Sometimes people are asked to buy equipment and ship it somewhere as a way to convert money to products to resell, or gift cards for their coworkers and bosses.

Another common job scam is personal information phishing, where a supposed employer asks for your social security number or banking information for direct deposits.

When Lagaso heard back from the company to which she applied, she was told to fill out another form that included direct deposit information.

“That’s a strange thing to put as part of the application, but people who are desperate aren’t going to really question that,” she said.

Lagaso said her job search has been hindered by a felony conviction from 2005 that makes it difficult for her to apply for more traditional positions.

“People like me with you know, bachelor’s degrees from universities, and valuable skills are sort of left out in the dark looking for whatever we can get,” Lagaso said. “And the ‘whatever we can gets’, we’re the sick animal in the pack, basically, we’re the target, because we’re desperate.”

Since the rise in income scams at the end of 2020, the FTC has worked with law enforcement agencies to implement nationwide crackdowns on scams and bring cases against fraudulent companies. The agency is pursuing policy to have greater tools for tackling government or business impersonation.

Consumer and business education is also crucial to preempting scams. Daffan’s department tries to research and keep the public updated on new trends and types of scams “because obviously it’s much better to prevent someone from losing money in the first place”, she said.

Pounder’s experience of being nearly scammed has made her more cautious during her job search, especially when receiving unsolicited emails and calls from recruiters, she said. She has made sure to double-check LinkedIn profiles and contact information with company websites, though everything has checked out since.

“What caught me was that I was (using) LinkedIn as basically as a trusted source,” Pounder said. “So that’s the big thing that’s changed for me I think.” – Los Angeles Times/Tribune News Service

The Best Discounts at HP

With a wide variety of laptops, desktop PCs, Chromebooks, and printers, HP is always running some kind of sale. HP coupon codes are often specific to a category, such as laptops or accessories, but a sitewide promo code may be available. 

Check this page for the best promotion codes available. Seasonal sales, such as the HP Black Friday sale, Cyber Monday, and Back-to-School, are when you see some of the deepest discounts. Some good promotions we have seen are below:

• 10-33% off using our HP coupon codes.
• Winter Savings of up to 59% on laptops and tech.
• Up to 50% off printer ink with an Instant Ink subscription.
• Sitewide discounts on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
• Up to 40% off for military, healthcare, first responders, students, and educators.
• Up to 40% off for AAA members.

Shop Weekly Deals

For the hottest discount on all-in-one printers, laptops, desktops, Windows software, and more, the HP Weekly Deals section is here to help. Browse the latest deals to view rebates and save up to 50% on select products with the latest technology. 

There's no need to wait for upcoming sale events for laptop deals. You're guaranteed to land a stellar product at a low price when you check weekly. On top of these weekly deals, HP coupons, promo codes, and other offers can be used to save even more on your new laptop or PC. 

Score Discounts on Ready-to-Ship PCs

Laptops, desktops, and Chromebooks are usually customizable before purchasing at HP. But, a great way to save money is to buy ready-to-ship computers with pre-configured specifications, such as memory and storage drive sizes. Discounts can be as high as $700 off the original retail price.

These models ship directly from HP's warehouse and have free priority shipping. You can shop by category, including laptops for business and workstations. Printers, monitors, and accessories are also on sale in this section. If you are looking for a quick deal, this is a good area to shop for some of HP's lowest prices on its computers and other technologies.

Stay Ahead of Savings With HP's Newsletter

When you sign up for HP's email newsletter, you'll be notified when new sales and promotions go live on its website. You will be notified of new coupon codes available to get a good discount on a laptop or desktop PC. Special sales or promo codes will occasionally be offered exclusively to email subscribers.

Some customers may also receive up to $20 off their first purchase. However, this promotion is only sometimes available. If eligible, you will be emailed an exclusive code after you sign up and confirm your email registration. You can unsubscribe at any time. 

How to Use Promo Codes at HP

The easiest way to certain a discount on your next laptop, Chromebook, or printer is to take advantage of available coupons. When you find an ideal HP coupon code on our site that you want to use, applying it is a simple process. Follow these steps to use your promo code:

1. Click on the HP coupon you want to use and go to the site. 
2. Shop for the laptop, computer, or technology you need. 
3. Paste the code in the "Coupon Code" box in the cart.
4. Hit "Apply" to get your discount and checkout.

Sitewide Free Shipping

HP offers free shipping sitewide for all its products at no minimum price. It's essentially an automatic free shipping discount! Standard delivery is five to seven days, and faster options are available for an extra fee. Some offers, such as ready-to-ship items and ink, are eligible for express and priority shipping, which arrives in one to two days.

Returns are also free. If you need to return a laptop or a printer to HP, you can submit your return form on the website, obtain the prepaid shipping labels, and return your item by dropping it off at a local FedEx office. Returns must be made within 30 days of purchase, and a 15% restocking fee may apply.

Ink Delivered to Your Door

With the HP Instant Ink replacement, your printer will automatically order ink when you're low, and the company will ship it right to you! You'll never have to worry about running out of ink again, and with five plans to choose from, you can save up to 50% off ink and toner.

Get larger cartridges to avoid constant replacement, simple recycling, no annual fees, free shipping, and HP drivers to make all its printers easily compatible; this deal is a no-brainer. Just purchase an eligible printer, sign up, and instantly get $10 in credits! 

Refer a Friend for 3 Months of Free Ink

To help save money on printing, HP offers an instant ink program that allows you to subscribe to an ink plan for as low as $0.99 per month, depending on how frequent your printing needs are. Plans range up to $24.99 monthly and include free shipping on ink or toner and prepaid recycling.  

If you are a member of the plan, you can get three months free if you recommend the Instant Ink program to a friend. This offer counts for every friend you successfully get to sign up for the program. They will also get three months for free just for signing up through your link.

Join the Rewards Program 

Looking for an even better way to maximize your purchase? Look no further than the HP rewards program! As a member, you can get up to 3% back on every eligible purchase by earning 1 point for every dollar you spend. Collect your HP rewards points and use them to purchase any qualifying rewards product. 

Registering is easy; create an account by providing your name and email address, and you instantly receive 100 points just for becoming a member! Shortly after joining, you will receive an email detailing your benefits and any membership information you need to know to get started. 

Business Club Discounts

If you're looking to start your own business, there's no better way to save than by joining the HP Business Club. Signing up allows you to receive personalized deals on products and HP bundles. Take advantage of free shipping and insider discounts on a wide selection of tech products as an HP Business member. 

While you'll save plenty with every order, the more you shop using your business membership, the higher you'll climb in Business Club tiers and the more perks you'll receive. Hop on the website to register for free and unlock endless benefits to help you succeed with your business in no time. 

The HP Trade-In Program

When your HP spectre x360, envy x360, omen, or EliteBook reaches the end of its life, there's an easy solution to keeping the environment safe and upgrading to a new PC. HP's repair, reuse, and recycling programs are in place to ensure everything is repurposed. 

Recycle your old products at HP, trade them in for credit towards new products, return them for cash, or allow them to completely erase the data from your device before it begins anew. Check online for specific information on recycling unwanted items.

Bundle Accessories and Save

When you bundle accessories at HP, you can potentially save money. If you shop the accessory bundles section of the website, you can find discounts up to $160 off the original retail price, sometimes more. The prices of these items will be higher if you buy them individually. This includes dual-monitor packages, monitors with keyboards, USB hubs, and more. 

HP gaming bundles are also available that include LED-backlit keyboards, headphones, and microphones. If you need to round out your purchase of a new laptop or computer, check out this section for any special promotions on accessory bundles that will help you save money.

Black Friday and Seasonal Sales

There's nothing quite like the savings you'll see during the HP Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale in November. Black Friday is one of the biggest discount events of the year and the perfect time to get a new computer or purchase gifts for the coming holiday season, but it doesn't stop there. 

HP seasonal sales will be live for Labor Day, Memorial Day, the 4th of July, and other special occasions like the After Christmas sale. Annual sales are released throughout the year. You're guaranteed to get whatever you're shopping for at a better price with our help. We're always uploading new laptop coupons and tracking down the hottest deals for your convenience.

Students and Teachers Get a Discount

Students and teachers at colleges and universities can get up to 40% off computers and more when they join and shop at the HP Education store. Registration requires a valid and verifiable .edu email. They will also receive free shipping and free returns. Sign-up for the program is free; registration only takes a few minutes.

Eligible members can shop for tailored deals and offers on a private section of the site. Here they can view special discounts and bundles on laptops, Chromebooks, printers, monitors, and convertible laptop tablets such as the HP Envy x360. Dedicated support is also available to students and teachers. 

Discounts for Military, Healthcare, and First Responders

HP offers up to 40% off for healthcare workers, first responders, and both veterans and active members of the military. Spouses and immediate family members of the military are also eligible. These discounts can secure a great deal on a new computer or laptop.

The process to determine your eligibility is simple. You verify your status through ID.me, a third-party company that verifies digital identities. Once verified, you can access exclusive deals and offers targeted to your profession at the HP Frontline Heroes Store. 

AAA Members Get a Discount

If you are a current member of AAA (American Automobile Association), you can get the same discount available to employees. This offer gets you up to 40% off a new laptop, computer, printer, and more. All you need to do is register in the HP Employee Purchase Program (EPP).

Once your account is verified, you can shop this special section for promotions and offers only available to members of the HP EPP. Shipping is free on most items, and both consumer and business-oriented product lines are available, whether it's an HP Pavilion desktop PC or a high-end Spectre x360 convertible laptop. 

Previous HP Promo Codes

HP laptops offer something for you, whether you're a creative looking to edit photos, a gamer in search of a powerful laptop or a student in need of a small, lightweight laptop.

Many of the best HP laptops have features designed for remote or hybrid work such as improved webcams and microphones, better audio quality, longer battery life, faster charging and the fastest Wi-Fi 6 wireless.

Like other PC makers such as Dell, Lenovo, Acer and Asus, HP is in the midst of updating the processors in its laptops and two-in-ones. That means Intel-based models are moving from 11th-gen to 12th-gen CPUs, while AMD Ryzen systems are switching from 5000-series chips to 6000-series. It also means it's generally a good time to look for deals on older models of the best HP laptops. However, we've also seen big performance improvements with the new processors. An updated model might cost a little more but will add to the overall longevity. 

There are billions of hours of video on YouTube, literally. And that's hardly the most astounding statistic about the site, which has been the go-to destination for uploading and watching videos online since 2005. That said, sometimes you really want or need to have one of those videos on your own computer or phone. But when the syllabu of downloading YouTube videos comes up, there's a side subject that must be broached: Is it legal?

On the copyright front, as long as you're downloading a video for your own personal offline use, you're probably okay. It's more black and white when you consider Google's terms of service for YouTube(Opens in a new window), which read: "You are not allowed to...access, reproduce, download, distribute, transmit, broadcast, display, sell, license, alter, modify or otherwise use any part of the Service or any Content except: (a) as expressly authorized by the Service; or (b) with prior written permission from YouTube and, if applicable, the respective rights holders."

Watching YouTube videos offline through unofficial channels takes money from Google and video creators. There's a reason YouTube runs ads: People make a living this way.

Obviously, stealing videos from YouTube is a big no-no. If you want to share a video, YouTube and most other video sites make it easy, from embedding to emailing to sharing via social networks. You simply do not need to obtain a video most of the time.

But you have your reasons. If you must download a YouTube video—absolutely need to, just for yourself, and not for dissemination, and not to be a jerk—here's how.

Note: This story is updated frequently, as the tools involved change regularly. Some of those changes are not always pleasant, such as software so full of "extras," it gets flagged as malware by antivirus tools. The same goes for the helper websites—a change in a site's ad network can also create issues with malware.

To prevent this from becoming a laundry list of programs and sites that can obtain YouTube videos, we came up with a few rules for inclusion. Services must:

• Work with the top three video sites: YouTube, Facebook, and Vimeo.

• Download entire playlists or channels in a batch (on YouTube), at least with a paid version.

• Output to MP3 for audio (or offer companion software that does so).

• Have an interface that doesn't suck.

• Not collect your personal data beyond your email address.

• Not contain malware. If there's even a whiff of it, even a PUP, it's out.

The programs, services, and sites in this story are all free of spam and virus problems as of this writing, but caveat emptor—let the buyer beware. (Especially if you're not really buying.)

YouTube Premium Downloads

Now available for subscribers of YouTube Premium—the paid version of YouTube that allows you to watch without ads—are video downloads—kind of. There's one limitation with quality: All the video you obtain is limited to 1080p quality max or lower. No 4K.

(Credit: PCMag/YouTube)

The biggest issue is, this feature doesn't really obtain a video to save on your computer forever. It is more akin to the obtain feature found on mobile apps for Netflix and Hulu, which makes a streaming video available to watch later using your local storage using the app's interface only. This is not a method that allows you to, say, watch a video using different software such as the VLC Media Player or Plex.

You access the obtain by going to the YouTube hamburger menu and selecting Downloads (Opens in a new window)to view the list of what you've grabbed. The page says "Downloads remain available as long as your device has an active internet connection at least once every 30 days." This probably isn't exactly what you are looking for in a download; read on for tools that are a better fit.

Desktop Software

Third-party software is what will provide you the best control over downloading online videos. Typically, you paste the URL for the YouTube video you want into the program, and it downloads the highest-quality version it can find. For videos in 1080p high definition (HD) format, that's usually an MP4 file. For anything higher in quality—4K or 8K—the file format is typically MKV.

In the past, YouTube videos were Flash-based, so your obtain was an FLV file, but those tend to be harder to play back. MP4 (short for MPEG-4 Part 14 multimedia format(Opens in a new window)) files can play anywhere

Note that the MKV file, also called a Matroska, is a container—the file could contain video utilizing any number of codecs inside. The foolproof way to play them all is to use the VLC Media Player for Windows, which plays everything. (Read more about it below.) As for the downloaders, here are the best options.

VLC Media Player

Free; Windows, macOS, Linux

VLC Media Player(Opens in a new window) is a fantastic tool for Windows, Mac, and Linux users that plays back just about any media ever created. It also has the ability to obtain YouTube videos, albeit in a convoluted way. (If you run into any problems, try a full re-install of VLC and clear your cache to make it work.)

Copy a URL from a YouTube video, then open up VLC. From the Media menu, select Open Network Stream (Ctrl+N) and paste in the URL. Click Play. When the video is playing, go to Tools > Codec Information. There is a box at the bottom called "Source"—copy the URL you find in that box.

(Credit: PCMag)

Go back to your browser and paste that URL—it's a temporary web address and will expire eventually—in the address bar and start playing the video. When you're viewing the video, in the Chrome or Edge browser, click the three-dot menu at the lower right for the obtain option to keep it locally. In other browsers, such as Firefox, right-click the video and select Save Video As.

(Credit: PCMag)

It appears that VLC saves your file as 1080p only and not any higher, even if the original YouTube stream was available in 1440p or 2160p (aka 4K). It also won't convert video to other formats. To get those options, you need the desktop software below.

4K Video Downloader

Free, or $10 for one year of use; $15 for a lifetime license on three computers; Windows, macOS, Ubuntu Linux, Android

(Credit: PCMag)

Multi-lingual 4K Video Downloader(Opens in a new window) (4KVD) is frequently updated and features clear obtain links on the program's website; no ad traps here. The software does what it advertises in a simple interface: It grabs videos up to 8K in quality and downloads to plenty of formats. Simply copy a YouTube URL and click the Paste Link button to get started. 4KVD will even collect subtitles, entire playlists, and all the videos in a channel to which you subscribe. The sites supported are limited to the big names, including YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, and a few others, but that should cover most of what you need. It does display a large banner advertisement to keep the lights on with the free version, which is also limited to 30 downloads a day.

When I tried it, I had to make a switch from MP4 to MKV format to get my test video to obtain in 4K. 4KVD snagged a 3-minute, 229.7MB file for a movie trailer in about 1 minute and 20 seconds. I made the same switch when downloading an Ultra High Definition (8K) playlist(Opens in a new window).

When you enable the Smart Mode and its presets, 4KVD can perform one-click downloads to your favorite format. If you want to obtain more than 30 videos per day or subscribe to YouTube channels to instantly download(Opens in a new window) the latest, you'll need the paid version. Playback of the resulting MKV files via VLC Media Player is flawless.

The program has the option to extract audio to MP3 format, so you don't even need the 4K YouTube to MP3(Opens in a new window) companion software. But if that's your thing, it's the same price as 4KVD.

VideoProc Converter

$25.95 for 1 year/3 PCs; $39.95 lifetime for 1 PC; $57.95 family on 3-5 PCs; Windows, macOS

(Credit: PCMag)

The powerful VideoProc from Digiarty comes in an editor edition and this converter(Opens in a new window), which also provides editing and effects and, of course, handles a lot of downloading, supporting 4K from over 1,000 websites, including TikTok. With hardware acceleration(Opens in a new window), it promises some speed. Thankfully, Digiarty frequently offers price discounts: In fact, the price has dropped a lot on the one-year license; it's currently(Opens in a new window) just $25.95.

To use it, let the software detect your hardware to see what will help with acceleration (if anything). Click the Downloader button, click Add video to place as many URLs as you want to batch, and then click on Download Now. Or grab a whole YouTube playlist or live stream.

VideoProc grabbed our 697MB test 4K video(Opens in a new window) to WEBM format in about 2 minutes and 15 seconds, which isn't bad. The trial version of VideoProc Converter, which limits conversions to 5 minutes, doesn't appear to limit downloads.

FlixGrab

Free (donation-ware); Windows

FlixGrab(Opens in a new window) offers several different programs, many with overlapping features. For example, FlixGrabMS is available in the Microsoft Store(Opens in a new window) for Windows 10 and 11 machines, but it wouldn't let me grab video from YouTube. The straight obtain of the FlixGrab program from flixgrabapp.com did work with YouTube and several other sites. It also offers a Free YouTube Downloader(Opens in a new window) that is specific to YouTube yet has the same easy-to-use interface.

The subscription prices for an upgrade have disappeared. The site now has a donation page(Opens in a new window) where it says "for now, our applications are totally free." If you can donate a little via PayPal or credit card, the developers will be thankful.

5KPlayer

Free; Windows and macOS

(Credit: PCMag)

The free 5KPlayer(Opens in a new window) is a lot more than a downloader, but it's got a heck of an integrated downloader. Promising no viruses, ads, or plug-in requirements is a good start. It is, sadly, one of the few that asks for registration of your name and email—you have to do that to get the full obtain function across 300-plus sites(Opens in a new window). You can nab 4K vids from YouTube without registering, though.

When downloading, the program tries to hide some things. Paste in the URL for a YouTube video, and the analysis engine runs and shows only a few obtain options. Click the gear icon, then the Show All button, and scroll to see more—including a 4K 3,840-by-2,160 file in WebM format. The 227MB WebM test obtain took an agonizing 6.5 minutes. Grabbing playlists is possible, but you must adjust obtain settings one video at a time. The confusing interface makes it hard to go back to the other videos in the playlist.

5K Player also features DLNA server playback, so the videos you grab can be watched on any device that supports DLNA. It also supports AirPlay for quick playback to Apple devices. Pick a video in the library for quick conversion to MP4, MP3, or even ACC (the audio format preferred by iOS). The player didn't like playing back the overly large 4K file, though, and experienced buffering issues (VLC didn't have any problem with the same file).

Ultimately, there's a lot to like about 5K Player, including the price and the features—especially if you look at them as extras on a downloader. But the bad interface, slow obtain speeds, and playback issues may cause you to look elsewhere.

Helper Websites (Heed Any 🚩s)

Do you want to avoid installing software? Video-download helper sites are meant to do the obtain work for you. All of them do one basic thing: You provide them a YouTube URL (or another video site, if supported), and they parse it, provide you a choice of what size obtain you want, and provide a link to said download. The sites work on any platform, sometimes even on mobile devices. You don't have to install anything on your PC. It can take a lot longer to get a download, depending on the size and quality of the video you want, but you can't beat the convenience.

The problem is that you can't always trust them. Hundreds of these types of sites exist—it seems anyone with a modicum of coding ability has set one up. Such sites can easily go from useful to suspicious, especially when they get popular, and the proprietor sells out to make cash off your visits.

Since this story was first published, all the helper sites we recommended have been removed for reasons such as adding sexually explicit ads, no longer working, and switching to pushing a obtain utility only. One went out of business voluntarily in 2020 to avoid getting sued(Opens in a new window).

For these reasons, we're not recommending any helper sites at the moment. If you decide to try one, and your browser, antivirus, or instincts throws up red-flag warnings, avoid it and move on.

Browser Extensions

A browser extension can save you a step. But you're going to run into some issues with downloading videos from YouTube, especially if you're using Chrome as your primary browser.

The Chrome Web Store(Opens in a new window)—where you get Chrome browser extensions—is controlled by YouTube's owner, Alphabet/Google. Even an extension created ostensibly for this purpose isn't going to allow YouTube direct downloads because of Chrome Store restrictions. In general, with Chrome extensions, the obtain of any RTMP protocol video (protected video) or streaming video isn't possible. You can use them on other sites with video, of course—just not YouTube.

Want to get around this? Get an extension that does not come from the Google Web Store. Some of the programs and helper sites offer an extension component and will spell out how to do the install(Opens in a new window) without the assistance the Chrome Web Store usually provides. Here are a couple.

YouTube Video Downloader

Free; Brave, Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Edge, Safari, Vivaldi

(Credit: Addoncrop)

YouTube Video Downloader from Addoncrop(Opens in a new window) is available for multiple browsers but with excellent side-load capabilities(Opens in a new window) via user scripts or third-party extensions such as Foxified (Opens in a new window)(which allows Chrome/Edge user access to Firefox extensions). It puts a button below whichever video you're playing on YouTube, even an embedded YouTube video, making the video easy to grab. Up to 8K video is supported. You can also convert audio from the video to an MP3, and it will even help you take video screenshots.

Video DownloadHelper

Free; Firefox, Chrome, Edge

Video DownloadHelper(Opens in a new window) supports a huge number of sites—even those for adults. You'll know a video is downloadable when the icon for the extension animates when you're on the web page. Video DownloadHelper for Chrome has stopped working with YouTube; that way, it got placement in the Chrome Web Store. Get around that by using the Video DownloadHelper extension on Firefox or Edge instead.

Mobile Video Downloader Apps

Downloading from YouTube using an Android app from the Google Play Store is a challenge, given that Google has a grip on the site it owns (even if it seldom seems to check for malware); it offers the paid YouTube Premium service mentioned above to facilitate offline viewing.

(Credit: PCMag)

That said, with Android, it's possible to install apps without going through Google. For example, InsTube – Free Video and Music Downloader(Opens in a new window) for Android can be found only at InsTube's website. obtain the APK (Android application package) file to sideload on an Android device. Find it in your device's downloads and click to install(Opens in a new window). (You may have to go into your security settings and enable "Unknown sources.") 

You'd think there would be no such restriction on iPhones and iPads, since Apple and Google aren't the best of pals (or maybe they are(Opens in a new window)). But with the iOS apps I've tried, not only would they not obtain from YouTube, but they're also typically not available for long. One of those apps said in its description, "Downloading from YouTube is prohibited due to its Terms of Service." Apple is ensuring that app makers play by the rules—even Google's rules.

Chances are, the minute you find an iOS app that can obtain YouTube videos, it will be "fixed" or banned. The only real option is to jailbreak your iPhone and use sideloaded apps that obtain what you want.

There are workarounds. One is to subscribe to YouTube Premium, which lets you obtain videos on your iPhone or iPad to watch later, much as Netflix and Hulu do. But it doesn't allow you the freedom to edit a clip.

Another is using a free iOS file manager app, such as Documents by Readdle(Opens in a new window). Use the Safari browser to visit a YouTube video, and use the Share option to find Copy Link. Then go back to Documents, and use the built-in browser in the app to surf to a video obtain helper site (you know, the kind we don't recommend).

Paste the link into the form (hold your finger down on it until you get the "Paste" menu to pop up). The site will provide you the links to download, and you can save the file to Documents. Hold and drag the file up until you're back on the main screen, then drag it to the Photos folder. You'll need to provide Documents permission to access Photos the first time. You can then access the video as you would any video taken on the phone or tablet, in the Photos app.

Another workaround: Go back to the desktop, and try AnyTrans(Opens in a new window) ($39.99 for a single computer for one year, Windows or macOS; $59.99 for a lifetime plan). It's a desktop file manager for iOS devices that has an integrated downloader supporting 900 sites, including YouTube and Facebook. It'll transfer the videos to the iPhone for you over the USB cable. Even if you don't pay for AnyTrans, the obtain option remains and is free forever.

YT Scribe

Want a truly unique way to "download" a video? YT Scribe(Opens in a new window) lets you grab the transcription so you can read it instead: It auto-transcribes, punctuates, and paragraphs the text. The better the subtitles, the better the "article," of course. Best of all, it's totally free.