I have had this problem with COUNTLESS YoYos. I play with a YoYo constantly for a week and then all of a sudden it goes from unresponsive to responsive. I’ll try doing plastic whips and it comes back up and smacks me in the hand. I’ve tried applying thin lube to the bearings but it doesn’t do anything, I’ve tried changing the string. The bearings just start making weird noises when I throw the YoYo down. I don’t know if being left handed has anything to do with this, but it’s really starting to make me frustrated. I’ve had 2 YoYoFactory One Star YoYos, I then brought them back into the store to get a refund for them and I got the YoYoFactory DV888, then recently because I wanted to get a better YoYo, I bought a YoYoFactory Shutter. And all 4 of these YoYos have turned responsive. Does anyone know how to fix this problem? I would really love to not have to buy a new bearing (I will if I have to), or a new YoYo… Any help would be appreciated!
All yoyos last about a week then you need to throw them away. Really expensive yoyos are rarely thrown because of this. Or you could clean the bearings
You need to clean your bearings. Lube makes them more responsive.
Sounds like you just need to clean your bearings. Lube is used very, very, sparingly. A small drop off the end of a needle on just a few of the balls in the bearing is all that is needed.
More lube will actually make your yoyo responsive as it slows the bearing down. It seems odd but that is how it works. Imagine rolling a marble around the bottom of a clean dry jar. It really goes!
Now imagine covering the bottom of the jar with oil and rolling the marble again. It will be much slower.
Look around the forums in the maintenance stuff for how to clean the bearings. You must have gotten them dirty super fast! I usually go for months without cleaning most of my bearings. I used to be bothered by maintenance much more but it seemed to go away after I became a better yoyoer.
lol…
Thanks guys! 
k. so i have the same problem I don’t know if you guys know of yo tricks but i ordered a yoyo off of that site and the bearings that came with looked good and all but it just started responding after about 5 or 6 throws. if anyone can tell me if i should trust this site or what could be wrong please tell me
It’s not a problem with the site. Contact them directly. Maybe you got a bad bearing. Did you take the yoyo apart and put it together wrong? Did a response pad come loose / start sticking out. Did something enter the bearing? There are so many factors here. What kind of yoyo is it?
Same, my first yoyo got dirty like after 2 days and now it takes weeks, probably because when you get better the yoyo being loud doesn’t freak you out like it did when I started, and you dont unscrew it as much as you get better
Yeah what yoyo was it, are you sure it wasnt a responsive?
Even thought this statement was made almost 6 years ago, its still very relevant today. Probably why my collection has grown exponentially over the years 
it is a sage yoyo on the yo tricks site and i know it wasnt responsive because it came with the responsive bearing in and i put in the unresponsive one in.
Email them. Tell them the problem.
Response can be created by Pads, string or bearings.
First make sure the string is attached correctly in a single loop.
Then check the pads to make sure they are seated correctly and not sticking into the gap causing a snag.
finally the bearing. Bearings have a lifecycle. They may come with some oil in it and some coating on the balls. With play this will change. You will hear changes. This is normal.
The performance of a Yo-Yo bearing can be effected by a number of things, string lint, dust and dirt can get inside. Some videos will recommend removing the bearing shield. I would advise against this as you can easily ruin a bearing attempting this for minimal gain if you succeed. Bearings are susceptible from damage from impact. You smack your yoyo on hard things, the bearing can get damaged internally. Sometimes they just catastrophically fail.
First thing to do is to see if it responds to general maintenance. There are many good video tutorials available (google ‘clean yo-yo bearing’). Many people also recommend adding a thin lubricate after cleaning (House hold oil like a tiny dot of 3 in 1 is fine).
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So true 
easy fix - soak the bearing in a little methylated spirits for 10 minutes
I’m having a similar problem with my OD Cascade. I’ve tried cleaning the bearing, drying with compressed air, and running it totally dry. This didn’t help, and the string was still being pulled around the bearing on a straight tug. I read this can be caused by the bearing working too hard? So I broke it down again, cleaned it again, ran some paper triangles through it, compressed air dried and ran a pin dipped in thin lube on the inside of the bearing. Spun it a couple times on a pencil. Still no good, and after just a few throws the bearing was running loud again.
I’ve tried just about everything I could find here, and on Google. Switched to a smoother, less grippy string that I swear even appears to be a bit thinner than my normal stuff. Swapped the Flow Groove pads with new ones. Then pulled those and used Permatex which is dead flush. I realize the Permatex not being totally broken in is likely a factor in the response, but for the life of me I cannot get the bearing to stop lavishly swaddling itself in string on a straight tug. I even went and made sure the Side Effects sockets were lubed properly, just in case there was some kind of rotation or vibrational interaction happening there that I was unaware of. I feel like I’m banging my head against a wall, here. Or missing something super obvious and simple.
Any advice or tips or personal experience with the Cascade and a similar issue would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks!
Did you try another bearing?