If you’ve recently noticed YouTube videos playing in poor quality, you’re not alone. Many users worldwide have reported experiencing a frustrating issue where videos default to extremely low resolutions, such as 144p or 360p, even on high-definition screens, including smart TVs.
Social media platforms, especially Reddit, have been flooded with complaints from users who find their viewing experience significantly downgraded. The problem has persisted for several days, affecting a wide range of devices. Our own tests confirmed the issue on multiple platforms, including an iPhone.
Interestingly, Android smartphones and tablets seem to be less impacted, but other versions of YouTube—especially on iOS, PCs, and connected TVs—are experiencing significant problems.
YouTube Acknowledges the Issue and Promises a Fix
The good news is that this isn’t an intentional downgrade by YouTube but rather a confirmed bug. The platform has officially acknowledged the problem on its support page. A YouTube representative stated, “We are aware that some users are experiencing lower-than-normal video quality when watching videos and Shorts.”
The statement specifically highlights that the issue is affecting iOS devices, PCs, and smart TVs. While YouTube hasn’t provided an immediate solution, they have assured users that they are actively working on resolving the issue.
Given the vast scale of YouTube—operating across countless devices and relying on Google’s massive global data centers—the complexity of maintaining the platform is enormous. With potentially dozens of code modifications happening daily, engineers now face the challenge of pinpointing and fixing the change that caused this unexpected glitch.
For now, users experiencing the issue may have to manually adjust video quality settings, but a permanent fix should be on the way soon.
