YouTube investigating widespread low quality video playback issues on iOS

Google has confirmed it is investigating an issue causing low quality in playback of videos and Shorts through the YouTube app on iOS.

Recently, a large number of YouTube users on iOS – including iPhone and iPad – have noticed that video playback is of very low quality. Despite a strong connection, videos might only load in 144p, leading to a very poor viewing experience.

In a post on its Community Help forums, Google has confirmed it is aware of this issue and is investigating. It’s added that this issue could also be affecting desktop use or even smart TVs, though reports of that seem far fewer than those on iOS.

Google explains:

We’re aware some of you are experiencing lower than usual video quality when trying to watch Videos and Shorts.

Here’s what you might be seeing:

• YouTube streaming at 144p or 360p despite strong internet connection
• Buffering when changing to higher quality
• Video quality could be impacted on IOS mobile, desktop, or Smart TV

Rest assured, we’re actively looking into this!

Over 2,000 comments have hit the post from affected users, showing that this is a very widespread problem. There are also dozens of threads on Reddit from the past few days showing many affected users.

No fix is available yet, but Google says that its post will be updated as “new information” is available.

Let us know in the comments below if you’ve run into this problem.

More on YouTube:

• Dedicated ‘Podcast’ tab available more widely on YouTube for Android TV
• YouTube app bug opens and auto-plays Shorts by default, here’s how to fix it
• Report: YouTube eyes redesign for TV app as more users are watching than ever

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