GoKawiilShimul Sood / Android Authority
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TL;DR YouTube users are reporting that they can only watch videos in 480p resolution.
The problem appears to be affecting both free and Premium users.
Some say clearing the app’s cache or uninstalling and reinstalling fixes the issue, but others say those methods did not work for them.
YouTube recently fixed an issue that prevented users from signing up, adding packages, or modifying their subscriptions. With that concern taken care of, hopefully, the team will now be able to turn its attention to another problem that has crept up. The problem in question is forcing users to watch videos at lower resolutions.
YouTube allows you to watch videos in a variety of resolutions, all the way up to 4K. In most cases, you’ll at least be able to choose from a range between 240p and 1080p. However, the number of available resolution options has been cut short for some users.
According to reports on Reddit (1, 2, 3), some users are being limited to 480p as the highest available resolution. This isn’t a case of YouTube locking higher resolutions behind its paywall, as Premium users also appear to be affected. And it seems this has been an issue for some time, as we’re seeing some reports from as far back as a month ago.
It’s unclear what the cause of the problem is, but the issue appears to be isolated to the phone app. A user claims they were able to bring higher resolutions back by clearing the app’s cache. Another user says the problem goes away if they uninstall and reinstall the app, but this is only a temporary measure, as the issue eventually returns. Other users claim that these suggested workarounds do not resolve the problem for them.
We have reached out to Google for comment on the situation. Once new information becomes available, this article will be updated. Let us know in the comments if you have experienced this same issue.
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