YouTube Users Frustrated as Videos Stream in Low Quality Amid Unresolved Glitch

YouTube users have been experiencing significant video quality issues over the past week, with many reporting that videos and Shorts are displaying in blurry, pixelated resolutions despite having strong internet connections.

The issue, which appears to be affecting users across Windows, iOS, iPadOS, and Smart TVs, has left some viewers stuck watching content in 360p or even 144p resolution. While manually increasing the quality to 1080p has worked for some, others have found that doing so leads to endless buffering, rendering the platform almost unusable.

Interestingly, Android devices seem to be unaffected, with YouTube continuing to stream normally on smartphones and tablets running Google’s operating system—a fact that has sparked speculation among users.

Google acknowledged the issue on Wednesday, admitting that some users are receiving lower resolutions than usual but has yet to provide a clear explanation or estimated fix. The company assured users that it is working on a solution but did not specify when the problem would be resolved.

For now, those struggling with YouTube’s quality drop have been exploring alternative streaming platforms such as Vimeo, Dailymotion, Twitch, and even Facebook. Meanwhile, YouTube itself has been at the center of controversy over its recent crackdown on ad blockers, as well as price hikes for its Premium subscription.

With growing frustration among users, YouTube’s latest glitch only adds to mounting concerns about the platform’s long-term user experience.