YouTube Video Streaming Only in 480p on iPhone

If you are using iPhone, you might have noticed that the video streaming quality on the YouTube app on your phone got reduced significantly. Initially, we didn’t recognize the same, and the streaming quality may vary based on the network speed. If the video quality is low, we used to set the quality to the highest available manually.

But recently noticed that the maximum video quality available for specific videos on the iPhone is set to 480p, and it can’t be increased further. And the strange thing is that the maximum resolution of the 480p issue is not seen on all the videos. For some, there were issues, whereas others didn’t have.

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Why is the maximum resolution of YouTube videos 480p on iPhone?

The issue is not due to any hardware limitation. On the other side, it is due to the recent iOS update. If you are an iPhone X user or an iPhone 13 user, the issue might be there. So as said, the issue popup after updating the iPhone to iOS 15.4 and iOS 15.4.1. Once the device was running on iOS 15.3, all the videos were played with maximum resolution without any issues.

But after the update, the maximum resolution available was 480p, and the higher resolutions are not listed, even if we try to change them manually.

Do all the videos available in the 480p resolution?

Not all the videos are affected by the issue. If you play some other videos, there won’t be an issue with the resolution, and you can play the video in the maximum resolution available for the video. So, in short, the problem is only for the videos shot at 60fps. So for all the videos on YouTube available in 60FPS, the maximum resolution selectable is 480p, whereas the 30FPS videos can be played in the full resolution.

What is the Reason for the 480p YouTube Video Issue on iPhone

The maximum youtube video resolution happened after the latest iOS 15.4 and 15.4.1 updates. There might be an issue with the Youtube Playback for the 60FPS video.

How to Fix the 480p Resolution issue of YouTube on iPhone?

Currently, there is no stable fix available to solve this issue. If you try to access the YouTube video via browser, the maximum resolution can’t be taken. So, the only option available is to wait for an official update from Apple to solve the problem.

Does the 480p issue exist on the iPad?

The issue of YouTube videos is not seen on the iPad. The iOS 15.4.1 and the iPadOS 15.4.1 are almost identical. However, the YouTube issue is not there on the iPad. If you watch the YouTube video on an iPad, you can watch them in the maximum resolution available, whether a 30FPS video or a 60FPS video.

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