Change the quality of your video

To give you the best viewing experience, YouTube changes the quality of your video stream based on your viewing conditions. These conditions are why you may notice that the quality of your video changes as you watch videos.

Here are some factors that decide video quality:

  1. The speed of your internet connection
  2. Video player/screen size: Higher-quality videos generally play better on larger screens.
  3. Quality of the original uploaded video: If the video was recorded in standard definition, it won’t be available in high definition.
     
Note: Some browsers don't support newer video formats or quality options. Learn more on missing quality options. 

Change video quality

You can manually change the video quality of any video you're watching on a computer, TV, or mobile device.

Mobile device

To change video quality while watching on your mobile device:

  1. In the video player, select More .
  2. Tap Quality .
  3. Select your preferred video quality.
Note: Choosing lower video quality (such as 240p and 360p) will make videos start more quickly. The video player will remember this setting for future videos you watch.

Computer

To change video quality while watching on your computer:
  1. In the video player, select Settings .
  2. Click Quality.
  3. Select your preferred video quality.

TV

To change video quality while watching on your TV:
  1. In the video player, select More .
  2. Click Quality.
  3. Select your preferred video quality.
Note: Some high-quality formats (for example, 1080p, 4K) may not be available for all devices, as they may not support the latest video compression technology (VP9).
Was this helpful?
How can we improve it?