Is YouTube broken? Users complain of a sharp deterioration in video quality

Video as in 2008: what’s going on?

Recently, watching YouTube has become a real quest for many people. People joke that videos are reminiscent of the days when everyone used to sit on a slow internet connection and watch videos in 240p quality. But today, the problem is serious, and memes can’t fix it.

What happened?

Over the past day, Reddit users have started complaining en masse that YouTube automatically turns on low video quality (from 144p to 360p) even if they have perfectly stable Wi-Fi or high-speed mobile internet. Changing it manually doesn’t always help either. The video starts to freeze, stops, or simply switches back to low quality.

Reddit users write: “Why is the automatic ‘higher picture quality’ now 240p?” and other comments:

The scale of the problem

The problem does not depend on specific gadgets or browsers – it has affected smartphones, TVs, and computers. Restarting the devices, changing the Internet connection, or reinstalling the application does not help. Users suspect that the problem is caused by the platform’s servers.

What do experts say?

Experts believe that the failure could have been caused by an update to YouTube’s algorithm, which automatically determines the optimal video quality by analyzing the Internet speed. It seems that this is where the technical failure occurred – the algorithm incorrectly evaluates the Internet or simply interacts with devices incorrectly.

YouTube officials have confirmed the problem and have already started fixing it. But so far, no specific dates or details are available.

Other strange cases

In addition to video quality, Reddit users have noticed other anomalies. For example, there have been complaints that YouTube has started to automatically hide most comments that mention other users. One Reddit contributor noted that the platform hides up to 99% of such responses, which caused serious discontent in the community.

Another strange case is an advertisement that lasts more than an hour. A person received a “commercial” that lasted more than an hour instead of the usual time. Such anomalies may indicate that YouTube is currently implementing major algorithm updates or testing new features that temporarily create technical glitches.

Implications for bloggers and viewers

For a platform of this magnitude, any technical problems create big problems. Content creators are already seeing a decrease in views, as viewers often refuse to watch videos due to poor quality.

This is not the first YouTube failure. In 2023, the platform already faced large-scale technical problems that seriously affected bloggers and advertisers. Everything was resolved in a few days, but that case demonstrated how much the platform depends on the stability of servers.

What to do now?

While the problem remains unresolved, users can only wait for news from YouTube or look for alternative ways to watch. Meanwhile, social networks continue to joke about returning to the “era of low quality.”

We also advise users to act according to the following algorithm when lags occur:

• Check your internet connection, because anything can happen.
• Refresh the page or restart the app. Sometimes this can solve temporary issues.
  
• Clear your browser or app cache. Accumulated data can cause video playback failures.
  
• Check the official YouTube channels. The company usually informs users about known issues and their solutions through its official channels, such as Twitter or support page.
• If the problem is on the service side, the best thing to do is to wait for the YouTube team to resolve it.

In general, how long the problem will last and whether it will affect YouTube’s credibility depends on how quickly the company deals with the failure. Technical failures of this type are usually resolved quickly. The YouTube team is constantly working to improve the service and respond quickly to such situations.