How to Improve YouTube Video Quality (Watching & Uploading)

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Making YouTube always choose the highest quality

Co-authored by Luke Smith, MFA

Last Updated: January 1, 2025 Fact Checked

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Enhancing Video Quality

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Making YouTube Always Enable High Quality (Mobile)

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What Affects Playback Quality?

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Uploading Higher Quality Videos

Are you bothered by grainy or pixelated YouTube videos? Thankfully, YouTube allows you to adjust playback quality a couple different ways, and we’ll show you how! We’ll also fill you in on what affects playback quality, as well as how to upload your own videos in higher quality.

Quick Steps

Open a YouTube video.
Select Settings, or the gear icon.
Select Quality.
Choose a higher playback quality, like 1080p, to make the video look better.

Section 1 of 4:

Enhancing the Quality of the Current YouTube Video

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1
Click Settings > Quality in the video overlay. Navigate to the YouTube video you’d like to watch. Then, in the video overlay, select the gear icon. This is found near the bottom of the video on desktop, and near the top on mobile.
- This method works on both desktop and mobile, as well as on TV players.
2
Select a higher quality setting. In the quality menu, you’ll see a number of playback quality options. Select a high quality option, such as 1080p, to view the video in higher quality. Quality options are organized by order of descending quality.^{[1]
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Research source} The video may need to briefly buffer or reload for the change to take effect.
- Note that some videos aren’t available in higher quality. It’s up to the video’s uploader to enable higher quality options.
- Currently, some of the highest-quality options, like Enhanced 1080p, are only available for YouTube Premium subscribers.

Section 2 of 4:

Making YouTube Always Enable High Quality (Mobile)

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1
Log in to YouTube on your mobile device. Open the YouTube app and sign in using your Google account.
- Note that this method is currently only possible on the mobile version of YouTube, and not on desktop.
This opens your account page.
The settings icon resembles a gear.
4
Toggle your preferred playback quality options. Select Auto to allow YouTube to change the quality based on your connection. Select Higher picture quality to force YouTube to use a higher quality, or Data saver to force a lower quality. Make these selection for both your Wi-Fi connection and mobile data connection.^{[2]
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- Note that videos may load or buffer more slowly if you force higher quality while on a weak connection.

Section 3 of 4:

What Affects Playback Quality?

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Playback quality mostly depends on your internet speed. A higher-speed connection will enable higher-quality videos. Wi-Fi connections are typically higher-speed than mobile data or cellular connections, but quality may vary. In addition, playback quality can be affected by:
- Screen size: Videos generally look better on smaller screens, and larger screens will require higher quality to look better.
- Upload quality: It’s up to creators to make and upload high-quality videos. If a video was uploaded at low quality, you won’t be able to enhance it.
- Browser: Some browsers don’t allow for more recent or higher-quality video formats. To get the best quality, use the official YouTube app, or watch on Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or MS Edge.

Section 4 of 4:

Uploading Higher Quality Videos to YouTube

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1
Export your video at a high quality. The best way to achieve higher quality uploads is to start with high quality source material. When creating your video in your video editing software, export it with the highest-quality settings the software allows. Rendering at 1440p usually guarantees decent quality.
- That said, exporting your video in 4K is often optimal, though not all video editing software allows this.
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Upload your video to YouTube. To upload a YouTube video, sign in to your YouTube account, then click on your icon. Select YouTube Studio, then Create, then Upload video. Follow the on-screen instructions to upload your video.
- Currently, YouTube doesn’t offer options to customize video quality while uploading. Quality and rendering are handled automatically.
3
Wait for higher quality options to become available on your upload. YouTube uploads lower-quality versions of your video first, since these are the easiest to process. Then, it works on uploading higher quality options that more closely match the original video’s quality. You may need to wait several hours for these higher-quality options to become available on your video.^{[3]
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- Note that YouTube also compresses videos while uploading them, and there’s currently no way to control that compression. Upload higher-quality videos to avoid overcompression.