In the bid to curb eventual connectivity outages due to extra stress on networks caused by the COVID-19 lockdown, YouTube had to reduced the default quality of videos.
The streaming platform opened in 480p on Android and iOS devices in India, but now videos have been restored back to the 1080p default option.
But Only On Wi-Fi Connection
Some YouTube users have reported that 1080p is back, though it works only when on Wi-Fi. When the phone is on 4G, the app will automatically start videos in SD, or 480p.
Switching between different quality settings has always been available for all users, Indian or not. Even if the app defaults at 480p, no one is there to stop you from playing a video in 1080p or even 4K, provided there’s enough bandwidth, of course.