I have an 1Gbps Internet connection speed that can easily support even multiple simultaneous Full-HD (1080p) video streams. However, when I watch videos on YouTube, the 480p quality level is automatically selected.
Why don't they change the video quality automatically based on my connection speed?
UPDATE: I noticed something interesting: if I switch to YouTube's HTML5 player, then it will automatically select the 720p quality-level the moment I switch to fullscreen size.
Best Answer
I’m sorry to post in this old thread, but seeing as it’s at the top of Google and lots of people are asking the question on Google, I’ll provide an update. As of June 2020, Google has set the default resolution to 480p on mobile devices to combat the increased load of users working from home. It is unknown when they will switch it back.