Update 09/05/25 – 11:15 am (IST): NewPipe devs have rolled out a patch to fix the 360p-only video quality limitation. As confirmed on GitHub, v0.27.7 of the app “fixes YouTube only providing a 360p stream.” You can download the APK file by clicking here.
Original article published on April 30, 2025, follows:
It seems like many NewPipe users have been running into some frustrating technical hurdles over the past few hours. The main complaints revolve around video playback quality being severely limited and a key download feature vanishing.
For those unfamiliar, NewPipe offers features many YouTube users want, like background playback and the ability to download videos and audio directly, all without needing Google Play Services. It’s built quite a following because of this. However, things aren’t sailing smoothly as some would have hoped.
From what I’m gathering across forums like Reddit, a significant issue is that videos are suddenly only playing or downloading in 360p resolution. Users are finding that even when their internet connection is strong and the original YouTube video offers higher quality, NewPipe defaults to this low resolution with no option to switch higher.
As user czar_the_bizarre put it, “Now it’s every video no matter what I do.” Another user, omgcatlol, confirmed, “Client only plays video in 320p, and downloads are limited to the same resolution.” This is happening even after trying common fixes like clearing the app’s cache or reinstalling it.
One user claimed that this is because “YouTube has permanently removed individual stream URLs from the desktop client. There is now only a combined 360p audio/video stream and the adaptive bitrate stream URL,” and suggested that “NewPipe needs to implement ABR streaming/downloading.”
Compounding the frustration, another much-loved feature seems to have disappeared for many: the option to download just the audio from a video. Users who relied on NewPipe to save music, podcasts, or lectures as audio files are finding the ‘audio only’ download button is simply gone.
I saw one post from user Advanced_Oil_2877 who mentioned, “Audio file download option worked perfectly last night but not now this morning… Download as audio file still missing but video download option still present.” Some users have pointed out that this seems linked to the resolution problem, often affecting the same videos that are stuck at 360p.
Similarly, there’s another post on the subreddit from user wostestwillis, who highlighted the same issue stating, “There used to be an option for audio only in the download popup. And now its gone, is this just me, permanent? Any fixes?”
There’s speculation that changes on YouTube’s end might be causing these problems, perhaps affecting how apps like NewPipe fetch video and audio streams. While some users are exploring forks or alternatives like PipePipe or Grayjay, reports suggest these aren’t always immune to similar issues either.
Anyway, it seems like we’ll just have to wait for NewPipe’s developers to figure out what’s going and and patch things up quickly.
Dwayne Cubbins
941 Posts
For nearly a decade, I've been deciphering the complexities of the tech world, with a particular passion for helping users navigate the ever-changing tech landscape. From crafting in-depth guides that unlock your phone's hidden potential to uncovering and explaining the latest bugs and glitches, I make sure you get the most out of your devices. And yes, you might occasionally find me ranting about some truly frustrating tech mishaps.
Wandring Knight05-05-2025
The NVS (no copyright song) channel I subscribe to has the video restriction, but audio is still available. It's a problem. I like to download some videos on audio fo to extend my data cap.
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