As an owner of a YouTube TV subscription, I was recently frustrated by the fuzzy screen and laggy buffering. After doing some research, I’ve gathered the pros, cons, and tips and tricks necessary to troubleshoot any issues you may have. In this blog post, I’ll be sharing my own experience with YouTube TV fuzzy and how I solved the issue – as well as other solutions I’ve discovered.
Fuzzy streaming quality on YouTube TV can be caused by a bad or an intermittent internet connection. Both connection issues can result in insufficient page load, resulting in poor quality on YouTube TV. Other sources of fuzzy quality include an outdated or glitching app, as well as issues with the smart TV or streaming media player.
| Causes of YouTube TV Fuzzy | How to Fix |
|---|---|
| 1. Bad Internet Connection | Soft reset Wi-Fi router and modem, hard reset if necessary |
| 2. Internet Connection Drops | Soft reset Wi-Fi router, hard reset if necessary, contact internet service provider |
| 3. Glitching YouTube TV App | Close and reopen the app |
| 4. Outdated YouTube TV App | Update the app through your device’s app store |
| 5. Issues with Smart TV/Streaming Media Player | Soft reset (power cycle) the device |
| 6. Poor Content Quality | Accept the limitation of the content’s resolution and refresh rate |
| 7. Google Service Is Down | Check Google’s Service Health page, wait for service restoration |
7 Causes of YouTube TV Fuzzy and How to Fix Them
You don’t have to put up with bad streaming quality for much longer. Here are seven common causes of fuzzy YouTube TV streaming quality and how to resolve each one.
- Your Internet Connection Is Bad
The first possible cause of YouTube TV’s fuzzy streaming quality is a poor internet connection.
Because YouTube TV can determine the best resolution for your device to play without buffering, you can end up with fuzzy streaming when your internet connection is poor.
If you’ve checked your internet speed, moved closer to your Wi-Fi router, and turned off any devices that are connected to your router and still haven’t gotten anywhere, you should soft reset your router and modem.
Soft resetting will clear any unnecessary cache files and fix any bugs.
To soft reset your Wi-Fi router and modem:
- Unplug the Wi-Fi router and modem from the power socket
- Plug them back after a few seconds
If this doesn’t fix the fuzzy quality, you can hard reset your devices:
- Look for a tiny hole in each device
- Insert a needle or the end of a paperclip in those holes and hold for 15 seconds
- Release and leave the devices to reset completely
- Your Internet Connection Is Dropping at Random Intervals
A bad internet connection doesn’t always mean a slow or non-existent internet connection.
When your Wi-Fi router drops the internet connection at random intervals, your device will experience page loading errors.
This problem can happen for a number of reasons, including router malfunction or poor signal strength.
When this happens, you can experience fuzzy streaming quality on YouTube TV.
In this case, you can soft reset your router. If that doesn’t solve the issue, you should hard reset the router.
If all else fails, you should contact your internet service provider, which will be able to determine the source of the problem.
- The YouTube TV App Is Glitching
If your YouTube TV app is glitching, you may have issues with streaming quality.
In this case, closing and reopening the app is sometimes all that’s required. This step should restart the app and fix any bugs.
- The YouTube TV App Is Outdated
Another reason the YouTube TV app may be glitching is that it’s out of date. Apps in general are constantly being improved to provide a better user experience.
That’s why it’s essential to ensure that the app is always up to date. Otherwise, you may encounter app glitches, including fuzzy streaming quality.
Updating the YouTube TV app depends on the device you’re using. For most smart TVs, you can update YouTube TV through the Google Play Store.
However, different streaming media players, such as Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Firestick, and Roku Player, have different processes for updating the app.
- Your Smart TV/Streaming Media Player Is Experiencing Issues
If the glitch isn’t with the YouTube TV app, it’s likely a glitch with your smart TV or streaming media player.
The problem is anything can be causing that glitch, from altered picture settings to a faulty connection.
Luckily, the solution to such issues is pretty simple. You’ll need to soft reset, also known as a power cycle, your device.
Here’s how to soft reset a smart TV or streaming media player:
- Turn off your device
- Unplug the device from the power socket
- Replug it after at least a minute
- Turn on the device to see if the problem has been fixed
- The Quality of the Content Is Bad
The fuzzy quality isn’t always caused by a technical error, a problem with the YouTube TV app, or a problem with the streaming device.
It’s possible that the movie or show you’re watching is of poor quality. This is especially true for pre-2000 media, where the maximum resolution is around 480p.
What’s more, any movie or show with a refresh rate of 60fps can’t be viewed at a higher resolution than 720p.
Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do to resolve the fuzzy quality. However, the good news is that this means that the fuzzy quality won’t be an issue in other movies or shows.
- Google Service Is Down
When Google Cloud services are unavailable, you may experience fuzzy streaming on YouTube TV.
To see whether the cause for the fuzzy quality is Google Cloud, check Google’s Service Health page.
If this is the case, the only option is to wait for Google Cloud Service to go back up.
Conclusion
YouTube TV can start streaming in a fuzzy quality for a variety of reasons, including issues with the internet connection or the streaming device. Luckily, by reading through our article, you can identify the underlying issue and restore the TV’s streaming quality to 1080p!
Read more: Youtube TV live delay
