Some Pixel 5 owners are apparently experiencing a bug with Google’s Widevine DRM platform that’s causing their phones to only play back Netflix videos in standard definition, instead of the usual HD and HDR10 quality that they should be.
Google is aware of the issue and is working on a firmware fix, but it still has to test and verify it so it’s not clear when it will be released.
The issue, while not widespread, appears to be causing afflicted Pixel 5 devices to be downgraded to Widevine’s L3 status, instead of the usual Widevine L1 (which is what authenticates to allow for HD and HDR playback for Netflix, among other things). 9to5Google speculates that the issue appears to have been exacerbated by the recent April security update for…
