Widevine issues are something that every Android OEM appears to be dealing with lately with a few of their devices, and Google is no exception. Multiple Pixel users had earlier complained about being unable to stream content from Netflix in a resolution higher than 540p, which is definitely not ideal for today’s 1080p and even 2K smartphone displays. It seemed that pretty much every device from Pixel 3 and up was affected.

Google in April this year then acknowledged the problem, promising it was working on a fix. However, fast forward eight months later to today and there’s still no sign of a fix. And new complaints keep piling up.

Pixel 3 selfie camera featured

For the uninitiated, problems with video quality on streaming apps like Netflix emerge due to Widevine issues. OEMs typically get their devices L1 certified which allows playing content at 1080p. The Pixel phones were not excluded from this treatment, but for some reason, the Widevine certification dropped to L3 for some users. L3 means that Netflix can play in quality no further than 540p.

Multiple complaints have resultantly popped up and one Redditor has even compiled a list of complaints across the internet (via XDA Developers). While the list obviously contains reports dating back to early 2021, there are also some from as recent as 21 days ago, proving that the problem never really disappeared.

Eight months sure is quite a long time for fixing a bug like this, which makes us wonder if Google has quietly swept the entire thing under the rug. The Google Pixel 3 is also nearing its EOL with software updates – all the more reason to fix the problem as soon as possible.

Anyhow, for now, we recommend those Google Pixel owners affected by the Widevine issue to take the matter up to the official Pixel Phone forums or Twitter to remind Google about it, just in case they’ve forgotten.

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