POCO F1 can't stream HD videos on Netflix, Amazon Prime

Since its launch last month, the POCO F1 has been gathering attention from the media and consumers alike. After all, it’s the only smartphone in the affordable segment that has the capability to do everything that a flagship smartphone can do. Or, can it?

As it turns out, the POCO F1 has a major issue that could hurt those who stream HD video from popular streaming services. First reported by Android Pure, the POCO F1 has been found to be unable to stream videos in HD from Netflix and Amazon Prime. While this could be taken ta forts for a bug that can be fixed, an investigation has revealed that the POCO F1 lacks support for WideVine L1 encryption.

For those who don’t know, WideVine is an encryption platform for securely licensing, distributing and protecting playback of video content on any device. There are three levels — L1, L2 and L3, out of which L1 can support HD content. In the case of the POCO F1, it only supports L3, which means it is restricted to play content only in standard definition (SD).

In order to solve the issue, the devices need to be fixed by an authorised computer. This kind of problem crept for the OnePlus 5T, which eventually required the company to recall the devices in order to enable support for L1. Therefore, if POCO has to fix the issue, all F1 owners could face an imminent recall across the globe.

However, the POCO F1 can support HD content on YouTube that doesn’t require any kind of certification. Therefore, the F1 is capable of playing high-resolution videos, albeit ones that aren’t certified.

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