If you are after the download itself, see the YouTube Downloader. This guide answers the question that comes right after pasting the link: "so where is 4K?"
The video does not have that quality
The bot and the website only offer qualities the video really has. If the creator uploaded in 720p, there is no 1080p. We do not invent buttons, either: a button labelled "4K" that hands you the same 1080p file would only waste your data.
To see which qualities a video has, tap the gear icon on YouTube and then Quality. Our list is built from those same qualities.
The video was only just uploaded
After an upload, YouTube prepares the lower qualities first and 1080p and 4K a while later. In the first hours after a video goes up, especially a long one, the top quality may not exist yet. Send the link again a little later.
On the website: 15 minutes and 200 MB
To stay fast for everyone, the web version has two ceilings:
- Videos up to 15 minutes. For a longer one the site says "That is longer than the web version allows (15 minutes). The Telegram bot takes it."
- Files up to 200 MB. Only qualities whose file stays under that are offered. That is why 4K shows up on the website only for short videos, and why a 12-minute video may offer 1080p and nothing above it.
If the quality you want is not on the website, send the same link to the bot.
In the bot: up to 2 GB
The Telegram bot offers every quality from 360p to 2160p (4K), each button showing its file size. The bot's ceiling is file size: 2 GB. Pick a quality whose file would be larger and the bot says the file is over Telegram's limit and asks you to choose a lower quality. That happens with very long videos in 4K.
The 4K file downloaded but will not play
Up to 1080p, YouTube also keeps each video in H.264 - a format that plays on every phone, computer and TV - and the bot takes that wherever it can. Above 1080p, YouTube has no H.264. 1440p and 4K exist only in the newer VP9 or AV1 formats. Your file is still an MP4, but one of those two formats is inside it.
Some older phones, TVs and players cannot play these formats, or play them stuttering. If that happens:
- Open the file in VLC - it is free, and on Android, iPhone and computers it plays both.
- Or get the same video in 1080p, which will be H.264.
Which quality should I pick?
- For a phone, 720p or 1080p. A phone screen is small and 4K makes little visible difference there, at several times the size.
- For a laptop or TV, 1080p.
- For a big 4K TV or for editing, 4K - if your device plays it.
- For talks and lectures, 360p or 480p is enough - or take just the sound. See podcasts and lectures from YouTube.
A rule of thumb: a 4K file is usually four to five times the size of the 1080p file of the same video. The exact figure is on each button, so glance at it before you tap and your data plan will not get a surprise.
Once you have picked, start the download on the YouTube Downloader or straight in the bot.
Frequently asked questions
What is 1440p?
A step between 1080p and 4K, sometimes called 2K. Like 4K, YouTube keeps it only as VP9 or AV1, so the same playback notes apply.
What does the best button in the bot give me?
The highest quality the video has, with the best sound - for when you just want the top version and size does not matter.
Does the bot lower the quality or re-compress the video?
No. It takes the stream YouTube has at that quality, and up to 1080p, wherever an H.264 version exists, puts it into the MP4 without re-encoding.
