The Galaxy S23 Ultra has support for WideVine L1. If a phone is certified with WideVine L3, it can only stream up to 480P videos. If it’s certified with WideVine L1, it can stream 720P and higher. They also refer to decryption algorithms that these companies use to prevent copying and redistribution of content. If you have a rooted phone, losing the certification is fairly common. Flashing some other modules will bring it back. However, the S23 Ultra is a new phone, and there are some software glitches that are causing the loss of WideVine L1 certification even on S23 Ultra units running the stock ROM. There are many reports online about S23 Ultra users not being able to play content on streaming apps in 720P or 1080P because the device isn’t getting WideVine L1. Streaming content in 480P on a high-end flagship is no doubt very annoying. If you’re facing a similar issue on your S23 Ultra, this article will briefly explain how you can get the certification back and fix the issue of your S23 Widevine L1 being downgraded to L3.
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How To Fix S23 Widevine L1 downgraded to L3
Below are some quick troubleshooting methods through which you might be able to fix the issue.
Fix 1: Clear all app data
Apps like Netflix or Amazon Prime could have some cache inconsistencies, which you can quickly fix by clearing the app data. Follow the steps below to clear all app data.
- Open the Settings app.
- In the Apps category, find the app that you want to delete the data from.
- Confirm the permanent deletion of data.
- Re-open the app, and sign in back into your accounts.
- Check whether WideVine L1 has been restored on your S23 Ultra.
If this does not fix the problem, long-press the app in your menu, and uninstall it. Apps on
smartphones are very prone to running into some bugs if you have a copy of the app that isn’t
well-optimised.
Once uninstalled, head to the Google Play Store and download the latest version of the app again. Alternatively, you can check if the app has any updates with bug fixes first.
Fix 2: Verify if you have any Rooted applications
Netflix, Prime, and other streaming services come under the DRM apps category. Since they have to comply with Digital Rights Management, rooting your device will seriously affect the
performance of these applications.
If there are files or bits of code left behind from rooted apps or the presence of any rooted
applications in general, it will break the WideVine L1 certification.
You can manually check the File Explorer for such residual files, or navigate through your installed apps to see if anything is suspicious. If you don’t find anything, proceed to the next step and install the Ruru app.
Ruru is an app that you can find on GitHub, and you have to enable installation from third-party sources to download it.
It’s open-source and completely safe to use. First, clear all app data of the streaming services. Then, follow the steps mentioned below to try and clear any traces of rooting on your phone.
- Once the installation of Ruru is complete, launch the app.
- You will see an icon that also says “Found”. Now, expand that section.
- Manually uninstall all of the applications that it shows in that section.
- Go to the “Suspicious” tab, and delete all the apps that fall under this category as well.
- Finally, restart your device and log back into your streaming services, and check whether you now have WideVine L1 certification.
Fix 3: Manually set up the phone without restoring data from an older device.
If the previous methods didn’t work, your only remaining solution is to reset the entire device to factory settings, without keeping any of your apps or data in the phone’s internal memory.
To reset your device:
- Open the Settings app.
- Find the General Management category.
- Find the Reset option, and tap on Factory Data Reset.
- Now, you’ll see all the data and personal accounts that are on your phone. Scroll to the bottom, and tap on the Reset button.
- Enter your Samsung account password, if prompted.
- Tap on Delete all, and finalise the data reset in the confirmation screen
After the factory data rest ends, you’ll have to manually set up the phone without restoring it from past backups. This means you’ll have to install all of the applications manually and login to your accounts without retrieving any of your data from an older device.
This process is cumbersome and isn’t recommended unless the previous methods completely fail to work.
Alternate method to fix S23 Widevine L1 downgraded to l3
There is another way to solve the problem, by rooting the device flashing modules that are
responsible for overriding the WideVine L1 certification limits. However, this method makes you lose your warranty, and you’ll also lose Knox security.
Since this is a major disadvantage, we don’t recommend rooting your device to solve this simple issue.
Those were all the feasible methods to solve the WideVine L1 certification problems where the S23 Widevine L1 was downgraded to L3. We hope these methods solve the issue for you. If not, your remaining option is to contact Samsung Support, who will assist you further.
