If your videos on TikTok are coming out blurry, here are a few ways to preserve their original quality.
High-quality content is the key to dominating the For You page on TikTok. A good camera and lighting are essential to recording high-quality videos.
However, even with a good camera and lighting, your videos can still look low-quality after uploading. Some users have expressed concerns about TikTok ruining video quality by making them blurry or grainy after uploading.
In this article, we will explore some common issues that cause low-quality videos on TikTok and provide solutions to help you avoid this problem in the future.
To preserve the original video quality on TikTok, it's essential to be mindful of the platform's current limitations. At present, TikTok does not support 4K resolution. If you capture videos using a device with a 4K resolution, TikTok will automatically downscale the video to 1080p, potentially compromising the visual quality.
To mitigate this issue, you should record videos directly in 1080p resolution from the start. By doing so, you can ensure that the original quality of your videos remains intact even after uploading them to TikTok.
If you’re using an iPhone, go to Settings > Camera > Record Video. From the list of resolution options available, select 1080p HD at 30 fps or 1080p HD at 60 fps.
If you’re using an Android, launch the Camera app and tap Video. Find the resolution setting and select the resolution corresponding to 1080p from the available options.
To avoid potential quality pitfalls on TikTok, it is important to adhere to the recommended video specifications. If you’re recording your video directly on TikTok, the app will automatically adjust video specifications according to its requirements.
However, if you have recorded a video using your device's native camera app or any other third-party app, it's advisable to review the video's specifications before uploading it to TikTok. By doing so, you can ensure that the app doesn't make further adjustments to the file, which could potentially degrade video quality.
Here are the recommended requirements for videos on TikTok:
Before uploading your video to TikTok, check whether you’ve given the app permission to upload in HD.
To check this setting, follow these steps:
When the high-quality uploads option is turned off, TikTok automatically reduces video quality to reduce upload times and data usage. Turning this option on will hopefully solve the issue.
Data Saver is another setting within the TikTok app that assists viewers who rely on mobile data to watch videos. However, this setting can be a big nuisance for you if you aren’t just watching videos on the platform but also frequently uploading your own using mobile data.
When Data Saver mode is enabled, TikTok may compress videos to reduce data usage, which can result in a decrease in video quality.
To turn off Data Saver mode on TikTok, go to Profile and tap the three lines in the top right corner of the screen. Then, tap Settings and privacy, scroll down to find the Data Saver setting under Cache & Cellular, and tap on it. Tap the toggle switch next to Data Saver to disable the setting.
Remember to check your device's settings as well, as some devices may have their own data-saving features that could impact upload quality on TikTok. By disabling data-saving settings both within the app and on your device, you can ensure your videos retain their original quality after upload.
Editing a video in the TikTok app may result in a loss of quality. There are far better video editor apps available that provide a wider range of editing tools and advanced editing capabilities, helping you edit your videos without reducing video quality.
Some of these third-party apps even let you convert a 4K video to the desired 1080p resolution.
TikTok itself recommends editing videos using its sister app, CapCut, which the platform has acknowledged as a “video editor for TikTok”. Indeed, CapCut is one of the best video editing apps available today, and not just for TikTok. A few other best video editing apps to help you make a viral video are Videoleap, Shot FX, FilmoraGo, and BIGVU.
If none of these methods work at improving the quality of your videos after upload, the problem may be with your device or the TikTok app itself. Upload the video using your web browser to see if that fixes the issue.
It’s also possible that there’s nothing wrong with your device, but just that the video you’re trying to upload is too large or has a pretty high resolution unsupported by the TikTok mobile app. In that case, uploading videos using the TikTok website should solve the issue since TikTok's web version is far better at retaining the original video quality than the TikTok app.
Sometimes, the culprit behind poor video quality on TikTok is cellular data. We recommend switching to Wi-Fi whenever you want to upload a video on TikTok. Wi-Fi generally provides better internet speeds and more stable connections than cellular data networks.
It’s also possible that your video quality is just fine but appears blurry on your device because you’re viewing it using cellular data. In that case, switch to Wi-Fi, refresh the page, and watch the video again before trying anything else. A good Wi-Fi connection might be the solution to your problems.
TikTok may ruin video quality after upload due to several reasons, such as when the video specifications are incorrect, the video resolution is too high, the app doesn’t have permission to upload in HD, the data saver mode is turned on, or internet speeds are too slow.
We’ve provided recommendations on what you can do to work around this issue. If the problem persists, uninstall and install the app to see if that fixes the issue. Otherwise, contact TikTok customer service by emailing them about the problem.
Umme Aimon is a tech-savvy professional with over three years of experience in writing about technology. She has an immense passion for all things related to the latest gadgets, mobile phones, and smart home appliances. Her expertise lies in creating informative content that aims at solving common issues that people face with technology.
Aimon is also highly involved in hands-on projects; from researching new products to testing out their capabilities, her knowledge of technology is constantly evolving and developing into something even better. With this experience, she is able to provide valuable insight into how certain technologies can be used or improved upon for different needs and purposes.