Poco F1/Pocophone F1 Android 10 update doesn't fix Netflix HD (Widevine L1/L3) streaming issue

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In early April 2019, the Pocophone F1 (Poco F1) picked up a huge update to MIUI 10.3.4.0.PEJMIXM, tagging along the much needed Widevine L1 certification to enable HD streaming on Netflix and other platforms.

At the time, the device was running on the older Android Pie OS with MIUI 10 on top. Later that year, the device was updated to MIUI 11, but still based on Android Pie. When the long-awaited Pocophone F1 Android 10 update arrived, users say it did mess with Netflix HD streaming.

Apparently, several Poco F1 owners say they are unable to stream Netflix content in HD, instead, the device is set to a maximum resolution of SD (Standard Definition) with no way to switch to HD or FHD for that matter. As it stands, the Netflix app only has Widevine L3 certification.

@IndiaPOCO @POCOSupport @atytse After update to android 10 L1 is gone??
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@cmanmohan @IndiaPOCO @POCOSupport @PocophoneGlobal @miuirom After Updating My Poco F1 in android 10 stable update which is 11.0.6…..It shows Widevine L1 in drm info but in Netflix playback setting it shows Widevine L3 and max support upto SD resolution….. Please Fix this.
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Same like @Xiaomi poco f1. They have update to widevine L1. But @netflix still detect it as Widevine L3 so still stuck at standard definition
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This is despite the fact that the Poco F1 is Widevine L1 certified to play HD content from these platforms. But as it stands, affected owners are pointing to the Pocophone F1 Android 10 update as the culprit, but it’s unlikely to be the case.

Even before the Poco F1 Android 10 update arrived, we had similar cases from way back in 2019 – back when the device was running on Android Pie.

Also, the Redmi Note 8 Pro has had a similar issue. The device picked up Widevine L1 certification with the update to Android 10, but the owners say they still can’t stream HDR content on Netflix and Amazon Prime.

As you can see, the Pocophone F1 isn’t among the Xiaomi devices whitelisted by Netflix to stream HD content. My understanding is that Netflix only whitelists devices that meet certain conditions needed to stream HD content, so it’s upon OEMs to ensure devices meet the said conditions.

Granted, the Poco F1 doesn’t meet the set conditions to play Netflix HD content, even after the update to Android 10. Hopefully, a future software update can address this matter once and for all. We’ll keep an eye on it and let you know when things change.

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