Your phone might have a sharp, high-res screen – but that doesn’t guarantee that Netflix will take advantage of it. There’s a second, arguably more important, factor that can directly affect how good your favourite shows and movies look on your phone or tablet: Widevine certification.

Widevine L1 might not grab headlines like camera upgrades or bigger batteries, but it plays a very important role in accessing higher-quality streams from apps like Netflix, Disney+ and even YouTube on your devices.

So, what exactly is it, how does it differ from L2 and L3, and how can you check whether your device supports it? Here’s everything you need to know.

What is Google Widevine L1?

In essence, Google’s Widevine L1 provides the highest level of Digital Rights Management – also known as DRM – security for Android-based phones, tablets and streaming sticks.

It’s used as a reassurance against piracy for streaming platforms like Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video and even YouTube, as L1-certified devices feature a hardware-isolated environment within the device’s processor to decode media and process video.

That essentially means that, even if the phone in question is rooted, hackers won’t be able to illegally pirate or copy the content. It’s simply inaccessible at the software level.

With that reassurance in place, streaming platforms can offer users access to higher-quality 1080p and 4K streams and HDR content on their favourite devices.

What’s the difference between Widevine L1, L2 and L3?

Widevine L1 is the top-tier of Google’s DRM tech with hardware-level security, but not Android devices have that kind of hardware at their core. That’s where Widevine L3 comes in.

Unlike Widevine L1, which relies on an isolated environment for decoding media, Widevine L3 rely on software-only decryption. That could, in theory at least, be accessed by hackers and others on rooted devices, and as such, streaming services don’t want their highest-quality streams available on those devices.

As a result, devices with Widevine L3 security will likely find videos from most streaming services capped at 480p. That way, even if the content leaks beyond the streaming services’ borders, it’ll be too low-resolution for widespread interest – that’s the logic, anyway.

There’s also Widevine L2, which offers a hybrid approach, combining both software and hardware elements.

The problem with the format is that it still uses software-based video processing, which, like L3, can be accessed by those wanting to pirate content. It’s for this reason that it’s rarely used in devices – it’s more expensive than L3 while still not offering proper hardware protection. Most manufacturers prefer an all-or-nothing approach.

The bad news is that, if your phone is Widevine L2- or L3-certified, there’s nothing you can do about it – aside from buying a whole new device.

How can I check if my phone has Widevine L1?

The good news is that a lot of modern smartphones have chipsets that support the higher-end Widevine L1 standard – but it’s still not a given, especially among more budget-focused devices with entry-level chipsets.

That said, if you’re unsure if your phone has Widevine L1 support, there are a few things you can try. First and foremost, try to stream content from an app like YouTube or Netflix in HD or 4K. If you know you’re playing a 4K video on YouTube, yet it sticks to 480p or 540p, you’ve got L2 or L3 support. If it can play in 1080p or 4K, you’ve got L1.

For ease of use, there are also apps on Google Play that claim to check what level of Widevine DRM protection your device has.