Fix: An Error Occurred While Loading a Higher Quality Version of This Video

When opening an old video on an iPhone, you often come across the An error occurred while loading a higher quality version of this video message. It indicates that your iPhone is unable to fetch the video stored on iCloud or the local storage.

This usually happens due to a lack of Internet connectivity, non-acceptance of iCloud’s latest terms and agreement, and misconfigured photo settings. Also, this affects photos stored locally and in shared albums.

Before you proceed to the solutions, force restart the iPhone, connect to a Wi-Fi network if presently on mobile data, and install all pending iOS updates. For most of you, these basic checks will do the trick!

How can I fix the Unable to Load Video error in iPhone?

1. Accept Apple’s terms and conditions

For 3 out of 5 users, accepting iCloud’s updated Terms and Conditions fixed An error occurred while loading a higher quality version of this video on iPhone in no time.

To accept iCloud’s Terms and Conditions > go to Settings > tap on your Profile at the top > choose iCloud > when prompted about the updated terms and conditions > tap on Agree.

Remember, every time Apple updates iCloud’s terms and conditions, you have to agree to the new one or iCloud will stop working, affecting your access to data stored on the cloud.

2. Download a fresh copy of the video from iCloud

If only one or two videos are throwing the Unable to Load Video error on iPhone, you can download them from iCloud and then transfer them to your iPhone.

To do that, go to iCloud’s official website > sign in with your Apple account credentials > confirm the sign-in attempt from your iPhone if two-factor authentication is enabled > open the gallery > click the ellipsis next to the video throwing the error > choose Download.

This is a workaround and not an actual solution. Besides, it’s not feasible when all videos in your gallery are affected.

3. Share the video using AirDrop

1. Launch the Photos app on your iPhone, and open the video that’s throwing the loading error.
2. Now, tap the Share icon and select AirDrop.
3. Wait for the video to download and then check for improvements.

Trying to share the video via AirDrop or other means downloads any missing components and fixes the An error occurred while loading a higher quality version of this video message on iPhone.

Also, you don’t actually have to share the video. Just attempting to do so will download it.

4. Create a duplicate of the video

1. Open the affected video, tap the ellipsis near the top-right corner, and select Duplicate from the list of options.
2. Wait for the duplicated video to download.
3. Once done, the original should also work. If it does, delete the duplicate. Otherwise, delete the original and use the duplicated one you just downloaded.

5. Re-enable iCloud photos

1. Open Settings on your iPhone, then scroll down and select Apps.
2. Select Photos from the list.
3. Disable the toggle for iCloud Photos and choose the Download Photos and Videos option in the confirmation prompt.
4. Once done, reboot the iPhone.
5. Now, head back to Settings, and re-enable the toggle for iCloud Photos.
6. Finally, select the Download and Keep Originals option.

6. Turn off Low data mode

1. Open the iPhone Settings, and tap on Mobile Service.
2. Tap on Mobile Data Options.
3. Choose Data Mode.
4. Finally, pick Standard from the available modes, and verify whether the affected video starts loading.

If you get An error occurred while loading a higher quality version of this video on iPhone while on mobile data, check the data mode and make sure it’s set to Standard. With Low data mode, photos and videos stored on iCloud may fail to load!

In my opinion, Apple should provide more clarity for the Unable to Load Video iPhone error. Because in its current format, the error message is vague and doesn’t provide any instructions for troubleshooting, leaving users confused. But with these solutions, you should be able to fix things!

Before you leave, discover the best apps to transfer data between iPhone and PC, and move the important ones right away.

For any queries or to share which fix worked for you, drop a comment below.