[FIXED IN 0.27.7] [YouTube] Only 360p video stream/Could not get audio and video-only streams (SABR enforcement)

[jesuspirate]

TEAM EDIT: if you are a developer and want to help us implement YouTube SABR protocol for playback and downloading (its enforcement is an origin of this issue), please head to #12248 for instructions! The NewPipe team is unfortunately busy at this time so any help is appreciated.

Affected version

0.27.6

Steps to reproduce the bug

Hey folks, I didn't do anything exciting to reproduce this bug.

1. Open the app
2. Play a video
3. Only 360p resolution available on most of videos
4. Get an error at the bottom with a report button (which lead me here pasting the error below 👇)

Expected behavior

The video should have played with no error.

Actual behavior

The video played, but this error displayed at the bottom suggesting to report it.

Logs

Exception

• User Action: requested stream
• Request: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prxCElDCBdw
• Content Country: US
• Content Language: en-US
• App Language: en_US
• Service: YouTube
• Timestamp: 2025-03-25T12:05:14.427-04:00
• Package: org.schabi.newpipe
• Service: YouTube
• Version: 0.27.6
• OS: Linux Android 15 - 35

Exceptions (2)

Crash log 1

org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.exceptions.ExtractionException: Couldn't get audio streams
	at org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.stream.StreamInfo.extractStreams(StreamInfo.java:153)
	at org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.stream.StreamInfo.getInfo(StreamInfo.java:81)
	at org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.stream.StreamInfo.getInfo(StreamInfo.java:72)
	at org.schabi.newpipe.util.ExtractorHelper.lambda$getStreamInfo$3(ExtractorHelper.java:118)
	at org.schabi.newpipe.util.ExtractorHelper.$r8$lambda$bVfA-5gb6gDc8jcAgcGWG5oH0FE(ExtractorHelper.java:0)
	at org.schabi.newpipe.util.ExtractorHelper$$ExternalSyntheticLambda3.call(R8$$SyntheticClass:0)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.operators.single.SingleFromCallable.subscribeActual(SingleFromCallable.java:43)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.core.Single.subscribe(Single.java:4855)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.operators.single.SingleDoOnSuccess.subscribeActual(SingleDoOnSuccess.java:35)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.core.Single.subscribe(Single.java:4855)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.operators.maybe.MaybeFromSingle.subscribeActual(MaybeFromSingle.java:41)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.core.Maybe.subscribe(Maybe.java:5377)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.operators.maybe.MaybeConcatArray$ConcatMaybeObserver.drain(MaybeConcatArray.java:153)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.operators.maybe.MaybeConcatArray$ConcatMaybeObserver.request(MaybeConcatArray.java:78)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.operators.flowable.FlowableElementAtMaybe$ElementAtSubscriber.onSubscribe(FlowableElementAtMaybe.java:66)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.operators.maybe.MaybeConcatArray.subscribeActual(MaybeConcatArray.java:42)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.core.Flowable.subscribe(Flowable.java:16144)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.operators.flowable.FlowableElementAtMaybe.subscribeActual(FlowableElementAtMaybe.java:36)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.core.Maybe.subscribe(Maybe.java:5377)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.operators.maybe.MaybeToSingle.subscribeActual(MaybeToSingle.java:46)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.core.Single.subscribe(Single.java:4855)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.operators.single.SingleSubscribeOn$SubscribeOnObserver.run(SingleSubscribeOn.java:89)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.core.Scheduler$DisposeTask.run(Scheduler.java:644)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.schedulers.ScheduledRunnable.run(ScheduledRunnable.java:65)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.schedulers.ScheduledRunnable.call(ScheduledRunnable.java:56)
	at java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.run(FutureTask.java:317)
	at java.util.concurrent.ScheduledThreadPoolExecutor$ScheduledFutureTask.run(ScheduledThreadPoolExecutor.java:348)
	at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1156)
	at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:651)
	at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:1119)
Caused by: org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.exceptions.ParsingException: Could not get audio streams
	at org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.services.youtube.extractors.YoutubeStreamExtractor.getItags(YoutubeStreamExtractor.java:1223)
	at org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.services.youtube.extractors.YoutubeStreamExtractor.getAudioStreams(YoutubeStreamExtractor.java:650)
	at org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.stream.StreamInfo.extractStreams(StreamInfo.java:149)
	... 29 more
Caused by: java.lang.NullPointerException: Attempt to invoke virtual method 'java.lang.String[] java.lang.String.split(java.lang.String)' on a null object reference
	at org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.utils.Parser.compatParseMap(Parser.java:125)
	at org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.services.youtube.extractors.YoutubeStreamExtractor.buildAndAddItagInfoToList(YoutubeStreamExtractor.java:1386)
	at org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.services.youtube.extractors.YoutubeStreamExtractor.lambda$getStreamsFromStreamingDataKey$15(YoutubeStreamExtractor.java:1360)
	at org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.services.youtube.extractors.YoutubeStreamExtractor.$r8$lambda$Db3OkY5wOpYIvq9uxmsIvYyLcaY(YoutubeStreamExtractor.java:0)
	at org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.services.youtube.extractors.YoutubeStreamExtractor$$ExternalSyntheticLambda13.apply(R8$$SyntheticClass:0)
	at j$.util.stream.q.accept(SourceFile:195)
	at j$.util.stream.q.accept(SourceFile:195)
	at j$.util.stream.q.accept(SourceFile:177)
	at j$.util.a.forEachRemaining(SourceFile:720)
	at j$.util.stream.b.n(SourceFile:484)
	at j$.util.stream.b.O(SourceFile:474)
	at j$.util.stream.Q.b(SourceFile:150)
	at j$.util.stream.b.w(SourceFile:234)
	at j$.util.stream.j2.forEach(SourceFile:497)
	at j$.util.stream.p.accept(SourceFile:274)
	at j$.util.S.forEachRemaining(SourceFile:948)
	at j$.util.stream.b.n(SourceFile:484)
	at j$.util.stream.b.O(SourceFile:474)
	at j$.util.stream.Q.b(SourceFile:150)
	at j$.util.stream.b.w(SourceFile:234)
	at j$.util.stream.j2.forEachOrdered(SourceFile:502)
	at org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.services.youtube.extractors.YoutubeStreamExtractor.getItags(YoutubeStreamExtractor.java:1215)
	... 31 more

Crash log 2

org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.exceptions.ExtractionException: Couldn't get video only streams
	at org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.stream.StreamInfo.extractStreams(StreamInfo.java:165)
	at org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.stream.StreamInfo.getInfo(StreamInfo.java:81)
	at org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.stream.StreamInfo.getInfo(StreamInfo.java:72)
	at org.schabi.newpipe.util.ExtractorHelper.lambda$getStreamInfo$3(ExtractorHelper.java:118)
	at org.schabi.newpipe.util.ExtractorHelper.$r8$lambda$bVfA-5gb6gDc8jcAgcGWG5oH0FE(ExtractorHelper.java:0)
	at org.schabi.newpipe.util.ExtractorHelper$$ExternalSyntheticLambda3.call(R8$$SyntheticClass:0)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.operators.single.SingleFromCallable.subscribeActual(SingleFromCallable.java:43)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.core.Single.subscribe(Single.java:4855)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.operators.single.SingleDoOnSuccess.subscribeActual(SingleDoOnSuccess.java:35)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.core.Single.subscribe(Single.java:4855)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.operators.maybe.MaybeFromSingle.subscribeActual(MaybeFromSingle.java:41)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.core.Maybe.subscribe(Maybe.java:5377)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.operators.maybe.MaybeConcatArray$ConcatMaybeObserver.drain(MaybeConcatArray.java:153)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.operators.maybe.MaybeConcatArray$ConcatMaybeObserver.request(MaybeConcatArray.java:78)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.operators.flowable.FlowableElementAtMaybe$ElementAtSubscriber.onSubscribe(FlowableElementAtMaybe.java:66)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.operators.maybe.MaybeConcatArray.subscribeActual(MaybeConcatArray.java:42)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.core.Flowable.subscribe(Flowable.java:16144)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.operators.flowable.FlowableElementAtMaybe.subscribeActual(FlowableElementAtMaybe.java:36)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.core.Maybe.subscribe(Maybe.java:5377)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.operators.maybe.MaybeToSingle.subscribeActual(MaybeToSingle.java:46)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.core.Single.subscribe(Single.java:4855)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.operators.single.SingleSubscribeOn$SubscribeOnObserver.run(SingleSubscribeOn.java:89)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.core.Scheduler$DisposeTask.run(Scheduler.java:644)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.schedulers.ScheduledRunnable.run(ScheduledRunnable.java:65)
	at io.reactivex.rxjava3.internal.schedulers.ScheduledRunnable.call(ScheduledRunnable.java:56)
	at java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.run(FutureTask.java:317)
	at java.util.concurrent.ScheduledThreadPoolExecutor$ScheduledFutureTask.run(ScheduledThreadPoolExecutor.java:348)
	at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1156)
	at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:651)
	at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:1119)
Caused by: org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.exceptions.ParsingException: Could not get video-only streams
	at org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.services.youtube.extractors.YoutubeStreamExtractor.getItags(YoutubeStreamExtractor.java:1223)
	at org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.services.youtube.extractors.YoutubeStreamExtractor.getVideoOnlyStreams(YoutubeStreamExtractor.java:664)
	at org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.stream.StreamInfo.extractStreams(StreamInfo.java:163)
	... 29 more
Caused by: java.lang.NullPointerException: Attempt to invoke virtual method 'java.lang.String[] java.lang.String.split(java.lang.String)' on a null object reference
	at org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.utils.Parser.compatParseMap(Parser.java:125)
	at org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.services.youtube.extractors.YoutubeStreamExtractor.buildAndAddItagInfoToList(YoutubeStreamExtractor.java:1386)
	at org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.services.youtube.extractors.YoutubeStreamExtractor.lambda$getStreamsFromStreamingDataKey$15(YoutubeStreamExtractor.java:1360)
	at org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.services.youtube.extractors.YoutubeStreamExtractor.$r8$lambda$Db3OkY5wOpYIvq9uxmsIvYyLcaY(YoutubeStreamExtractor.java:0)
	at org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.services.youtube.extractors.YoutubeStreamExtractor$$ExternalSyntheticLambda13.apply(R8$$SyntheticClass:0)
	at j$.util.stream.q.accept(SourceFile:195)
	at j$.util.stream.q.accept(SourceFile:195)
	at j$.util.stream.q.accept(SourceFile:177)
	at j$.util.a.forEachRemaining(SourceFile:720)
	at j$.util.stream.b.n(SourceFile:484)
	at j$.util.stream.b.O(SourceFile:474)
	at j$.util.stream.Q.b(SourceFile:150)
	at j$.util.stream.b.w(SourceFile:234)
	at j$.util.stream.j2.forEach(SourceFile:497)
	at j$.util.stream.p.accept(SourceFile:274)
	at j$.util.S.forEachRemaining(SourceFile:948)
	at j$.util.stream.b.n(SourceFile:484)
	at j$.util.stream.b.O(SourceFile:474)
	at j$.util.stream.Q.b(SourceFile:150)
	at j$.util.stream.b.w(SourceFile:234)
	at j$.util.stream.j2.forEachOrdered(SourceFile:502)
	at org.schabi.newpipe.extractor.services.youtube.extractors.YoutubeStreamExtractor.getItags(YoutubeStreamExtractor.java:1215)
	... 31 more

---

Affected Android/Custom ROM version

GrapheneOS

Affected device model

Pixel 8

Additional information

Further Noted that Download option as audio isn't available

[jesuspirate]

This happens when I play any video.

[jesuspirate]

Also when you navigate from Fullscreen to normal.

[rien333]

I had this exact problem a few hours ago, but now everything works fine again.

I also reinstalled newpipe, just to be sure, but I was already on the latest version.

[emjas92]

I was getting the same exception on every YouTube video, but it proceeded to play them at 360p (the only resolution listed).

It is working again after force-closing NewPipe.

[AudricV]

YouTube is rolling out or A/B testing the removal of adaptive streaming URLs. This means that we will be not able to get such streams easily, as we need to implement the SABR protocol (for which you can find some info here and here) for playback and downloading.

(Note that the extractor isn't supposed to throw errors in this case, just to return the 360p legacy stream.)

This requires several changes to the extractor and the app, especially to be done properly. Due to the lack of time of team members, a lot of help is wanted for this issue.