What "buffering" really means and when it is the service vs your connection

PaulHD

PaulHD

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Apr 4, 2013
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Starting this thread to share my experience and hear from others in the community. Happy to discuss in detail.
 
Buffering gets blamed on the service when it's often actually the home network.
 
Before blaming the service, always test with Ethernet cable instead of Wi-Fi.
 
I switched from Wi-Fi to Ethernet and half my 'service problems' disappeared.
 
Same experience here. The connection was losing packets. Ethernet fixed it completely.
 
Step 1: Test with another streaming service at the same time on same connection. If the other service also buffers, it's your internet.
 
Step 2: If only one service buffers, check if they have server issues that day.
 
Step 3: Test from a different device. If buffering follows the device, it's the device. If it follows the service, it's the service.
 
Also run a speed test during the buffering. If speeds are low during buffering, it's your ISP.
 
If buffering stops with a VPN on the same connection, your ISP is likely throttling.
 
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