All of us love streaming one thing or another. Some of us love to stream movies and TV series, and some love watching sports. However, as the video starts buffering, it can frustrate you and give you a negative streaming experience. 

We can follow several ways to stop buffering, but I’ll explain the top ten among them.

1) Set a limit to connecting devices on your Wi-Fi 

You get a lower bandwidth if several devices connect to your Wi-Fi. It becomes a bigger problem when your router does not support heavy traffic. You might want to,

  • Limit Internet usage,
  • Limit the number of devices that can connect to the Wi-Fi,
  • Switch off connected devices that no one is using.

2) Quit background processes

If you can find out already running background processes, downloads, games, and applications, you might want to close them because they also consume bandwidth and resources.

3) Restart the router

If you restart your router, it can re-establish an internet connection. To restart it, unplug it for about 10-15 seconds, and then plug it back. It will take a few minutes to start again, and then you can connect your device with it. Some routers even have dedicated buttons to reset them. You can also give it a try.

4) Restart the streaming application or the web browser

Sometimes the issue is not with the router or Wi-Fi but with the device or application. Restarting the application or browser you are using to stream can fix the problem. Almost all the Android, iOS and Windows devices follow the same pattern or steps to restart. Many experts also recommend restarting your application after restarting the router.

However, if you are streaming on your TV using other devices like Amazon Firestick, Nvidia Shield TV, etc., you might have to follow little different steps. For instance, if you are using a FireStick, you can follow this dedicated guide so that you will not get streaming errors on FireStick.

You can also find more dedicated guides for other devices like this.

5) Go near your router

If your device is too far away from the router, the internet connection becomes unstable. Electric devices, metal objects, walls, etc., can disturb the internet connection. You can place your streaming device closer to the router or place the router in a more centralized location. You can also use an extender to improve the internet connection.

6) A wired connection might do the trick

Many problems can disrupt a wireless signal like,

  • Physical Obstructions(walls, metal, furniture),
  • Signal strength,
  • Frequency

But if you connect your streaming device, you will not have these problems. Hence, you will get a much faster speed.

7) Check your video quality settings

If your internet connection is stable and gives you enough speed as per its capacity, you might want to look at your streaming quality. Sometimes, streaming in high quality like 1080P, 2K, and 4K can cause buffering. If that is the case, consider bringing it down a little so that you can stream continuously.

8) Delete the cache and cookies of your web browser

You can do this step if you use a web browser to stream something. You have to open your browser’s settings and clear cache, cookies, and history(if needed) to increase internet performance.

9) Check for updates

The first update you might want to look at is your streaming application. Almost every provider updates its application to improve performance and increase security. If you don’t want to check for updates frequently, you can set your apps to update automatically.

Secondly, you might also want to check if your Windows, Android, and Smart TV have the latest updates. You can check it under the Settings tab, About phone, System tabs, etc. 

You might also want to check if your device has an updated video card driver. If you have a custom video card, you can visit the provider’s website to download and install the latest update.

Conclusion

You can follow these steps to make sure that you enjoy continuous streaming. If none of these steps work, you can call your network provider’s customer care, or if the issue is because of a streaming device, you can contact them there.