Internet is one of the essentials of every household, bricks and mortar shop, or any small or big enterprise. Without an internet connection, things such as banking transactions, online ticker reservation, enterprises network, and socializing would come to a halt.
Despite having an internet connection, some people still face disconnection leading to video buffering, lag in gaming, and slow browsing. Especially when you are binge-watching Netflix originals with your friends on weekends, things might turn you off due to buffering.
Even if you are watching YouTube videos and facing buffering issues, you need to fix things up. In this post, we are going to help you stop video buffering in the future. First, let’s have a brief overview of what buffering is all about.
What is Buffering?
The process of preloading data in the reserved memory is called a buffer. While streaming audio or video online, buffering takes place when software downloads a certain amount of data before playing music or video.
Buffering can occur due to many reasons, but we are not going to discuss it here. We will only discuss some of the measures you should adopt to avoid video buffering once and for all. Let’s check it out.
Tips to Stop Video Buffering
Upgrade Your Internet
Streaming audio and video requires a good internet connection. Especially, if you are streaming on 4k or UHD quality, slow internet speed won’t resolve your buffering issues. If you are not aware of how to test your speed, just go to speedtest.net and test your speed. After getting the speed results, you will come to know how much speed is being given as compared to the advertised speed. If the speed is lesser than the advertised speed, make sure to contact your customer support immediately.
However, if you are unable to search for reliable high-speed internet, search for Spectrum in your area. With Spectrum bundle deals, not only will you get a reliable connection to stream videos without buffering, but also get additional services like home phone and cable TV.
Reduce Video Quality
If you are watching online movie on YouTube instead of short funny cat videos, the time to load it will be much longer than a short clip. However, if you want to avoid buffering issues, the quick fix is to reduce the quality of the video. If you need to watch your favorite movie on high-definition, make sure to download it for offline viewing. For instance, Netflix also gives an option to subscribers to download content on a personal device for offline viewing. If you can wait for few hours, you can go for it.
Close Other Apps and Programs
In most cases, our devices such as smartphones and laptops are running several apps in the background. Most of the apps and software require some amount of bandwidth to continue with their spree. However, to avoid feeding them a small amount of bandwidth, the best option is to close and exit the programs. Especially, if you are downloading something from a torrent, chances are most of the internet speed is consumed by it. Don’t forget to exit such kinds of programs. If you are using a smartphone, stop all the app updates to avoid buffering while watching your favorite shows and movies.
Pause the Video to Buffer
Buffering is normal for some people while streaming movies. If you are new to streaming, you might not know the tricks to buffer smoothly without seeing the annoying rounded icon. The best thing you could do is to pause the video for few minutes and let it buffer for a while. While buffering, you could grab some popcorns or check IMDB for the next TV series. Waiting for 15 to 20 minutes could help you stream without lagging.
Try Wired Connection
If you are streaming movies on your laptop, the possibilities are that you are using a wireless connection. Instead of connecting your laptop to a Wi-Fi network, make sure to grab an Ethernet cable and attach it to your laptop. You will find a big difference after connecting your laptop to Ethernet.
Disconnect Other Devices
As we have mentioned earlier, your device keeps on running background applications and programs that consume bandwidth. Try to close them immediately to experience lag-free streaming. However, you might not be alone having a device connected to the same network. Make sure to check other devices in your home that are not in use by any user. Turn off the Wi-Fi from all the idle devices to experience high-speed internet. The reason is that all of these devices are running some applications in the background consuming bandwidth. By disconnecting those devices, you will be able to speed up your internet and stream videos without buffering.
The aforementioned tips do not require any technical knowledge or expertise. Just simply follow the above practices and never face the buffering issues again.
