Are you facing buffering problem on FireStick? Looking for ways to fix buffering on FireStick for quite a long time? Stick with us and get rid of buffering issue!
I’ve had this FireStick gadget connected to my TV for years and enjoy watching my favorite shows, installing third-party applications, and doing other things with it.
However, by doing so, I have encountered a serious issue known as buffering, which is both uncomfortable and infuriating during the interval of a movie or television show.
This is why I have been exploring the internet for solutions to stop buffering problem on FireStick / Fire TV. After spending timeless hours on Internet, I’ve gathered a few solutions to stop buffering issues on FireStick.
And thought to share with you guys so that the buffering won’t irritate you next time watching your favorite shows or movies. Ensure that you read the whole guide, as everything contained below relates to this subject.
If one of the solutions does not help you, check another, as each person encounters the issue differently. This is why a single remedy will not benefit everyone, and that is why I’ve included all viable options here.
Also, before you choose any of the solutions below to fix the problem, we advise you to check what causing the problem. It will ensure that you select the solution right away before trying much.
Also Read: How to Reset FireStick Remote?
Why FireStick is Buffering
Numerous things might contribute to the buffering issue. The following are some of the most prevalent reasons for buffering on FireStick:
1. Slow Internet Connection
A minimum of 10 Mbps for 1080p streaming and 20 Mbps for 4K streaming is suggested.
Buffering difficulties will occur if your internet connection is sluggish.
2. Running Out of Storage Space
Once again, this is a regular occurrence among FireStick owners. The gadget only has 8GB of storage, much of which is already taken up by the operating system.
There are many ways that can help you in freeing up storage space on Amazon. You should check our detailed guide on how to free up storage space on FireStick.
3. Overheating of FireStick
If your FireStick overheats, buffering difficulties are likely to occur. Also, check our article that will help you fix the overheating problem in FireStick.
4. Internet Service Provider Throttling
Your ISP may occasionally reduce the speed of your connection if they detect an excessive amount of streaming activity.
5. Low on RAM
FireStick frequently runs out of RAM. Numerous needless applications may be running in the background.
You can delete apps in FireStick to free up some space as well that will help you clear the ROM.
6. Modem is too far away from FireStick
If you set your FireStick too far away from your Wi-Fi modem, your signal will be poor, resulting in buffering troubles.
7. Fire TV OS is Out of Date
If your FireStick is running an older OS, you may have buffering difficulties.
These are some of the possible causes that lead to buffering problem on FireStick.
You can try avoiding these and if the problem persists, we recommend you to the solutions provided below.
How to Fix Buffering on FireStick
As mentioned above, there are chances that one solution that solved the problem for me might not work with you.
That is why I’ve listed down all the solutions to fix buffering problem on FireStick. Check these ones by one:
1. Restart your FireStick TV
If you’re unable to pinpoint the specific cause of the FireStick buffering issue, a tip as easy as rebooting your device may suffice.
Indeed, restarting is one of the most fundamental troubleshooting techniques and should be attempted first. It is capable of resolving a wide variety of issues.
Check the below steps on how to restart your FireStick TV:
1. Navigate to the FireStick Settings page. For this, you need to click on Settings icon (gear icon on the extreme right corner on the middle bar) on Home Page.
2. From here, you need to click MyFire TV.
3. Scroll down a little and click on Restart.
4. A confirmation screen will pop up. To confirm, click Restart. This will restart your FireStick TV.
Hopefully, restarting your device will solve the buffering problem on FireStick. If not, move on to another solution.
There are many other ways to restart FireStick as well. Find out 3 ways that we mentioned that will help you in restarting FireStick device with ease.
2. Check Internet Speed
It is suggested that you have at least 10 Mbps speed for 1080p streaming and 20 Mbps for 4K streaming. Buffering difficulties will occur if your internet connection is sluggish.
If the internet connection is not the issue, the following factors may contribute to buffering on the Fire TV Stick.
Internet Connectivity Issues with FireStick
- If other devices (connected to the same Wi-Fi network) are downloading large files, the Fire TV Stick’s operation may be impacted.
- Is your Wi-Fi network interfering with the FireStick TV? The connection may be harmed by thick walls, lengthy distances, and wireless transmissions from other devices.
- Is your Internet Service Provider (ISP) throttling video streams? Certain internet service providers intentionally slow down video broadcasts to conserve bandwidth.
If everything is in the place and still facing the buffering issue, then there’s another problem. Move further in the article to check other solutions.
3. Make Sure to Clear App’s Cache and Data
On your Firestick, each app has its own permanent and temporary storage.
Certain programs may spiral out of control and accumulate an excessive amount of data, clogging up the Firestick’s limited storage.
It is advisable to delete cache and application data on the app you are facing a buffering problem.
Also Read: How to Delete Apps on FireStick
Take a look at how you can delete the cache/data of a particular app on FireStick:
1. Open Settings Menu from the home page. Click on Applications options from the Settings menu.
2. Choose Manage Installed Applications from here.
3. Take note of the information about each app on the right. You’ll be able to view how much space the app consumes, how much data it stores, and the size of its cache.
4. Select the apps that consume an excessive amount of RAM and, as required, utilize the Clear data and Clear cache options.
4. Utilize a VPN to Stop Buffering
A VPN encrypts all data flowing to and from a device and routes it through a user-specified intermediate server.
If your internet service provider throttles video streaming, a VPN can disguise the stream as any other form of a download.
This eliminates your ISP’s ability to discriminate against certain forms of internet traffic, such as films or data from specified sources.
And this increases the internet speed which means more bandwidth to stream videos.
Choose a VPN service that offers ample bandwidth and lightweight software.
Our top pick is NordVPN. NordVPN protects your privacy and unblocks a broad variety of region-locked websites, such as Hulu, Cinema HD, Sling TV, etc.
5. Make Sure to Clear FireStick RAM
The Amazon FireStick comes with 1 GB of RAM on the FireStick 2nd Gen and 1.5 GB on the FireStick 4K.
That’s not even a lot, but it is sufficient for a streaming device. However, such a little amount of RAM can be a problem if you install too many apps on FireStick. Low RAM capacity is one of the causes of buffering on FireStick.
Also Read: How to Restart FireStick?
You may be shocked to learn that certain applications continue to use RAM even after they are closed. Simply dismissing background apps will save up RAM space.
However, how would you determine which applications are operating in the background? Force-closing all installed apps one by one is inconvenient and time-consuming.
Fortunately, there is an app that you can use to determine which programs are running in the background and to terminate them.
It is referred to as the Background Applications and Processes List. You may get these apps for free from the Amazon Store.
Check out the steps for downloading and using the Background Apps & Process List app to close background apps:
1. From the FireStick’s home screen, click on the Find option and choose Search from the drop-down menu.
2. Type a few words from Background Apps and Process List. You will see the app name. Click on the app name and install it by following the on-screen directions.
3. Launch the application. As you are opening the app for the first time, you will see a prompt.
4. Uncheck the Open App on Boot option if you do not want the app to open automatically whenever your FireStick restarts.
5. Click on Got It button to proceed further.
6. You’ll get a list of all the apps that are now operating in the background. In the top-left corner, click on Close All Apps.
7. After clicking on Close All Apps, you will see a pop-up for the first app on the list, click on Force Stop to continue.
8. When finished, push the remote’s back button.
9. Click on Force Stop for the next app in the list and repeat this procedure until all background applications have been terminated.
This will free up FireStick RAM and hopefully fix the buffering problems on FireStick.
6. Prevent Overheating of FireStick
Overheating might result in malfunctioning equipment. Additionally, it may result in buffering or streaming troubles on FireStick.
As a result, you must avoid overheating your FireStick. While your FireStick is capable of running for several hours without issue, I recommend giving it a break from time to time.
Never leave it on state overnight. If you believe FireStick has been overworked, disconnect it from the power source and allow at least 30 minutes for it to cool down.
Also Read: Fix FireStick Overheating Problem
7. Customizing Privacy Preferences
Adjusting privacy choices will also help you prevent Firestick buffering, as these settings permit some background processes.
That results in running background processes that you don’t need and makes your FireStick slow.
We may disable some features from the Privacy settings that might help us to resolve buffering problem on FireStick. To start with, we will disable collection and data monitoring.
Disable Data Collection and Data Monitoring on FireStick
To start with, we will disable collection and data monitoring from the Preferences section on FireStick. Check the steps below to do so:
1. To begin, click on Settings and then select Preferences from the list.
2. From the Preferences options, click on Privacy Settings.
3. In this section, you must disable Device Usage Data and Collect App Usage Data collection.
4. Press the back button on Remote.
5. You will return to the Preferences screen, click on Data Monitoring.
Disable Autoplay Feature on FireStick
Autoplay slows the FireStick and this could lead to buffering problems. This is why we will disable the Autoplay feature on FireStick. Take a look at the steps below to do so:
1. From the Home Screen, go to Settings. Navigate to Preferences.
2. Click on Featured Content.
3. Turn off Allow Video Autoplay if it’s on to stop auto-play featured content on the home page.
Deactivate App Notifications on FireStick
Notifications from applications may potentially be a cause of Firestick buffering, but have no fear, here are the steps you can take to disable notifications.
1. Open Settings menu from the Home Screen. Then go to Preferences.
2. Now, click on Notification Settings section.
3. Either turn off Do Not Interrupt option to disable notifications from all the apps. Or click on App Notifications to turn notifications off from a particular app.
8. Choose a Low-Quality Video
Additional bandwidth and system resources are necessary for streaming and playback of higher-quality videos.
While the majority of video players will determine a video quality for you automatically, many enable you to alter the video quality manually.
This is frequently described by the video’s resolution, which may be 4K, full hd, high definition, or 480p. Often, a lower resolution requires less bandwidth and avoids the buffering to load.
9. Update your FireStick TV
Upgrades include several significant bug fixes, enhancements, and other nice features, etc.
Please ensure that your device is updated to the latest version that also helps to solve OS-related issues.
You can follow the below steps to update your FireStick TV to latest version:
1. From the Home Screen, click on Settings. From here, click on MyFire TV option.
2. Tap About to proceed further.
3. Click Install Update and the device will start an update if there’s one available.
Allow sufficient time for the device to check for updates. You will be prompted to download the update if it is available.
Otherwise, the message “You already have the newest version” will appear.
Amazon recommends that you maintain your device updated in order to take advantage of bug fixes and new features.
Now that the device has received the latest update, simply download it and after it is complete, you will notice some performance improvements and the buffering issue will be resolved as well.
10. Factory Reset
Consider doing a factory reset as a final option if none of the above solutions to fix buffering problem in FireStick didn’t work for you.
This will restore your Firestick to its factory default configuration.
This means that all of your applications and files will be erased and your FireStick will be in the state that it came out of the box for the first time.
1. Navigate to the Settings menu from the home page. Click on MyFire TV.
2. Select Reset to Factory Defaults from the right pane.
3. Choose Reset to confirm your choice.
Although a factory reset is drastic, it will clear the slate and resolve any persistent issues that may be causing your Firestick to buffer.
Conclusion
Without a question, the finest gadget for streaming online is the Amazon Firestick. It transforms a standard television into a Smart TV and adds all of the benefits.
As a result, there are several applications available for watching free movies, television shows, live channels, and other forms of entertainment.
However, this is the worst sensation when you encounter a Firestick Buffering issue, but as I have said previously, there are several viable solutions that may assist you in resolving the buffering problems on FireStick.
If you found this post beneficial in any way, please share it with your friends and family.
Additionally, if any of the solutions to fix buffering problem on FireStick worked for you, please share your experience below.
In this manner, people will gain an idea and will be able to simply locate the ideal solution for themselves.
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