Buffering

About Buffering

Buffering is a common occurrence with streaming services of this type and should be expected from time to time. No provider like ours can honestly claim to be completely free from buffering.

There are many possible causes, but here are a few important points and tips that may help:

• What buffering means
  Buffering occurs when the speed of your internet connection or device temporarily lags behind the flow of data being delivered. This results in the system pausing to collect bits of data before continuing playback.

• Why it happens
  Internet speeds naturally fluctuate depending on overall network traffic in your area. Data also travels through multiple providers between us and you, which means there are many possible points where a slowdown can occur.An older device can cause buffering issues as well.  If you have an older streaming device, or one with a slower processer such as non 4K models, you may want to upgrade it to a new version.  NOTE:  If you loan your username/password out, which is prohibited, you will experience buffering issues.  Keep logged-in devices on the same wifi/network.In some cases, your internet provider can throttle speeds to unknown apps like ours, or block it all together.  You can try using our build-in VPN on our Smartview2 app.  At the top of the homescreen of our app, click VPN.  Connect to VPN and see if that helps.  If so, your internet provider may have a security suite on their modem that is causing it.  Ask them to turn it off.  Some providers have an app that you can use to turn it off yourself.

• If it’s on our end
  On rare occasions, if our internet connection is affected, it may cause buffering for all of our customers. When this happens, we will notify you by email and work to resolve it as quickly as possible. Please make sure we have your current email address so you don’t miss important updates and announcements.

• Channel-specific issues
  If one channel consistently buffers or goes down, please let us know so we can address it directly. If all channels are buffering, the first step is to restart your equipment.

• What you can do
  The best troubleshooting method is to reset your streaming device and internet modem/router by unplugging them from the power source for a few seconds, then plugging them back in.

• Important to know
  If buffering is something you find completely unacceptable, traditional cable or satellite may be a better option. These services are generally more stable, but they also come at two to three times the cost of ours.