Video Playback Troubleshooting

Problem

Quick Workaround

A quick workaround may be your best option when you are trying to watch a live video stream

• Try a different web browser to see if the video will play properly.

• Try restarting your device.

• Try a different device. If a video or live stream will not play properly in any browser on your computer, try watching the video with your smartphone or tablet.

• If the video plays, but is pausing a lot:

  • Move closer to your wireless router if you are on a WiFi network

  • Close all applications and browser tabs except for the browser tab that is playing the video

  • Switch to “Auto” in the quality menu, if available. Auto mode automatically adjusts to the best quality of video for your current Internet connection and processing speed. We recommend using this default setting to avoid buffering delays. (If “Auto” is not available, switch to one of the lower quality options.)

  • Clear your browser’s cache. Although this may sound simple, refreshing your cache can help with many different issues, including playback.

• For audio issues: Check to make sure your speakers are not muted. If you have external speakers, make sure they are plugged in and powered on. If you are using a wireless Bluetooth headset, make sure it is connected.

  • If you have more than one option for audio devices, make sure the right audio device is selected for your speaker.

Additional Troubleshooting

• Check to make sure your speakers are not muted. If you have external speakers, make sure they are plugged in and powered on. If you are using a wireless Bluetooth headset, make sure it is connected.

  • If you have more than one option for audio devices, make sure the right audio device is selected for your speaker.

Troubleshooting audio for Windows 10
Troubleshooting audio for macOS
Troubleshooting audio for iOS
Troubleshooting audio for Android

• Make sure your device’s operating system and other software are up to date. If your software is out of date, it may not be able to play newer videos properly.

• It’s also possible that the video you are trying to watch has unique software requirements. Check to see if the source of the video has specific requirements or troubleshooting steps on their web page.

• If you are still having trouble playing a video, try the free VLC media player. In our experience it will play almost any kind of video content: Download the open source VLC Media Player from videolan.org

• Check your internet connection and the other devices using it. If other devices on your network using a lot of bandwidth to stream other video, play games, or download large files, it may be reducing the amount of bandwidth available to your device. Ask others on your network to pause these activities.

  • Check your internet speed at https://speedtest.net. If you are getting less than 5 Mbps for the download speed you might not be able to reliably stream video or quickly download large video files. Most home internet services provide at least 20 Mbps download and 5 Mbps upload. It’s not unusual for speeds on your wireless network to be slower than when you connect directly to your internet gateway/router using a network cable. You may find that you get 175 Mbps download when using a network cable, but on Wifi you get between 20 Mbps and 75 Mbps. Those are still very good numbers, but if you aren’t getting close to the advertised speeds for your plan even with a network cable, contact your Internet Service Provider for troubleshooting.

  • If you can plug a network cable from your computer into your internet router/gateway, that will usually give you better results. There could be an issue that is only related to WiFi on your network. The cable will bypass that issue.

  • Many smartphones have personal hotspots you can enable and allow your other devices (like a laptop) to connect to. This will allow you to temporarily use cellular data if the other network you have access to is too slow.

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