How to Stop Buffering on FireStick

Last Updated on February 6, 2023

Are you suffering from buffering issues on Firestick? In this article, we will take a look at different methods that you can apply to immediately stop buffering on Firestick. The methods listed below have been verified from different sources just so that you don’t end up performing some wrong steps. Read our article from the start till the end and hopefully, your buffering problem should be gone away completely.

How To Stop Buffering on FireStick

We personally went through different methods and then selected the top ones that seem to be working out for the masses out there. These were some of the most common and easy fixes that you would find across the Internet.

Restart Firestick

One of the most common and straightforward solutions to almost any technical issue is rebooting or restarting the device. Similarly, this applies in the case of our situation also. Rebooting your Firestick will result in the termination of all the running apps and services whether in the front or background. After the reboot, your device would be opened with a fresh start. You can perform the following steps to restart your Firestick:

• Head to the home screen and select Settings
• Keep scrolling right, until you land on the option, My Fire TV. Click on it!
• Select Restart option

Use a VPN

In certain cases, your ISP could be throttling down the Internet connection which may cause buffering on Firestick. The good part is that there’s a solution for it, and, i.e., a good and stable VPN (a virtual private network). The VPN will encrypt all the incoming and outgoing traffic which will give you full privacy from your ISP and at the same time it may also put an end to the buffering issues.

We recommend you to go with Express VPN as it’s one of the most powerful and trusted VPN across the globe. We personally use it on a daily basis and trust us, there have been no complaints from our side to date. It’s a premium service but undoubtedly value for money.

Check your Wi-Fi Signal

Many times, your Wi-Fi signals may not be coming that strong and that’s when you need to tweak down things a little. But, before that, we have to check and verify the strength of the WiFi signal. To do that, follow the below steps:

• Head to Home Screen and choose Settings
• Click on Network
• Look for the WiFi network that you are connected
• The signal strength would be displayed on the right side. If the connection is showing good then you can directly move to the next solution. If not, then keep reading.

If the connection is not very strong then try to get rid of other wireless devices as they may be causing the issue. Or, you can try moving your Firestick or Wi-Fi router here and there for the best connection. If this isn’t fixing the issue of signal strength, then maybe you should consider going for a WiFi extender. Remember, that though few extenders come with higher frequency but their range is shorter. So, accordingly, make your wise decision.

Read – Best Web Browsers For FireStick

Get Rid of Temporary Storage

Each and every app on Firestick has its own permanent and temporary storage space. Some apps may end up storing too much data which can get in the way of your Firestick limited space and start causing storage running out issues. You need to clear the temporary cache and stored data. Just follow the below steps-

• Head to Home Screen and click on Settings
• Follow Applications>> Manage Installed Applications

• For each app, carefully look on the right side, you will be able to get the necessary information related to the data and cache of the app
• Figure out the apps that take up too much storage space and accordingly Clear cache and Clear data as required.

Clear Unnecessary Background Apps & Processes

To immediately stop buffering on Firestick, you can get rid of the unnecessary background apps and processes that could be taking up system resources and bandwidth unknowingly. Follow the below steps to do the same:

• Head to the home screen and select Settings
• Follow Applications>> Manage installed applications
• Choose the app that you want to remove
• Choose Uninstall or Force stop as required

Try not to get your Firestick hot

If at the same time there are too many apps and processes running then your Firestick could start heating up, which you should avoid happening at all costs. This may affect device performance, leading to buffering issues. It’s important to note that the television also generates heat which may get transmitted to the Firestick device and the best way to avoid that is by investing in a good HDMI Port or HDMI extender.

Update the Firmware and Apps

First of all, it’s important that your Firestick Firmware (OS) should be up to date for the best performance and security. When not in use, it should automatically update itself but for some reason, if you want to force it down manually then follow the below steps:

• Head to the Home screen and follow Settings >> My Fire TV >> About
• Scroll down a bit and click on check for Updates

• If needed, reboot your device also.

On the other side, you should even keep your apps updated from time to time. Normally, the updating is automatic, but if you have installed an app through a third-party source then you can update by following the same process that you used for installation.

Read Here – How to Update Your Firestick to the Latest Version

Check the other devices that may be occupying bandwidth

If you have got a common home network then some other devices could be consuming up the bandwidth. You have to make sure that other devices are not performing tasks which may lead to large bandwidth consumption like streaming high-quality videos, downloading large files, etc. The speed gets divided due to this and every connected device starts competing for resources. This could be one quick and effective solution that may help you to stop buffering on Firestick.

Apply Factory Reset to Stop Firestick Buffering

Lastly, if nothing seems to work out for then you may have to go with a factory reset. But, what’s exactly a factory reset? In simple and straightforward words, as the name suggests, this is the condition where your Firestick device gets back to the initial stage after it left the factory. Everything right from your files to apps would be deleted. So, make sure that you take the essential backup of everything that’s needed. Follow the below steps to initiate factory reset:

• Head to Home Screen and follow Settings>> My Fire TV
• Scroll down a bit and you should land upon Reset to Factory Defaults. Go with the option!

• Lastly, take a deep breath and hit on Reset.

The factory reset should always be your last resort and definitely this solution too doesn’t come up with any guarantee but wiping the device fully may result in the eradication of problems that may be causing the buffering on Firestick.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1) The buffering issue is experienced only when I stream a specific service whereas for other services the streaming is working totally fine. What should I do?

Ans: The first thing that you should do is check if the specific service is working or not. The service could be down for whatsoever reasons and to find out the same, you can visit www.isitdownrightnow.com or confirm even from your friends. If it’s actually down then you can’t do anything and have to just wait until it’s not resolved from the server’s end.

2) Should I reach out to Amazon customer support?

Ans: In most cases, the above solutions/methods should help you to stop buffering on Firestick but if it doesn’t then you should definitely further reach out to the Amazon customer service.

3) Should I be worried about the buffering issues?

Ans: The buffering on Firestick is a common issue across the globe. Therefore, you shouldn’t be much worried about it, instead, you should take necessary actions to actually stop buffering on Firestick.

Don’t Miss – Is It Illegal to Jailbreak a FireStick?

Conclusion

It’s not very hard nor very easy to stop buffering on Firestick as some methods are very direct whereas some require a bit of effort and time. Still, we have got everything covered for you so that you can easily stream without getting frustrated due to buffering. We seriously hope that these methods would prove to be helpful for you but if you have still got any doubts or queries then you can drop us a comment and we would get back to you.