How To Fix Kodi Buffering Issues [2023]

This guide shows you how to fix Kodi’s buffering problems and increase the media center’s streaming performance so that your videos play smoothly without interruptions.

Kodi is the most superior media player available. This open-source player is utilized by millions of cord-cutters worldwide and allows for the streaming of any and all imaginable media content. You can also use it as an IPTV Player, loading it with an IPTV M3u playlist or stbemu codes.

This fantastic media player can stream videos from the internet as well as those stored locally. The good news is that Kodi can run on many different systems, including WindowsMacLinuxAndroidIOS, Smart TV, Apple TVMI Tv, Fire Sticks, Raspberry PiChromebook, And Android TV Box

Kodi has a good reputation for having useful features and functions, but it also has some problems that make people unhappy. People who use Kodi often run into problems with buffering, which is very frustrating. There are, luckily, a lot of tips and fixes that can be used on Kodi to stop or at least lessen these problems.

If you’re here, you probably have trouble streaming your favorite shows on Kodi without buffering.

Usually, this problem is caused by a problem with your network connection, but it can also be caused by a corrupted application cache, broken installation files, or old add-ons.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to get Kodi to stop buffering.

What causes Kodi buffering issues?

There is nothing worse than having your favorite television program or sporting event intermittently interrupted. This is especially aggravating if you have spent hours installing and optimizing your Kodi center to prevent buffering issues. Using these streaming add-ons is typically one of many causes of Kodi performance issues. And buffering issues are not unique to any particular type of add-on. Even official add-ons are susceptible to the same stuttering.

In rare instances, buffering issues are caused by the add-on you are utilizing. If a stream is within an add-on buffer, all other streams will reload or stop.

Because streaming content is delivered in real-time, you must ensure that your internet connection is stable and as fast as possible. Streams will buffer or, in the worst case, stop if this is not the case. Streams are buffered for the following reasons:

  • Slow Internet connection
  • Connection problems
  • Limited bandwidth of the streaming source
  • Disturbances in the network
  • Incorrect Kodi cache settings
  • Internet provider throttles the connection

How to fix kodi buffering issues?

Many people complain about buffering issues when using Kodi. If you are one of these people, the methods listed below may be ideal for you.

Restart Your Device. 

If you are experiencing buffering issues while using Kodi, you should try rebooting your system before taking any further action. Apps and other programs that aren’t being used can bog down your computer’s performance, but a simple restart can fix that. This will get rid of any unused add-ons and anything else that could be slowing your software or hardware. When you restart your device, it will reload all of its data and correct any temporary errors that may have occurred while you were using it.

Check your internet speed

There is a wide range of resolutions available for video content, from “SD” to “Ultra HD.” The picture quality improves proportionally with the resolution. Having said that, this will also put a greater strain on your internet connection. It is recommended that you reach the following speeds:

  • Minimum speed: 1.5 Mbit/s
  • Minimum speed SD quality (480p): 3 Mbit/s
  • Minimum speed HD quality (720p): 5 Mbit/s
  • Minimum speed Full HD quality (1080p):10 Mbit/s
  • Minimum speed Ultra HD / 4K quality (2160p): 25 Mbit/s

Connect a network cable to your router in order to conduct a speed test if you are unsure of the bandwidth capacity of your internet connection. This is a feature that can be found, for instance, on the fast.com website. Take into consideration that if you use a wireless connection via WLAN, you won’t be able to achieve the maximum speed possible.

In a similar vein, multiple users will typically access a particular stream all at once. Even if you meet the required minimum speeds, the stream may still have a jerky quality if there are an excessive number of users.

Improve Internet speed

Taking these steps will result in a higher-quality connection:

  • Use a wired LAN connection instead of a wireless one if possible.
  • Moving the end device and router closer together will improve wireless network performance.
  • Verify that nobody else in the same building is attempting to download anything.
  • Like a mobile device, Windows can automatically download and install software updates.

Out-dated Addons can cause kodi buffering issues

Using antiquated add-ons can cause Kodi to buffer intermittently. If you are still experiencing buffering issues after updating your addons for Kodi, you may want to try another addon.

Follow these steps:

  • Fire up Kodi, and head to the Preferences menu.
  • Click the “Add-ons” menu.
  • Then, select the plug-in that needs updating. To access the details, long-press until a drop-down menu appears, and then select Details.

If you want to see the different versions, select that option. Lastly, install the latest version of the addon on Kodi.

After the update has been installed, you can test to see if the issue still exists by watching a video online.

Optimize Kodi Cache size

If your device is perfectly connected to the Internet and achieves the minimum speed, it is likely that Kodi’s configuration is incorrect or insufficient. In order for your Kodi streams to continue to buffer.

As you stream video content, the data is loaded into something that is referred to as a “cache,” which is similar to a buffer. Even if you lose your internet connection in the middle of a stream, Kodi will continue to play the stream for a few seconds while it retrieves the data from its cache.

Something that not many people are aware of is that the cache can be altered and expanded using Kodi. The “golden mean” must be located, however, for the following reasons:

  • A cache that is too small will cause reloading jerks and dropouts in the stream, while a cache that is too large will burden the performance of the hardware that makes up your media player.
  • Kodi’s cash settings, which are responsible for buffering, can, fortunately, be tweaked to achieve optimal performance. In the following paragraphs, we will discuss how the Kodi cash size can be correctly configured by making use of maintenance add-ons.

How to optimize kodi cache size with the OpenWizard Addon

Your Kodi installation can be kept in tip-top shape with the help of the OpenWizard Kodi Addon, which is an addon. You will primarily be able to clear your cache and any other temporary data with the help of the addon. The OpenWizard, on the other hand, provides access to a number of additional features, such as the capability to automatically adjust the cache settings in Kodi.

This guide will walk you through the process of installing the OpenWizard addon for Kodi. After that, in order to edit the cache, you will need to follow these steps:

  • Open the OpenWizard Kodi Addon and click on “OpenWizard Maintenance“.
  • After that, select the item from the menu labeled “System Tweaks/Fixes.”
  • In the following drop-down menu, select the option labeled “Advanced Settings.”
  • You can find the function that will automatically adjust the cache in Kodi by going to the menu item that is labeled “Cache Network Presets.”

The cache settings in Kodi are determined by the amount of memory on your player. Click on “Low-RAM Device Preset” if your hardware has less than 2 GB of RAM. Click on “High-End Device Preset” if your device has more than 2 GB of RAM.

  • Then click Install
  • Look in Kodi under Settings -> System Information -> Hardware -> Total Memory to see how much memory your system has. The value in megabytes can be found there (MB).
  • You must restart Kodi for the cache changes to take effect.
  • To reset the Kodi cache settings, go to the “Default Network & Cache Settings” menu.

Change video settings: Frame rate and co.

Sometimes, your stream will have broken frames and skip frames. For example, in a soccer game, the ball may streak. It may look like the streams you watch on Kodi are choppy. But in reality, these are problems with how your video settings are set up. To fix these picture problems, you need to change how you play the video.

  • Go back to Kodi’s home page and click on the gear icon in the upper left corner to get to the settings.
  • Choose “Player” from the settings menu.
  • You have to change the view to “Expert” to see all of the options. To do this, click on the lowest gear icon until the word “Expert” shows up.
  • Click on “Videos” and go to its settings. There, you’ll find a number of interesting things that make for smooth playback.
When you click “Adjust display refresh rate,” your screen’s refresh rate is changed to match the video. In Europe, 50Hz is the standard rate for a refresh. If your video has a different refresh rate, this will cause cracks or streaks in the picture when things move quickly.
You have three options if you select this menu option:
Off: The refresh rate will not be adjusted.
Always: Your hardware continuously calculates the refresh rate of the video. This is only recommended for powerful hardware.
On Start / Stop: Kodi analyzes the existing refresh rate when starting a video and adjusts your refresh rate accordingly. If in doubt, select this option.
“Sync playback with display” is also an intriguing option. If this option is enabled, not only the image but also the audio will be synchronized with the TV’s refresh rate. Enable this option only if “Adjust display refresh rate” fails to produce the desired result. Note that in this case, audio passthrough is not possible.
In the playback settings, there is also an option to “Enable HQ scaler for scaling above.” Choose a value lower than “20%” to stop the image from cracking. The HQ scaler makes sure that lower-resolution videos are scaled up so that they look better on high-resolution screens.
In the event that it is required, it is also possible to turn off the option that says “Allow hardware acceleration – VAAPI.” It’s possible that this choice will go by a different label.
This is dependent on the hardware you have. If you enable hardware acceleration, certain computational tasks will be moved from your central processing unit (CPU) to your graphics card.
When this option is turned off, the processor will be responsible for calculating the image on its own. You should, however, only deactivate this option if your processor is capable enough to do so, and ideally, it should also have a graphics unit installed. In that case, the Kodi streams might experience buffering.
When working with relatively slow hardware, such as that found in Android boxes, the settings for the hardware should generally be made using this menu. It is possible that even greater performance could be coaxed out of the system using this method.

Change video settings during playback

Streams on Kodi don’t always have to buffer because of how fast your internet is. If your video playback has visible streaks or other problems, you might want to look at the settings you can change while a video is playing.

  • Open the control panel while a video is playing, then click the gear icon in the bottom right corner.
  • This button brings up the settings you can change while the music is playing. In this menu, click “Video Settings.”

Try switching the “Deinterlace” method first. To “deinterlace” a video means to change it from “interlaced” to “full screen.” The methods you can use depend on the hardware and operating system you use to run Kodi.

Most of the time, all you need to do is change the deinterlace method. If the video still doesn’t play right, you can also change how the video is scaled. This way, you can make sure that videos with a different resolution than your screen will show up right.

If these settings helped, scroll to the very bottom and click “Set as default for all media.” This way, the settings you made will be used every time you play something.

Clear Kodi Cache. 

If Kodi buffering issues persist after applying the above settings, you may need to clear the Kodi application cache to see if the issue is resolved.

Kodi uses caches to improve its performance, resulting in quicker loading times and a more fluid interface. However, caches can build up over time and cause problems if they become corrupted.

Clear kodi cache on windows

  • To access the Run Command, press Windows + R on your keyboard.
  • Then, type ‘%temp%’ followed by Enter to open the folder.
  • Finally, remove all files from the folder.

Clear kodi cache on windows

Clear kodi cache on Android TV & Amazon Firestick

You can clear Kodi’s cache on Android TV and mobile devices by doing the following:

  • Locate the Kodi app on your main screen.
  • Next, press and hold the app icon until you see the selection menu.
  • Tap App Info and navigate to the Storage & Cache section.
  • Finally, tap the Clear Cache button.
  • You can clear Kodi’s cache on Amazon Firestick devices by navigating to Settings > App > Kodi and clicking the Clear Cache button.

Once done, stream another video to check if you would experience buffering issues.

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