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Long gone are the days of internet dial-up and waiting an hour for an image to load. These days, everything on the internet happens fast, and people have come to expect that. So it’s usually a big frustration to anyone whenever a video isn’t streaming as fast as it should. Especially since videos are quickly becoming the most consumed type of content on the internet. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that things always go smoothly. Even now people regularly struggle with buffering videos and low-quality streams. However, streaming sites like Netflix and Hulu, and video-sharing websites like YouTube have big servers and the capacity to handle a lot of traffic. So the fault usually lies with the person’s who’s watching the video internet connection.
While internet connection strength and data bandwidth both play significant roles, there are some tips and tricks one could employ to make the video stream smoother. Here are easy ways to improve video streaming for both mobile and PC.
How to Make Video Streaming Smoother on a Desktop PC
Use Ethernet instead of WiFi
Sometimes people have no choice but to connect through a WiFi to get internet access on their desktop PCs. But connecting to the router via an ethernet cable is always a better option if that option is available. This creates a direct link that increases the connection speed because no more obstacles block the connection. It also prevents the connection from being dropped as can often happen when using WiFi.
Test the internet speed
Everyone should be familiar with how fast their internet download speed is. They are paying for a certain amount of bandwidth after all. So if it seems that the video isn’t loading as quickly as it should, then it’s a good idea to check the internet speed. To make sure the connection is downloading at the speed that’s being paid for.
There are many free internet speed test websites and applications out there that can quickly test the speed of an IP address. If they prove that the network isn’t reaching the download speed it should, then it’s time to contact the ISP about the problem. If the speed is correct, then the problem lies with the router or PC and not the ISP.
Use a VPN
Many internet service providers (ISPs) opt to throttle their users based on certain internet activities. And streaming is one of those activities. It’s been found that ISPs tend to throttle accounts that stream videos because it requires a lot of data. While this isn’t technically allowed, it’s still a common practice among service providers. The one solution most people turn to for this is a virtual private network (VPN).
Among other things, a VPN hides a computer’s IP address from both outsiders and the ISP itself through an encrypted data tunnel. Meaning that the service provider can no longer track the data that’s being transferred. Thus, they won’t be able to throttle it.
How to Make Video Streaming Smoother on Mobile
Close any apps that are running in the background
If many apps are running on a phone, competing for resources, then it will make all of those apps run slower. Even background apps are competing for resources. Apps that require an internet connection may also still be downloading and uploading data in the background. So closing any such apps will help improve video streaming quality.
Connect to another region’s server with a VPN
A slow or choppy stream can often also mean that the server currently being used is overloaded. Unfortunately, a streaming service will usually connect to the nearest server, regardless of how overloaded it is. A VPN app can help both Android and iOS in this regard because it hides the network’s actual IP address. Usually, the app also offers some choice of which regions to display as the IP’s fake location. So the connection isn’t region-locked anymore. Meaning that another, less populated server can now be chosen to stream from.
Disconnect any unused devices from the WiFi
Any mobile phones, computers, or tablets that are connected to the same WiFi will keep the network busy as they update, refresh, or download data. Even if another device isn’t being used at all, it’s still one more thing that the network has divide its resources to. And this can slow down the connection. Temporarily disconnecting any unused devices from the network will improve streaming quality and speed.
Anyone who follows one or more of these tips and tricks should see an immediate improvement in their video streaming quality. Most of these tips are also simple to implement at no extra financial cost. So buffering videos and poor quality streaming can stay in the past along with internet dial-up.