What do I do if my video starts buffering or freezes?

If you have problems with buffering (or your video freezes), that usually means your internet connection is not keeping up with the settings on the player.  

The quality of your playback experience is largely dependent on how your ISP (Internet Service Provider) or mobile provider connects to our playback servers. When a video plays in lower-than-expected quality, it’s likely because your Internet speed (bandwidth) or computer processing speed cannot support higher-quality playback. To counteract this, try switching to Auto in the quality menu.

Keep in mind that your overall Internet speed can vary depending on many factors, including but not limited to:

• Time of day,
• WiFi performance,
• Other devices/users utilizing your connection,
• The strength of the signal provided by your ISP.

NOTE: If the video is part of a downloadable product, we always recommend downloading it to your device.  

Solution 1

Check your internet connectivity and speed according to the technical requirements of our videos.

You can also try our basic troubleshooting recommendations:

• Try closing unused applications or browser tabs and/or update your browser and graphics card.
• Disable any browser extensions, plugins, or add-ons: Third-party programs can sometimes cause issues during playback— including blocked video segments, dropped frames, buffering, etc. If you're having trouble, try disabling any active extensions one by one to find the culprit. You can also open your video within an incognito or private window of your browser for testing.
• Restart your router and modem: Resetting your router or modem can help refresh your connection and improve playback performance. Try disconnecting the power cord and then reconnecting it to perform a hard reboot.
• Update your browser: Browser software is constantly being improved. For peak performance, make sure you are using the latest version of your browser.
• Close excess browser tabs or applications: Keeping too many applications open can slow everything down, including video playback. Especially on a mobile device, it’s easy to forget which apps are running. Make sure that you completely close or disable apps instead of just minimizing their windows.
• Clear your browser’s cache: Refreshing your browser's cache can help with different audio and video issues, including playback.  Choose your browser from the list, to lear how to clear its cache:
  • Apple Safari
  • Google Chrome
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Mozilla Firefox
• Disable/Enable Hardware acceleration: Hardware acceleration makes resource-hungry operations run more efficiently but sometimes doesn’t work well with older graphics cards. Try disabling or enabling this option within your browser settings.

Solution 2

Lower your resolution by clicking the gear icon in the player's lower-right corner (this helps load it faster) and select "Auto." It will optimize your internet speed to the video that is playing as the player will switch between all available qualities to accommodate changes in the viewer’s Internet, processing speed, and player size. 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.)

If that doesn't help, put the slider on a lower number.

Our videos are provided in a higher resolution format (1080p and even 4K), which may require a higher bandwidth (internet speed) to stream without buffering or freezing. You might consider upgrading your internet service to allow for a faster connection. 

You can also modify the resolution to adjust to your internet speed.

You can manually force a particular quality by selecting the gear icon in the lower right corner of the player. (This may result in frequent buffering if the bandwidth does not meet the required minimum.)

Try switching to “Auto” in the quality menu (the default), if available. If “Auto” is not available, switch to one of the lower-quality playback options. If your video still fails to start, check your estimated bandwidth for the network you're connected to. 

When it is in Auto mode, the player will switch between all available qualities to accommodate changes in the viewer’s Internet, processing speed, and player size. 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. 

Solution 3

Sometimes your account can get corrupted, and you may need to fix it. Reboot your device and wait for a few seconds. 

Solution 4

The freezing and stuttering issues are also related to wrong or outdated graphic drivers, insufficient RAM, and Hardware or Software problems.

Here are some useful tips to solve freezing problems, although this may not be enough in some cases.