Kindle fire stick buffering badly.

[wp1234]

I have a new Firestick and a Huwawei MiFi unit( + 4G ariel on the roof) running on a Vodafone data sim and although I can see that the 4G reception is good on my MiFI unit I still have a lot of buffering going on which basically makes it useless. If it makes any difference I am in Spain at the moment.
Am I doing something wrong ? or do I have to adjust any other settings on the stick to improve matters .

Many thanks in advance for advice .

 

[kevenh]

I have a new Firestick and a Huwawei MiFi unit( + 4G ariel on the roof) running on a Vodafone data sim and although I can see that the 4G reception is good on my MiFI unit I still have a lot of buffering going on which basically makes it useless. If it makes any difference I am in Spain at the moment.
Am I doing something wrong ? or do I have to adjust any other settings on the stick to improve matters .

Many thanks in advance for advice .

Can you watch content on a smartphone without buffering?
There are quality and data usage settings you can lower but buffering doesn’t sound a common reason to use the settings.
Mostly we’re using those to eek out data allowance

Edit: This article is about lowering data usage but lowering video quality is one of the tips.

 

[Lenny HB]

Do a speed check on your connection it shouldn't buffer if you have at least 10mb/s. Although the Mifi is showing a good signal connection it doesn't necessarily mean you have a fast data connection.

 

[Manic]

I’ve got an app on my firestick , background app and process list, I think and that lets you close and clear cache on running apps. This can help if you have a lot of apps running.

 

[wp1234]

Can you watch content on a smartphone without buffering?
There are quality and data usage settings you can lower but buffering doesn’t sound a common reason to use the settings.
Mostly we’re using those to eek out data allowance

Edit: This article is about lowering data usage but lowering video quality is one of the tips.

Thanks for the advice all.
I’ve just tried Netflix’s on my smartphone and no buffering ! So I guess it’s the stick settings I need to play with ?

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[Lenny HB]

Try rebooting the Mifi, cell transmitters often broadcast on more than one bandwidth, your phone may have picked up a different bandwidth to the Mifi. Rebooting it may login to a different one, sometimes you need to reboot a few times.

 

[Hettie's Crew]

Turn down the requirements of the Firestick picture quality from 4K to basic.
Its in settings but can’t recall how to.

 

[Manic]

Maybe turn Mifi to 3G only this is sometimes better than a weak 4G signal

 

[tonka]

Also be aware that some indiviual apps like BBC Iplayer have a setting where you can select high or standard quality to suit your download speed

As mentioned a good signal strength is no inication of the quality of the download speed.

 

[kevenh]

Turn down the requirements of the Firestick picture quality from 4K to basic.
Its in settings but can’t recall how to.

This article is about lowering data usage but lowering video quality is one of the tips.

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[davidathomas42]

I notice overseas that my full 4G signal download speed is lower than UK. I suspect they throttle it back now its included in your data plan.

 

[zac]

We are currently in the south of Spain and next to us is another UK couple having issues streaming on o2 similar setup ie mifi and 4g antenna on roof. We are on EE with 4g antenna and mifi and have no issues at all. Speed test for us is around 40mb down which is more than enough. Over the years I the tried all the networks and EE for us seems to be the best but they are not the cheapest . The worst was actually o2 and three with Vodafone not much better. Of course a lot will depend on your own individual setup.
The firestick will have streaming quality settings and if that doesn't work try logging into the mifi device and manually choosing the network rather than it doing it automatically. Moviestar is usual pretty good in most places. Don't forget to put it back to auto once finished though.

 

[philann]

Try plugging the fire stick into an external powered USB socket. We had this and found it was due to the TV usb not providing enough power