Learn How to Stop or Reduce KODI Buffering with These 5 Effective Methods.

Good day and welcome to yet another educative post. There are many reasons why you may experience sluggishness or buffering with Kodi while streaming videos. This article will address issues bothering why your Kodi could be annoyingly buffering or pausing, as well as methods of effectively stopping Kodi buffering issues.

Why is my Kodi Responding Slowly?

In rural areas or cities in some developing countries, slow internet connection is the main culprit for buffering Kodi. However, there are instances whereby you are using one of the fastest internet connection protocols in the world, and yet your Kodi streaming experience is frustrating. This article will, among others, address why your Kodi buffers or pauses, as well as fixes for this.

Read Also:

• How to Install Free Kodi Add-ons on Ancloud P5 and Other Android TV Boxes

• Why Uk bans fully-loaded Kodi boxes: Analysis and workaround for clean users

• You are running Kodi on Android

Kodi simply runs slower, and the performance is limited on Android. We all know that the Android OS is comparatively slow. It sacrifices some performance when you are using any resource-hungry app like Kodi. Often, Android TV boxes run just under the top limits of their hardware capabilities. If any of the previous issues exist, they just exacerbate the problems.

There may be a version of OpenELEC or Linux available for your Android STB that would “run circles” Android. The gain in performance and usability is unbelievable.

• Your Kodi settings are incorrect/incompatible with your hardware

You may need to decrease your playback settings to get acceptable performance. I infer that, aside from a few files, the performance is usually acceptable, so I wouldn’t spend too much time tinkering with the playback settings. I have found that tinkering with the settings is the easiest thing to try and sometimes does wonders.

• Your media files are just too “heavy.”

• uninstall unnecessary applications from the android tv box on which you are running Kodi:

A clean application like Skype can slow down your Kodi. If I were you, I will dedicate my Kodi to media streaming and uninstall every interfering app on my device.

• Slow connection speed

• Network connectivity problems

You may want to try hooking up to your home router using an ethernet cable instead of wireless, for instance–to see if that makes a difference.  Even though it is possible to stream media over wireless, it can make for a lot of problems sometimes. If you can, you’ll want a wired connection. Try streaming the “problem media” with different devices and connections to give yourself an idea of the quality of the network connection being the issue.

• Limited bandwidth from the streaming source

• Network congestion at the source

• Unsuitable Kodi cache settings

• Internet service provider (ISP) throttling connection speeds

Effectively Stopping Kodi Buffering Issues

Below are the four ways to effectively stop or minimize kodi buffering:

1. Internet Connection-Related Problems:

This is most likely related to available bandwidth. Perform the following troubleshooting If Kodi is connected to the Internet with Wi-Fi try optimizing the connection or better yet, use a hard-wired (ethernet) connection like fiber-optic if available. If that does not fix the problem, you may have to look at your ISP and the specifics of your Internet package from them. In Nigeria, for example, we have quite a few 4g networks. As for 3g, 9mobile is the fastest. Unless you are in a place where glo is very stable, you cannot use glo 3g network for IPTV in Nigeria

In addition, the problem could be on the “other end” and related to congestion at the source

If your connection speed matches or exceeds 5.0Mbps second and you are still experiencing issues, then your first step should be running an internet speed test to see what your numbers look like.

• You may need to move your device closer to your wireless router if you are using a wireless internet connection. The further away you are, the more likely you will lose signal integrity.

• You might also want to consider using a wired connection instead. A wired connection will eliminate any issues with low signal integrity due to being too far away from your router. The connection will also be faster. However, your setup will be tethered to one location with this option.

• • • Verify that you don’t have any other devices connected to your network that are eating up your bandwidth. If this is the case, disconnect these so that Kodi isn’t hindered

2. Stopping Kodi buffering issues using RealDebrid Unrestricted Downloader

• Register for a free account on Real-Debrid Website by clicking HERE.  You can enjoy a free trial before paying for a premium account.
• Install a 3rd party Kodi addon such as Elysium or Exodus to ensure URL resolver is installed.
• Click the gear icon on the Kodi home page to take you to the settings page.
• Click the System settings icon.
• Scroll down to the bottom and change standard settings to Expert.
• On the same screen, hover over the Add-ons menu item and then click the Manage Dependencies link on the right side of the screen.
• Click URL Resolver.
• Click Configure.
• Highlight Universal Resolvers and browse to Real-Debrid within the section on the right-hand side of the screen.
• Change Priority from 100 to 90, then click the OK button to save changes.
• Click Configure again.
• Highlight Universal Resolvers and browse to Real-Debrid settings again.
• Click (Re)Authorize My Account and input the code provided by an Internet browser on a computer, tablet, or phone at http://real-debrid.com/device.
• Dialog within Kodi will disappear once pairing has successfully been completed.

3. Effectively Stop Kodi buffering issues Using a good VPN service to prevent speed throttling by ISP

VPNs encrypt your internet traffic and reroute it through a server in a location of your choice. Streaming sources from Kodi add-ons may not be sanctioned by your internet service provider. If this is true, your ISP might try to throttle your connection when you stream through an application such as Kodi. They may even go as far as disabling your connection or sending a threatening legal letter!

To prevent this, most Kodi users will use a suitable VPN service. Tunneling traffic through a VPN will only allow your ISP to see that some amount of data is being downloaded from a server but not the contents of that data or the source of that traffic. VPNs also allow you to access geo-restricted content and protect your online privacy. This where IPVanish and VyrprVPN come in handy

4. How to effectively stop Kodi buffering issues by optimizing cache settings with Ares Wizard

Firstly, you need to install Ares WizardTo do this, please follow these installation instructions:

• Add “http://ares-repo.eu/” to sources in File Manager. Name the source, whatever you want.

• Navigate to Add-ons>Add-on browser>Install from the zip file and open the folder named after the source.

• Open repository.aresproject.

• Select repository.aresproject.zip and wait for the “Add-on installed” notification before continuing.

• Now, select Ares Project in Add-ons>Install from the repository, followed by Program add-ons.

• Select Ares Wizard and then Install. Wait for the “Add-on installed” notification before continuing.

• In Add-ons>Program add-ons, open Ares Wizard to get started.

How to optimize the cache settings

To tweak your cache settings with Ares Wizard, within the program, select Tweaks, followed by Advanced Settings Wizard, and follow the prompts and advice provided. The Ares Wizard informs users of the following points:

• Ideal cache settings depend on the device Kodi is running on.

• Most of the time, the ideal cache location is your device’s RAM.

• Kodi uses 60MB of RAM by default.

• If your device has a lot more RAM available than this, the size can be increased. Please do not increase this too high otherwise, you run the risk of making Kodi crash.

Clicking Next in Advanced Settings Wizard will guide you through generating custom settings for your device.

I recommend cache size is 500MB. This will, of course, vary depending on the available RAM your device has. In other words, the higher the ram, the higher your cache setpoint and vice-versa Hit Generate Settings in order to review the recommended settings.

Select Apply these settings and restart Kodi to implement the changes.

5. Stop Kodi Buffering With Advanced Settings File

Below are the step-by-step instructions for configuring the Advanced Settings XML file.

• Launch Kodi
• Now, Click the settings icon  
• Click System settings
• Hover over the Add-ons menu item and turn on Unknown Sources if not already on
• Click back on the remote to go back to the System page
• Select File Manager
• Click Add source
•  <None>
• Type the following URL exactly how it is listed here –http://firetvguru.net/fire and click OK
• Highlight the box under the source that you just typed in and enter a name for this media source; type fire tv or any other name you would like to identify this source as and click OK
• Hit your back button on the remote or keyboard until you are back at the Kodi home screen
• Click the Add-ons menu item
• Click the small “open box” icon at the top left side of the page under the “Add-ons heading.”
• NowClick Install from the zip file
• Click fire tv or another name you assigned the media source in the previous step
• Click repository.firetvguru.zip file
• Wait for Fire TV Guru Addon message to appear
• Click Install from Repository
• Select Fire Tv Guru Repository
• Click Program Add-Ons
• Now click Fire TV Wizard
• Click Install
• Return to Kodi home Screen and launch Fire TV Wizard from the Program Add-ons category
• Click Maintenance
• Select the Advanced Settings Tool
• Click Full Configure AdvancedSettings.xml
• Adjust settings to your liking
• Click Write File
• Restart Kodi

More clues on configuring Advanced settings.xml

Using Easy Advanced Settings, go to Network and modify these settings:

For a Fire Tv or other higher memory box:

419430400 cachemembuffersize

1.0 buffermode

4.0 readbuffer

For an Amazon Firestick:

157286400 cachemembuffersize

1.0 buffermode

4.0 readbuffer

Go back and Write to XLM file to save your changes. Force quit out of Kodi and start over.

There are other notable fixes that deserve mention.

• It can also depend on what application/ repos you have installed. I would uninstall and reinstall if it is not narrowed down to one movie or song.
• Another reason might be that the device you are running Kodi on does not have enough hardware resources to do so. You either live with this or buy another device
• Also, the problem could be on the “other end” and related to congestion at the source. Pick a different source.
• Sometimes the streams that you select are the main issue, as some take longer to buffer than others
• Always go for the video quality that is NOT 1080p or 720p; the normal HD will do just fine as it streams faster
• Whenever there is a huge list of options to stream for, always go with Vodlocker, Vidzi, Putlocker, or the other low-end streaming options, as these will buffer almost immediately without having to pause all the time
• If you have Wi-Fi boosters, enable them as they might help you to get a better streaming experience
• Upgrade your Kodi version to the latest version. The newer, the faster generally.
• Last but not least, restart your computer regularly, as I have noticed that if you do not shut down & keep re-opening Kodi, it severely underperforms and will keep hanging every time you try to watch something.