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4 Ways to Fix Twitch Buffering and Lagging

Twitch Keeps Buffering or Stuttering? Our Troubleshooting Guide Will Help You Fix That

Twitch is the go-to place for watching gaming streams. However, many people get frustrated when they can't watch their favorite streamers because Twitch constantly buffers. This guide will show you how to troubleshoot endless Twitch buffering on Windows computers.

Fix Twitch Buffering Lagging Stuttering

Unfortunately, people encounter problems where Twitch keeps buffering, stuttering, and lagging. Sometimes users experience constant buffering, making Twitch unusable.

Why Does Twitch Keep Buffering?

Twitch buffering issues occur for three primary reasons: web browser issues, Twitch service issues, and network problems. All of these causes have a significant impact on user experience.

Twitch will continue to buffer if your Internet speed isn't fast enough. Nevertheless, having a stable and speedy Internet connection is not enough as you may still experience buffering issues.

Malicious software may throttle your Internet bandwidth. Therefore, you should scan your computer for malware.

It's been widely agreed that Twitch may start having buffering issues while Steam is updating certain games. Therefore, you should ensure that Steam isn't downloading anything.

Like any streaming platform, Twitch may experience server issues resulting in Twitch not functioning correctly, causing lag, stuttering, and buffering issues. We've put together some user-tested solutions to solve these issues.

Video Guide on How to Fix Twitch Buffering on Windows 10

Table of Contents:

Solution 1. Clear Web Browser Cache

Clear Cache in Microsoft Edge

1. Open Microsoft Edge.

Open the Menu and click Settings

2 . Open the Menu (3 dots icon at the top right corner of the browser), and select Settings.

Select Privacy, search, and services

3. Then, in the right pane, click Privacy, search, and services.

Click Choose what to clear

4. Under Clear browsing data, click the Choose what to clear button.

Select All time

5. Open the Time range drop-down menu and select All time.

Click Clear now

6. Then, mark the Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files checkboxes and click Clear now.

Clear Cache in Google Chrome

1. Open Google Chrome.

Select Clear browsing data

2. Open the More menu, navigate to More tools, and click Clear browsing data.

Select All time

3. Open the Time range drop-down menu and select All time.

Click Clear data

4. Then, mark the checkboxes next to Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files, and click Clear data.

Clear Cache in Mozilla Firefox

1. Open Mozilla Firefox.

Open the Menu and select Settings

2. Open the Menu and select Settings.

Select Privacy & Security

3. Select the Privacy & Security panel.

Click Clear data

4. Scroll down and in the Cookies and Site Data section, click Clear Data.

Click Clear

5. Mark the checkboxes next to Cookies and Site Data and Cached Web Content and click Clear.

Click Clear Now

6. Then, click the Clear Now button.

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Solution 2. Disable Google Chrome Hardware Acceleration

If you watch Twitch using Google Chrome, then disable Use hardware acceleration when available option.

Open the Menu and sellect Settings

1. Open Google Chrome and click the Menu icon at the top right corner of the window.

2. In the drop-down menu, click Settings.

Click Advanced

3. In the Settings menu, scroll down and click Advanced.

Disable hardare acceleration and click Relaunch

4. Scroll down to the bottom again, and uncheck the Use hardware acceleration when available option.

5. Click the relaunch button for the changes to take effect.

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Solution 3. Change Your DNS

1. Hold down Windows+R keys to open Run.

Type in Control Panel in Run and click OK

2. Type in Control Panel and click OK.

Select Network and Internet

3. Once in the Control Panel, click Network and Internet.

Select Network and Sharing Center

4. Select Network and Sharing Center.

Click Change adapter settings

5. Click Change adapter settings.

Right-click your network adapter and click Properties

6. Right-click your network adapter and select Properties.

Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and click Properties

7. Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and click Properties.

Enter Preferred and Alternate DNS addresses and click OK

8. Tick the Use the following DNS server address.

9. Enter the following addresses:

We will use Cloudflare DNS

In the Preferred DNS server, type in 1.1.1.1

In the Alternate DNS server, type in 1.0.0.1

10. Click OK to save settings.

11. Restart your PC for the changes to take effect.

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Solution 4. Block Specific IP Range

1. Hold down Windows+R keys to open Run.

Type in Control Firewall.cpl in Run and click OK

2. In the Run dialog box, type control firewall.cpl, and click OK to open Windows Defender Firewall settings.

Click Advanced Settings

3. Click Advanced settings in the left pane.

Select Inbound Rules and select New Rule

4. Click Inbound Rules in the left pane and select New Rule in the right pane.

Select Custom and click Next

5. Then, tick Custom rule and click Next.

Select Scope and select These IPs and click Add

6. Select Scope and tick Which remote IP addresses does this rule apply to.

7. Tick These IP addresses and click Add.

Tick This IP range and enter first IP range

8. Then, tick This IP range.

9. In the From text box, type in 206.111.0.0

10. In the To text box, type in 206.111.255.255

11. Click OK.

Click Add again

12. Then, click Add again.

Tick This IP range and enter second IP range

13. In the From text box, type in 173.194.55.1

14. In the To text box, type 173.194.55.255

Click Next after entering IP ranges

15. Then, click Next.

Tick Block the connection and click Next

16. Tick Block the connection and click Next.

Click Next

17. In the "When does this rule apply?" window, click Next.

Enter a name for the new rule and click Finish

18. Enter a name for the new rule and click Finish.

19. Restart your PC.

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About the author:

Rimvydas Iliavicius

Rimvydas is a researcher with over four years of experience in the cybersecurity industry. He attended Kaunas University of Technology and graduated with a Master's degree in Translation and Localization of Technical texts. His interests in computers and technology led him to become a versatile author in the IT industry. At PCrisk, he's responsible for writing in-depth how-to articles for Microsoft Windows. Contact Rimvydas Iliavicius.

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