Why Does YouTube Video Keep Stopping?

An increasing number of people are using YouTube for their daily entertainment. However, it’s difficult, but mainly annoying, to watch YouTube videos that keep stopping and starting.

What Is Buffering?

Buffering is the pre-loading of data. It’s quite normal for a video you are watching online to buffer just before it begins. In fact, your computer needs to download a certain amount of data before starting to play the video continuously, but it shouldn’t stop during playback.

If you are tired of sputtering internet videos, you should check out some of our solutions.

How To Stop YouTube Video From Pausing

 

Internet Speed

In most cases, the function of your internet speed is the reason why buffering occurs. To play YouTube videos of certain quality without interruption, your internet speed has to be fast enough to download the video faster than your PC plays it. With a slow internet connection, the video on YouTube will keep stopping to buffer.

YouTube: Minimum Speed Requirements

  • 4K: 20 Mbps
  • HD 1080p: 5 Mbps
  • HD 720p: 2.5 Mbps
  • SD 480p: 1.1 Mbps
  • SD 360p: 0.7 Mbps

 

According to Google, an owner of YouTube, videos on this platform can be streamed in standard definition for just 700 Kbps (Kilobits per second), for live streaming you have to get at least 1 Mbps. To watch YouTube in HD, 720p videos require a minimum of 2.5 Mbps, while 1080p videos need at least 5 Mbps. Watching videos in 4K Ultra HD smoothly and without buffering, it requires at least 20 Mbps to play.

 

Too Many Connected Devices

Even when there is absolutely no problem with your internet speed, a number of connected smart devices to your home network can have a negative impact on your YouTube video streaming experience. In this case, you should invest in a router that enables you to support heavy online traffic. Likely, the newest routers come with useful features such as QoS (Quality of Service) or MU-MIMO technology that are designed to home Wi-Fi networks in smart homes more efficiently.

 

Browser Problems

While internet speed is the number one reason why YouTube videos keep stopping, if this isn’t your issue, try to open another browser and test the video there. Is the video playing smoothly in another browser? If yes, then clearing cookies and temporary file cache in your main browser should help you. A smart move is also having the latest version of your browser, if not, update it.

 

Switch To A Lower Video Quality

YouTube gives you the option of choosing video quality. Nowadays, you can watch videos on various resolutions starting low on 360p and ending on 4K. Try to lower the quality of the video you are watching to stream it faster.

Stop YouTube Video From Pausing
Credit: Nechstar / Click to zoom

 

Avoid The Internet Rush Hour

Internet rush hour is the time period when the majority of Internet users are online at the same time. There are certain hours in a day when a website experience higher traffic than usual, which can lead to overloaded servers and resulting in a slow streaming rate for individual users. Thy to avoid these so-called “internet rush hour”.

 

If you are looking for a simple way on how to grow your YouTube channel and videos, you should try to use the free TubeBuddy Chrome extension.

 

TubeBuddy – A Must Have Growth Hacking Tool For Every YouTuber

TubeBuddy is probably the best YouTube SEO and growth tool on the market. It’s very easy to use and can be installed on your browser in just a few clicks.

The TubeBuddy extension is free and includes basic tools.

Their free extension offers a ton of functionality that is great for when you’re first starting your channel, and their paid plans offer even more tools to help you grow faster. TubeBuddy has over 65 features that can help you boost your videos into the YouTube algorithm.

Get TubeBuddy Now

 

Disclaimer: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links, which means that we will receive a small commission if you purchase from one of our recommendations (at no extra cost to you).

 

 

If anyone tells you it’s too late to start a YouTube channel, ignore them. The platform is booming, and while there have been some controversies over the years, it’s still possible for a new content creator to build a successful YouTube channel from scratch.

To succeed, you’ll need to get some essential equipment for creating good videos.

 

 

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