How to Fix Kodi Buffering

Kodi is a popular media player, which was developed by XBMC. The app converts your device into a media center. Mostly, you go along with minor issues until you find Kodi buffering issues hit you.

Unfortunately, such issues get worse the more streams are added unchecked. While such Kodi buffering problems worsen, there are ways to get around this and learn how to stop buffering on Kodi.

In our guide, you can learn how to watch with no limits; buffering issues will be a thing of the past. By the end, you can learn how to go into the easy advanced settings and increase buffer size for streaming video. You will also learn how easy it is to how to speed up buffering on Android, so all your devices are covered. (Read our Kodi Box Setup Guide)

Fix kodi buffering

How Do I Change the Buffering Settings On Kodi?

There are a few options in Kodi that can help settle buffering issues. However, the standard options might not go far enough.

Ares Wizard, a third-party Kodi add-on, comes into action. It is free and automatically detects your system’s RAM and changes Kodi’s cache, among other Kodi capabilities.
Ares Wizard can be found in several repositories, but the most recent version is in the Ares Project repository.

How to install Ares Wizard on Kodi:

  1. Open Kodi on your device.
  2. Select the gear icon on the System menu.
  3. Go to File Manager – Add Source
  4. Type in the following URL exactly: https://repo.ares-project.com/magic/
  5. Underneath, name the new repository “Ares”
  6. Click OK
  7. Navigate back to the Kodi main menu.
  8. Select “Add-ons”
  9. Click the open box icon at the top of the left menu
  10. Select “Install from Zip File”
  11. Locate and select the Ares Project entry
  12. Open the following file: repository.aresproject.zip
  13. Install the zip file
  14. Navigate to the Add-ons menu and select the open box icon
  15. Choose “Install from repository”
  16. Locate “Ares Project” in the list.
  17. Scroll to “Program Add-ons”
  18. Select and install Ares Wizard

Wait for the confirmation box to show. Once installed correctly, you can access Ares Wizard from your main menu. (Find the Latest Kodi Builds)

With Ares Wizard, you can change Kodi’s video cache size, read buffer, and buffer mode, affecting smooth video playback on any Kodi device.

Install Ares Wizard on Kodi

Change Kodi Cache Settings With Ares Wizard:

  1. Navigate to the Kodi main menu.
  2. Click “Add-ons”
  3. Head to “Program”
  4. Open Ares Wizard.
  5. Click on “Tweaks”
  6. Choose “Advanced Settings Wizard”
  7. Select “Next” on the bottom right of your screen.
  8. Click “Generate Settings”
  9. The Ares Wizard sets the sliders to optimal positions, or you can adjust them manually
  10. Click to “Apply Settings”
  11. Restart Kodi for the changes to take effect.

An alternative to this is the Open Wizard Kodi Add-on, another maintenance utility to keep Kodi running at the most optimum.

Here, you can delete temporary files and thumbnails or packages, create backups, and, more yet most importantly, it is an easy way to edit your Kodi cache settings to fix Kodi buffering.

  1. Install the Open Wizard as any other add-on using this repo URL: https://a4k-openproject.github.io/repository.openwizard/
  2. Afterward, follow these steps to edit Kodi cache settings:
  3. Check your system RAM amount. Start Kodi and click the gear icon at the top left
  4. Select “System information”
  5. Head to “Summary” on the left, and look at the bottom under “System memory usage”
  6. Note the value following the slash. If you use devices such as Amazon Fire TV, Nvidia Shield TV, or Android TV boxes, the value is likely to be between 1024 MB and 8192 MB.
  7. Navigate back to the Kodi home screen and open the Open Wizard Kodi Addon.
  8. From the main menu, select “Maintenance”
  9. Select “System Tweaks / Fixes”
  10. Select “Advanced Settings”
  11. Select “Cache & Network Presets”
  12. Choose between “Low-RAM Device Preset” or “High-End Device Preset”
  13. If your device has a system memory of over 2048 MB, select “High-End Device Preset”. If not, choose “Low-RAM Device Preset”
  14. Make sure you don’t select the “Zero Cache Preset” as it can make your streaming experience unstable.
  15. The Open Wizard Kodi add-on wants to download a configuration file for your Kodi cache settings. Select “Install”
  16. Once installed, restart Kodi for the new cache settings to work.

Once Kodi starts, open the Open Wizard Kodi add-on and navigate to the same menu. You can see your new Kodi Cache settings by selecting “View Current AdvancedSettings.xml”

The “buffermode” tells Kodi how to handle video streaming, and the “memory size” is the actual size of your Kodi cache based on system memory. You can clear cache with these Kodi add-ons, which will help improve speeds and help stop buffering on your Fire TV stick or computer. (Read Installing Exodus On Kodi)

How Do I Fix Buffering Problems?

It’s a simple process of elimination when learning how to stop buffering on Android devices or other Kodi boxes you use.

Start with the easiest checks, like tuning your device and checking your local internet connection speed before you move to more challenging areas to check.

Here are the step-by-step instructions you can follow that will help you troubleshoot.

  1. Retry the same stream at different times of the day. It could be the distant server you are accessing streams on is overloaded. Continue to the next step if the buffering remains.
  2. The stream you’re using may be causing your buffering issues. Try streaming something different and check if you still have the same buffering issues. Continue to the next step if the buffering remains.
  3. If you’re using Kodi on a smartphone, TV box, or another portable device, the buffering issue could be an isolated case. Try the same stream on your computer or laptop. Continue to the following step if that does not resolve the issue.
  4. Perform a speed test on your home internet connection. Drop-offs in speed can cause frequent buffering since there isn’t enough bandwidth available to stream HD content. Test your connection with an online speed test. If your speeds are less than 0.5 Mbps, your ISP plan may need to be upgraded, or they have an issue.
  5. Try another internet connection. Take your device to a friend’s or try a public Wi-Fi hotspot and try the same stream again. If this resolves the problem, the buffering is possible because of ISP throttling, which means you’ll need to take additional steps to overcome the speed limit.

What Stops Streaming Buffering?

Here are more ways to dive into the Kodi settings and fix your buffering issues if the above doesn’t work.

Stop Kodi Buffering with Supreme Builds Wizard

Stop Kodi Buffering with Supreme Builds Wizard

Supreme Builds Wizard is the third maintenance tool for Kodi.

  1. Install the Supreme Builds Wizard.
  2. From the Kodi home screen or the Add-ons – Program Add-ons.
  3. Select Supreme Builds Maintenance
  4. Click “Supreme Builds” System Tweaks/Fixes
  5. Click on “Advanced Settings”
  6. Select Quick Configure AdvancedSettings.xml
  7. Don’t change the recommended settings. Have a look and click “Write File” to the bottom left

If error messages asking if you want to remove the AdvancedSettings.xml file, click ‘Remove Settings.’ If using Supreme Builds Wizard for the first time to update settings, you won’t see warning messages.

Use Real-Debrid to Fix Kodi Buffering

Your high-speed internet connection may not be enough to prevent many Kodi streams from buffering. If you have a fast internet connection, Kodi may underutilize it when streaming your favorite video. We will have a better Kodi experience if the internet is utilized to its full speed potential. Here comes Real Debrid.

Real Debrid is a multihoster that gives you access to a new world of quality streams for your favorite shows. Others fail to deliver new 1080p Full HD streams.

Real Debrid is a free downloader. With connections up to 300 Mbps, it can use up to 80% of your original internet speed. That’s impressive.

It is not a free service, yet you can try the limited-featured service for free and help stop Kodi buffering.

Alter Storage Kodi Userdata to Stop Buffering

Changing Kodi’s video cache settings doesn’t need an add-on and needs you to use a text editor to access Kodi’s installation directory on a PC. On Android or iOS, you’ll need to use a file explorer to carry out advanced settings repair.

Locate your userdata folder

Kodi keeps most of its files in a few places. User-unique data, including custom key mappings, add-on data, playlists, and thumbnails, are maintained in a separate directory that varies by the operating system. Ensure you can access the folder where Kodi will look for the config file you’re about to write.

Here are the locations of Kodi’s userdata folder for certain devices:

  • Android Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata/
  • iOS /private/var/mobile/Library/Preferences/Kodi/userdata/
  • Linux ~/.kodi/userdata/
  • Mac /Users//Library/Application Support/Kodi/userdata/
  • Nvidia Shield (SMB) smb:///internal/Android/data/org.xbmc.kodi/files/.kodi/userdata
  • OSMC /home/osmc/.kodi/userdata/
  • tvOS /private/var/mobile/Library/Preferences/Kodi/userdata/
  • Windows %APPDATA%\Kodi\userdata
  • Windows Portable \portable_data\userdata\
  • Windows UWP %LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\XBMCFoundation.Kodi_4n2hpmxwrvr6p\LocalCache\Roaming\Kodi\

Create an XML file

By default, the advanced settings file does not exist in the userdata folder. In this directory, you’ll need to create a new text document, fill it with text, and save it.

Create an empty text file in the userdata directory. Name it advancedsettings.xml

Open the file in your text editor.

Copy and paste the following text into this file:

  • <advancedsettings>
  • <network>
  • <buffermode>1</buffermode>
  • <readfactor>4.0</readfactor>
  • <cachemembuffersize>104857800</cachemembuffersize>
  • </network>
  • </advancedsettings>

Check below and change the cachemembuffersize numbers based on the memory your Kodi device has.

For instance, if your device has 6 GB of RAM, the line will be <cachemembuffersize>209715200 </cachemembuffersize>:

  • 1 GB RAM: 52428800
  • 2 GB RAM: 104857600
  • 4 GB RAM or more: 209715200

Save your file after making additions and then exit.

Restart Kodi for your new settings to take effect.

vpn for kodi to stop buffering problem

Fix Kodi Buffering with A VPN

Most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) promise their clients high-speed, unlimited internet access. While most regular users are kept happy, heavy streamers are frequently throttled.

When a user exceeds a certain data use limit, ISP throttling slows down the internet. This frequently happens to heavy users without their knowledge. If you enjoy watching movies and TV shows with Kodi, you could be a heavy user.

Using a good VPN is the best method to avoid internet throttling and Kodi buffering issues. A decent VPN service does more than hide your online identity. Using a VPN hides your data usage from your ISP, and they can only see how much data was consumed rather than any sites you are accessing.

Users streaming films, download torrents, and distribute large files across the web have often report connection throttling.

A premium VPN can work on computers, Android and iOS, Fire TV Stick, and most other devices Kodi users often use Kodi on. While you may not wish to commit to the first VPN your find, they come with a 30-day money-back guarantee so you can test them before signing up.

What Causes Excessive Buffering?

Possible Reasons for Buffering on Kodi

  • Slow Internet Connection: We enjoy watching high-definition shows and movies online. This is why you’ll need a fast enough internet connection to support for smooth, uninterrupted streaming.
  • It is highly recommended that you have at least 5 Megabits per second internet connection. That should be able to stream your SD videos without buffering troubles.
  • If you like to stream HD or Ultra HD, 20-30 Megabits per second is recommended.
  • Of course, as mentioned, using a VPN, you can also avoid ISP throttling.
  • If using Wi-Fi, keep your device as close to the modem or router
  • If possible, use Ethernet connections as they optimize internet speed
  • Don’t run other apps while watching movies or TV shows on Kodi. For example, torrenting will consume lots of bandwidth and cause buffering.
  • Too many connected devices on the same network can lower your internet speed and lead to Kodi buffering issues.
  • If you don’t receive the internet speed according to plan from your ISP, contact them to find out why your connection speed is continually lower than it should be.

All the above can help, yet using the addons to fix problems are fruitless if you have an ISP throttling your connection. One of the first stops should be trying a streaming VPN and using the 30-day money-back guarantee to see if you have any other issues or are all down to connection throttling.

How to Fix Kodi Buffering