One of the most frustrating things to deal with when you are streaming content is buffering, but there is a way to overcome this. Kodi is one of the world’s favorite streaming solutions due to its convenient functionality and high quality. It offers the chance to access movies, TV shows, live TV, sports streams and much more. The problem is that just like other streaming solutions, Kodi is affected by buffering issues. If you try to watch videos, you may have to deal with slow performance, which hinders your streaming experience. As we mentioned before, it is possible to solve buffering issues and in this article, we will tell you what you can do to enjoy smooth streaming so that you can focus on enjoying your favorite content.
How to stop Kodi Buffering – Modify Cache size
Cache refers to how much of the video that you are watching is temporarily saved to your device’s hard drive or RAM. Since Kodi tries to use as little memory as possible, its cache file is relatively small. Thanks to this, the Kodi app can run smoothly on a device with low RAM. A Mac and Windows PC are capable of handling cache better and if you increase the cache size, buffering can be significantly decreased on Kodi. It is possible to adjust the cache file in many ways, but one of the easiest solutions is to use Ares Wizard, a popular Kodi addon. To be able to use Ares Wizard, you need to install it first following the below steps.
Installing Ares Wizard on Kodi 17.1 Krypton
1. Open Kodi Krypton and then click on the Settings icon located in the top left corner.
2. Go to System Settings, select Expert Mode and then Addons.
3. Enable Unknown Sources so that you can install third-party add-ons.
4. Once the warning box appears, click Yes.
5. Return to the Kodi homescreen and select the Settings icon.
6. From there, go to File Manager, select Add Source.
7. If you select None, you can then enter this path exactly as it appears here: http://ares-repo.eu
8. You can name it Ares and then click OK.
9. Go to the Kodi homescreen and select Addons.
10. Selectteh Package Installer Icon located at the top left corner.
11. Choose Install from Zip File, then Ares, followed by repository.aresproject ->repository.aresproject.zip
12. Allow some time for the Ares Wizard Enabled notification to show up
13. Then, select Install from Repo, followed from Program addons, then select Ares Wizard and Install.
14. This will start the download and installation process.
How to use Kodi Ares Wizard to adjust cache size
1. Go to My addons, then select Program Addons
2. Select Ares Wizard
3. In the Ares Wizard, select Tweak, then Advanced Settings Wizard, followed by Next and then Generate Settings, finally select Apply.
4. After this, the optimal cache setting for your device will be generated after this.
5. It is also possible to modify the files that you want Kodi to buffer by selecting one of four different Cache modes.
First Mode: In this, Kodi buffers all Internet streams including FTP.
Mode 2: Everything is buffered by Kodi
Mode 3: Kodi only buffers streams from sites
Mode 4: This mode should only be selected if you want to disable buffering completely.
If none of these adjustments work and your buffering issues are not solved, it is likely that your ISP is throttling your connection, which results in slow performance.
How to fix Kodi buffering issues bypassing ISP throttling
While the majority of ISPs don’t openly say it, the truth is that many of them slow down your Internet speed. When you try to download a file or stream media content, you may notice that the speed of your connection suddenly drops down. This may happen because your ISP is throttling your internet connection. In order to be able to avoid ISP throttling, you would need to keep your online activities hidden. If you use a VPN, your ISP won’t be able to see what you are doing. Here are the steps that you need to follow in order to use a VPN to defeat buffering.
1. The first thing that you need to do is to select a VPN service.
2. Once you sign up for a VPN, you can download and install the VPN app on your device. VPN services supports different platforms including Android, iOS, Mac and Windows.
3. Open the app and connect to a VPN server. You can select a server in a location nearby, which will give you better speeds. However, if you want to access content that is only available in a specific country (for instance the United States), you need to connect to content that is only available there.
4. Once you have connected to a VPN, your entire internet traffic and private data will be encrypted. This will prevent your ISP from monitoring your data. Since your ISP won’t know what you are doing, it won’t be able to slow down your connection.
There are several VPN services available, but we recommend ExpressVPN, NordVPN and IPVanish. They are fast, secure and have an extensive selection of servers that will allow you to defeat restrictions and enjoy a seamless streaming experience.
How to fix Kodi 17 buffering issues – Additional methods
If you find an extensive list of video source servers that you can use to play the same video, you can try them all to see which one offers the best results.
If you are using Kodi on Windows or Mac, try to connect tour device to the router with the help of an Ethernet cable and not WiFi.
If you are using a WiFi connection, try to get closer to the router to get better performance.
You can delete Kodi cache following these steps>
1. Run the Ares WIzard
2. Go to Maintenance
3. Under Total Storage Regained, then select Delete Cache.