Hulu won’t stop buffering, and the screen freezes while watching your favorite program on your streaming device? Don’t get puzzled; this guide will show you how to address the buffering issue by performing some of the most straightforward troubleshooting steps at your end.
Hulu has a ton of subscribers, making it a popular on-demand video streaming service. You can watch TV shows and movies from the Hulu library with loads of content. However, there are some problems with the Hulu app and web player that cause difficulty streaming your favorite movies and shows.
Quite a few users report buffering or freezing issues on Hulu. There could be many reasons for the problem, such as poor internet connection, corrupt Hulu app, etc. Let’s find out why Hulu constantly buffers and robs you of your entertainment time.
Why does my Hulu constantly buffer?
If the videos on the Hulu app won’t stop buffering on your device, it could be due to any one of the following reasons.
- Your internet connection is experiencing speed issues, or WiFi signal strength is poor.
- Hulu app cache and browser cache have bulked up with corrupt files.
- A technical glitch or periodic maintenance has temporarily caused the Hulu servers to go down.
- Hulu app installation files are corrupt and need to be reinstalled.
- You are using an outdated version of the Hulu app.
How do I stop Hulu from buffering?
To stop Hulu from buffering your videos, try the following troubleshooting steps.
Check Hulu service status
Hulu might be experiencing an outage due to a technical glitch in the system or a scheduled server upgrade. When that happens, videos on Hulu freeze or buffer while playing. Therefore, the first troubleshooting method to fix the issue on hand is to check the Hulu service status and then move on to the other troubleshooting steps in the guide.
Restart Hulu app
The quickest method to troubleshoot the buffering issue is to log out of your Hulu account. While at it, relaunch the Hulu app or reload the Hulu web player. However, make sure to wait for a few seconds before signing back into your account. Hopefully, a quick app relaunch will restore the Hulu stream connection to normal.
If you use Hulu on a web browser, power off your device (computer or mobile device). Next, turn the device on after a while and relaunch your browser. Now sign in with Hulu credentials and see if your videos buffer.
Check network connection strength
If restarting the Hulu app fails to fix the buffering issue, the next step is to test your network connection. A slow internet connection speed is known to cause buffering. Hulu recommends 3 Mbps speed for streaming library, 8.0 Mbps for live streams, and 16 Mbps for 4k videos. To test your internet connection:
- Open another app on your streaming device and look out for video buffering.
- If the issue persists on other apps, shut down your device.
- Next, power off your modem and router and wait 2 minutes before turning them back on.
- If you are still experiencing buffering issues, do an online internet speed test and call your ISP to fix the problem at the backend.
Update device software
Sometimes, it’s not the Hulu app causing the buffering issue, but your device software. If you are constantly experiencing buffering on all the other apps, including Hulu, tap into your device settings and ensure that the device software is updated.
Clear app cache and browser cookies
Still, Hulu won’t stop buffering? Try clearing the Hulu cache and cookies. If you are using the Hulu app on your iOS or Android device, access the device settings and head to the Apps section. Next, choose the Hulu app and go to its Storage option. Finally, tap on both Clear data and Clear cache options and see if the fix has any effect on buffering.
To clear the Hulu cache on a computer, you need to clear the browser cache. To do this on Chrome, look on the top right-hand side of the browser screen and tap on the three dots. Next, hover over More Tools and click on the Clear browsing data option. Finally, tick all the necessary checkboxes and hit on Clear cache button.
Reinstall Hulu app
You can reinstall the Hulu app on your streaming device to replace the corrupt installation files with fresh ones. Most of the time, a fresh install can fix the app video buffering issues.
On iOS and Android devices, delete the Hulu app from the Apps list and go to the Play Store or App Store to install a new app version. You can do the same on Roku or Amazon TV stick by reinstalling the Hulu app from the device’s app store.
How do I update Hulu on my smart TV?
If you have a Hulu app on your smart TV, you can update it in the following way to fix the video buffering issue.
- Press the Menu, Home, or Smart Hub button on the remote.
- Go to the smart TV Apps section and search for the Hulu app.
- Select the Hulu app and hit the Update button.
- Next, the Hulu app will begin updating.
How do I reinstall Hulu on my smart TV?
Reinstalling the Hulu app on your smart TV is an effective way to fix video buffering issues. To do this:
- Press the Home, Smart Hub, or Menu button on it.
- Navigate to the Apps section and select the Hulu app from the list.
- Next, select the Delete option.
- Now head to the smart TV app store.
- Type in Hulu in the search box and select the Install option.
- Now launch the app and log in with your Hulu credentials.
- Finally, stream any program and see if the buffering issue is fixed.
Conclusion
We hope that this guide helped you fix the Hulu buffering issue on your streaming device. If you still have the same problem, connect your device with the router directly with an ethernet cable to compensate for poor internet speed. Furthermore, mobile data users can switch to a WiFi connection to have a go at fixing the buffering on Hulu.
