Buffering problems on iPlayer on WIFI

[#1]

I'm getting buffering problems running BBC IPlayer on WIFI.

On my Amazon stick it is fine, but on a tablet Win 10, it buffers and stops after 10 minutes for about 10 minutes and then runs again. I've tried it on Chrome, Edge and the Fox, all the same

So any suggestions (other than not using WIFI and getting a cable)?

[#2]

If it's working fine on the firestick it suggests that the tablet isn't receiving the same speeds or has other issues causing this. What speeds are you getting on a speedtest from the tablet?

[#3]

@ChrisYes normally, its around 20 to 30mbps but it is slow today 12mbps down and 1.8mbps down, maybe its the wet weather and everyone is indoors on their PCs

[#4]

Just did a plugged in test and its still slow, maybe its the rain as it's normally very much faster?

[#5]

Doesn't look great. Can you run a further speedtest later this evening? I'm interested if it's peak time issues in your area. If the speeds don't improve get this reported to us at https://faults.plus.net so we can get this looked at further.  -Chris

[#6]

@Chris Good idea, will do.

I've also noticed that the down speed, which is normally pretty constant  seems to also be up and down like fiddler's elbow as this shows.

[#7]

Download get_iplayer (for Windows or Linux) and use it to download programmes you want to watch. This could take some time on a slow connection - but its not speed sensitive.

Play the programme using your favourite video player, such as VLC.

Then delete the programme before it expires on iPlayer.

[#8]

"BBC iPlayer programmes stream at up to 2.8 Mbps or megabits (2800 kbps), depending on the quality."

Doesn't that mean even the lower speeds mentioned should suffice?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/help/speed_checker_online

[#9]

That article is outdated.

The BBC made changes to the streams a while ago now and the maximum bitrate is now 4991Kbps (for the 50FPS DASH and HLS streams)

[#10]

That's still less than the 12Mbps described above as being slow.

[#11]

@Chris I'm convinced its the weather!!! I've been monitoring this over the last few days and the charts show the problem.

In very heavy rain it dropped down to 3mbps and was intermittent, things improved and went up to 20mbps in the damp and today in sunshine  its a constant signal at 30mbps and 37mbps.

Can PlusNet fix the weather?

Or .... could it be the weather (rain) forcing people indoors to use the internet?

[#12]

We can't fix the weather but if you can report a fault we can push that through to try and find why it's causing issues with your service. https://faults.plus.net -Chris

[#13]

@Chris Thanks, I have reported it, but as my speed today is 32mbps down and 1.8mbps up, so, I feel like I'm complaining about something that is working well.

Hopefully, the problem will be identified and fixed

[#14]

If you're sure it's definitely not related to the wireless signal, it's possible we may need to arrange an engineer visit to investigate this. At the moment, testing your line is also reporting the expected speed of 40 Mb/s.

I'll leave the ticket on your account with our faults team, they'll pick up the ticket within the next 72 hours.

Fingers crossed it rains a bit in the meantime so we can catch a fault.

[#15]

@Gandalf Thanks I just checked the weather for the next few days and it looks like wall to wall sunshine, so maybe I should think about a total fibre to my home when my contracts ends, as then I presume there would be no reason for a drop?