Are your Plex streams slow or stuttery? Chances are it's not your Plex server at all, and it's likely your home network.Here are a few things to check before you go diving into configuration and settings pages, because you probably don't even need to check there.Your Plex server's network connection is the most important one It should never be on Wi-Fi You can run Plex on almost anything, but one thing is for certain, it should never be run on Wi-Fi.
Wi-Fi is a great technology and I absolutely love it.I rely on it for my day-to-day work and it powers my entire household.However, mission critical services, like Plex, are always hardwired into my network.
Wi-Fi is a great tool for wirelessly using the internet, but it's nowhere near as stable as a wired connection.If I had to pick between a multi-gig Wi-Fi 7 connection and a wired gigabit Ethernet connection, I would choose the wired connection every time.A wired connection simply gives you a more stable experience and isn't as affected by its surroundings like Wi-Fi is.
You could have the most powerful Plex server in existence, but if it's on Wi-Fi, you could get a very poor streaming experience.So, if your Plex server feels slow and you know it's not the hardware, make sure to check that it's properly connected to a wired network and not Wi-Fi.A bad Wi-Fi signal can be the downfall of any streaming setup Your Plex server might have a good connection, but does your TV? So, your Plex server is wired into your network and has plenty of power, but you're still experiencing slow streams? There's a good chance that the device you're watching it on doesn't have a good Wi-Fi connection.
If you have a TV that's at the far end of the house away from the router, then you simply might not have the connection bandwidth to stream the content you're wanting to.While 720p and 1080p movies can stream on almost any connection, 4K content does need a bit of a better connection.Something to keep in mind is that many streaming media players or TVs have pretty weak Wi-Fi radios.
Just because your phone or laptop works in the room doesn't mean your TV or streamer will work well in that scenario.Just like the Plex server itself, it's always best to make sure your streaming devices are hardwired in whenever possible.In my personal setup, I can't hardwire my Apple TV in because of where it's installed.
However, I've made sure that there's solid Wi-Fi coverage in the room so I can stream 4K HDR content without an issue from my Plex server.Too many devices with not enough bandwidth is equally as bad The straw is only so big The last thing to check is whether or not your network has enough bandwidth to support all the devices that are on it.My uncle recently upgraded from a decade-old Netgear Orbi mesh Wi-Fi system to a UniFi Dream Router 7.
He immediately noticed a massive speed difference when multiple devices were using the network at the same time.Think of your network's bandwidth as a straw, and all of the networking being done as the drink going through it.Now, imagine you have a very small straw like a coffee stir.
You can get enough liquid through that coffee stir to take a small sip, but not much more.Likewise, an older network doesn't have nearly as big of a pipe to deliver content to your devices.If one person is downloading a game from Steam or Xbox, while another is streaming Netflix, and someone else is watching YouTube, there simply might not be enough bandwidth left for Plex to use.
On the other hand, imagine a nice McDonald's straw.You know the one.You can fit so much drink through that straw it makes other straws seem nonexistent.
That's what a newer network feels like—more than enough bandwidth to go around.If you haven't updated your network recently, there's a good chance your network itself could be starved for bandwidth which means your devices simply can't operate like they're supposed to.A problem like this is almost unnoticeable when doing normal web browsing or downloading files, but definitely rears its ugly head when streaming content, which is likely why you're noticing it when watching Plex.
TP-Link TL-SG105 5-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch $13 $20 Save $7 Type Ethernet Switch Connect four devices to a single Ethernet port with TP-Link's simple five-port powered Ethernet switch.$13 at Amazon Expand Collapse UniFi Dream Router 7 Brand Unifi Range 1,750 square feet Wi-Fi Bands 2.4/5/6GHz Ethernet Ports 4 2.5G USB Ports None MU-MIMO 2x2 MU-MIMO The Unifi Dream Router 7 is a full-fledged network appliance offering NVR capabilities, fully managed switching,a built-in firewall, VLANs, and more.With four 2.5G Ethernet ports (one with PoE+) and a 10G SFP+ port, the Unifi Dream Router 7 also features dual WAN capabilities should you have two ISP connections.
It includes a 64GB microSD card for IP camera storage, but can be upgraded for more storage if needed.With Wi-Fi 7, you'll be able to reach up to a theoretical 5.7 Gbps network speed when using the 10G SFP+ port, or 2.5 Gbps when using Ethernet. $295 at B&H Photo Video $279 at Unifi Expand Collapse Eero 7 Mesh Wi-Fi Router (1pc) Brand eero Wi-Fi Bands Dual-band Wi-Fi 7 Ethernet Ports 2 x 2.5 GbE ports Mesh Network Compatible Yes Amazon's Eero 7 router offers high-speed Wi-Fi 7 connectivity with up to 1.8 Gb wireless throughput and a 2,000 square foot range.It also features two 2.5 GbE ports, though it notably lacks 6GHz connectivity, which is unusual for a Wi-Fi 7 router.
$170 at Amazon $170 at Best Buy Expand Collapse Unless your Plex server is ancient, it's likely not the reason for slow streams It's honestly pretty rare that the Plex server itself is the cause for a bad stream.More often than not the cause is somewhere else entirely—in this case your network.So, before you go diving through Plex configuration options trying to find out why it's slow, make sure your network is up to the task.
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