Is Twitch Buffering on Chrome for Windows? Try These 9 Fixes

zulqarnayniOctober 16, 2022Last Updated: October 16, 2022

0 3 minutes read

Nothing’s more frustrating than watching your favorite Twitch stream buffer on Google Chrome. Even with the best connection by your side, you’ll continue to encounter occasional hitches and buffering issues.

If Twitch is buffering on Google Chrome for Windows, then this is the place where you need to be. In this article, we will look at what causes the constant buffering and what you can do to fix it.

Why Is Twitch Constantly Buffering on Google Chrome?

Twitch is one of the largest streaming platforms in the world. While Twitch usually runs without issues, you might experience occasional buffering while watching streams on Google Chrome. The buffering issue is often a result of a weak or unstable internet connection.

The problem can also appear due to the following reasons:

Corrupt cache data of Google Chrome.

Insufficient Ram or GPU issue.

Ongoing server issue on Twitch’s end.

Regardless of what’s causing the buffering issue, you can easily troubleshoot the problem. Here are 9 solutions you must try to troubleshoot Twitch buffering issues on Chrome quickly.

1. Is Twitch Down?

The first thing you must check is whether the problem is on Twitch’s end rather than yours. If Twitch servers are currently under maintenance or outage, it’ll impact many users, not just you.

You can check the Twitch server status by visiting its server status page. If the servers are down, you can’t do much other than wait until they become operational again.

2. Check Your Internet Speed

Twitch recommends that your Internet connection speed must be at least 6-8 Mbps to stream in high quality. You can check your internet speed by visiting a website like Fast.com.

If the result shows that your speed is inadequate, there are various things you can try to improve your internet connection.

Close all the applications from the background that are consuming the internet. For example, make sure applications like Epic Games is not updating or downloading a game in the background.

You can also try resetting your router.

3. Enable Hardware Acceleration

Hardware acceleration enables Google Chrome to use the graphics processor in your system instead of your main processor, the CPU. You must allow this feature if you often play browser games or watch high-quality videos.

To enable hardware acceleration in Google Chrome, follow the below steps:

Open Google Chrome and click on the three dots at the top-right corner.

Choose Settings from the context menu.

Select System from the left panel.

Enable the toggle next to Use hardware acceleration when available.

Relaunch the browser and check if the buffering issue continues in Twitch.

4. Clear the Google Chrome Cache Data

Google Chrome stores cache data like any other browser to offer faster and smoother service. But with time, the cache data can get corrupted for various reasons and cause different issues.

The solution, in this case, is to clear the Google Chrome cache data. Don’t worry; it’s not going to have any adverse effect on the browser.

Open the Settings menu in Chrome.

Select Privacy and security from the left panel.

Click Clear browsing data.

Checkmark the Cached images and files option.

Click Clear data.

Next, give a quick restart to the browser and check for the issue.

5. Remove Unnecessary Extensions

Extensions help in improving productivity. But certain extensions can interfere with the browser and adversely affect its performance.

So, make sure you remove all the unnecessary extensions from Google Chrome.

In Google Chrome, click on the three dots at the top right corner, choose More tools, and then Extensions.

Click on the toggle present under each extension to disable them.

To narrow down which extension is exactly causing the problem, slowly re-enable each extension and stream Twitch until the problem arises again.

Once you nail which extension is causing the issue, click the Remove button present under that particular extension.

Click Remove again to the confirmation window that crops up.

6 . Disable Any Proxy Server Connection

A proxy server makes sure you are safe and protected online. But on the negative side, it can make the connection unstable and cause the streams to buffer.

You can try turning off any active proxy and check if it fixes the issue. Here’s how:

Open the Start menu by pressing the Win key.

In the search bar, type Internet options and press Enter.

Select the Connections tab.

Choose the LAN settings and then uncheck the Use a proxy server for your LAN box.

Click OK to save the changes.

7. Update the Network Driver

An outdated or corrupt network driver is also one of the prime reasons behind the buffering issue. As a solution, consider updating the network driver.

Open the Power menu by pressing the Win + X hotkeys and choose Device Manager from the menu that appears.

Right-click on the installed network adapters and choose Update driver from the context menu.

Select Search automatically for drivers.

Windows will now look for and download the latest network driver update.

8. Flush the DNS Cache

Another reason Twitch might buffer on Google Chrome is the corrupt DNS cache data. You will have to flush the DNS cache to resolve the problem. Here’s how:

Open the Start menu, and type CMD in the search bar.

Choose Run as administrator from the right pane.

In the elevated Command Prompt window, type ipconfig /flushdns and press Enter. This command will clear the DNS cache.

9. Reset the Network Settings

If you still face the buffering issue, you’re left with no option other than to reset the network settings. But ensure you are trying this step at last, as it will clear all the network settings.

Open the Settings menu.

Choose Network & Internet from the left panel.

Select Advanced network settings, and then Network reset.

Click Reset now.

Confirm your selection by clicking Yes on the prompt that appears.

Watch Your Favourite Twitch Streams Without Buffering

It’s very common to experience buffering issues on Twitch. Fortunately, you can quickly troubleshoot the problem by following the above fixes. But in the worst-case scenario, if none of the above solutions is helpful, it indicates that the problem is with your browser. In this situation, you can try a different browser for streaming Twitch.