Even with blazing-fast internet, I’ve often faced YouTube buffering every few seconds or videos randomly dropping to 144p. If you’ve landed here, chances are you’re tired of staring at spinning circles or blurry videos too.

After facing this myself — and digging deep into Reddit threads, tech forums, and personal testing — I’m sharing a complete, no-fluff guide to fix YouTube buffering and low-quality playback across Android, iPhone, and desktop.

💡 Scroll down to find complete step-by-step solutions for Android, iOS, and desktop — organized clearly so you can jump to what matters for your device.

Fixes for Android Devices

Clear Cache and Data

In my case, clearing the cache almost instantly fixed constant buffering.
Here’s how you do it:

• Settings → Apps → YouTube → Storage → Clear Cache & Clear Data

You’ll need to log back into your account, but this reset often refreshes the app’s backend connection.

Disable Battery Optimization

Android’s aggressive battery optimization sometimes kills YouTube’s data fetch.
To fix it:

• Go to Settings > Battery > Battery Optimization
• Find YouTube
• Set it to Don’t Optimize
  

This allowed my videos to load properly even when I locked the screen or switched apps briefly.

Switch DNS (Google or Cloudflare)

Manually setting DNS helped me reduce buffering and load videos faster. Here’s the quick setting:

• Go to Wi-Fi settings → Tap your network → IP settings > Static
• Set DNS 1: 8.8.8.8
• Set DNS 2: 1.1.1.1

This connects you to faster, more reliable servers.

Spoof Signature in ReVanced

If you’re using YouTube ReVanced like I was, enabling “Spoof App Signature” solved buffering after 1-minute bugs:

• Open ReVanced settings
• Enable Spoof App Signature

It tricks YouTube into thinking you’re using the stock app.

Fixes for iOS Devices

Force Higher Quality

Sometimes, iOS defaults everything to Auto 144p even on WiFi. I fixed it by:

• Opening YouTube settings
• Going to Video Quality Preferences
• Setting both Wi-Fi and Mobile Data defaults to High Picture Quality

No more blurry videos.

Disable IPv6

In rare cases, IPv6 made my YouTube app painfully slow.

How to disable:

• Settings → Wi-Fi → Tap (i) icon → Configure IP → Manual
• Turn off IPv6.

This forces the phone to use traditional, more stable IPv4 routing.

Use Quality VPN Servers

If you’re using a VPN (like I was during travel), switch to a nearby fast server like Montreal or a Wireguard server.

In my case, ExpressVPN’s Canada servers worked better than US ones for YouTube.

Fixes for Desktop (Windows/macOS/Linux)

Clear Browser Cache & Cookies

Old cookies and cache files can corrupt your playback.

Here’s what I do monthly:

• Press Ctrl + Shift + Del
• Select Cached Images and Cookies
• Clear it.

I usually notice a performance boost immediately after.

Disable Hardware Acceleration

On Chrome especially, hardware acceleration caused my videos to stutter.

Here’s how to turn it off:

• Settings → System → Turn off “Use Hardware Acceleration when available”

This forces Chrome to handle videos using software rendering, which can be more stable on older devices.

Disable IPv6 (Windows)

For better DNS and routing:

• Press Win + R → Type ncpa.cpl
• Right-click your network → Properties
• Uncheck Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6)

In my experience, this dramatically improved 1080p and 4K streaming.

Update GPU Drivers

Outdated graphics drivers cause bad frame rendering.

Update through:

• Device Manager → Display Adapters → Right-click → Update Driver

Especially crucial if you’re running YouTube at 60FPS.

Try Firefox or Brave

When Chrome didn’t help even after tweaks, switching browsers saved the day.
Firefox and Brave browsers load YouTube videos faster and handle stuttering better in some cases.

Universal Fixes for All Devices

Restart Router + Use Ethernet

Turning the router off and on (waiting 30 seconds before restarting) solves a lot of DNS or IP conflicts.

Whenever possible, I use an Ethernet cable — far fewer interruptions compared to Wi-Fi.

Use 720p Instead of 1080p/4K

Unless you’re really close to the screen, 720p looks sharp and consumes much less bandwidth.

Setting the resolution manually improves loading speeds, especially when sharing a network with others.

Use Apps Like NewPipe or Freetube

NewPipe (for Android) and Freetube (for desktop) offer ad-free, lightweight YouTube experiences.

When nothing else works, these apps deliver super-smooth playback.

⚠️ Disclaimer: Only download NewPipe and FreeTube from their official GitHub or project pages to avoid malicious clones or data leaks.

Platform-Specific Bugs You Should Know

iOS 17.4 Autoplay Bug

• Background playback was broken after iOS 17.4.
• Updating to iOS 17.4.1 fixed it for me.

Chrome v112 Bug

Chrome versions before v113 had memory leaks causing slow YouTube loading.

Either update Chrome to v113+ or temporarily switch to Firefox if you’re stuck.

Problems and Fixes Summary

Final Thoughts

YouTube buffering and low-quality playback are usually fixable with:

• Clearing app or browser data
• Manually setting playback resolution
• Switching to faster DNS or disabling IPv6
• Updating your app, OS, or browser regularly
• Exploring lightweight alternatives like NewPipe
  

🎯 If you have another trick that worked for you, drop it in the comments! I’m constantly updating this guide based on real-world solutions.

That’s a wrap for today’s blog. I tried to share everything that actually works when YouTube starts acting up—buffering non-stop or showing those weird low-quality videos even on good internet. This topic came straight from someone who DM’d us on FixingPro’s Instagram, so yep, we had to cover it. If you ever run into random tech issues like this, just drop by. We’re here to fix things—one glitch at a time.