Buffering FAQs

Experience buffering?

It may be due to peering, or it may be due to an issue with Cosy
Plex.
Peering = the route you take from your isp (internet service provider) to our main server.
I have a global cdn already set up to take you via the most direct best way on the Cloudflare
network. This provides the best route most times but not 100%

If you suffer buffering it can be for many reasons

1. Your ISP is having issues be it local or along the route before joining my cdn network.
2. An issue with your equipment (router, modem, devices)
3. An issue with the data center or main server.
4. Plex centralised servers having issues (this usually results in Plex unavailable)
5. An issue with Cloudflare (again usually results in Plex unavailable)

What you can do

1. Unplug your router, modem and devices for a good 5 minutes and try again. (this should
   be done at least once a week) this works wonders and is not just an urban myth !!

2. Do a speed test on both your phone (using wifi) and your device/s and compare
   results (try to use the same test app)
3. Have a VPN ready (IPVanish or similar paid one) so you can connect to either NYC,
   Finland or Germany and see which gives best results.
4. Lower your remote streaming settings to 2mbps. (temporary suggestion)
5. Contact Blakey so he can have a look (He’s in the UK time zone so if it’s late in the US
   don’t expect a response until the next day) Sometimes a quick restart of Plex helps.
6. If it’s a Plex or Cloudflare issue it will usually be fixed in a few hours or when “they” fix
   it.
   Please note 99% of the time buffering is a user issue, very rarely it’s server end. Honestly
   I’m not saying it as a get out, I just can’t control the internet or your equipment and when
   I have many users online with no issues it means all is well my end.
   

A quick explanation as to why unplugging your equipment works:
Your router, modem and all devices receive and send lots of data, constantly.
This data gets cached and over time builds up and up.
To remove this data build up you need to restart said equipment, but some/most is
stored in memory so pulling the plug for 5 minutes removes all of this from memory and
results in no cached/stored data.

The same goes for your devices, you’ve all probably heard of cleaning apps… well most
of the time they’re pointless and just a gimmick as simply restarting or unplugging those
devices removes all cached data from memory completely.

Then the fact your wifi is continuously connected and after some time it can start to
drop or cut-off or just run intermittently giving a “buffering effect”
This is when a restart or unplug comes into effect by reconnecting your wifi as a new
fresh connection.

Restarts or reboots are ok but don’t always clear the crap or reconnect nicely, this is
where unplugging for 5 minutes comes into play by clearing everything and
reconnecting everything how it should be. Worse case you do it twice, but weekly
maintenance really does help to keep things running smoothly.

As always, any questions or you’re unsure of something post a question in the support
channels or create a ticket.
We hope all the above comes as some help and understanding.