Why Does YouTube's throughput suck so bad?


Recommended Posts

Over the past few months I've grown more and more frustrated with YouTube. Regardless of the device or WiFi I use, the buffering and watch-ability is simply awful.

I've got an iPhone and a Samsung Galaxy tablet that connect to both my home and work WiFi Both experience the same laggy, it-plays-5-seconds-at-a-time between buffering. I was able to find a iOS app that lets me lower the resolution from HD to "Low". This helps a bit but I still encounter issues.

Anyone else have similar experiences/frustrations?

I've had this issue with VerizonFIOS and Comcast ISPs. Also, and I probably should have mentioned this; Vimeo runs as smooth as butter in HD. No issues. It's gotta be YouTube. ...right?

Nope never had issue one with youtube bandwidth

Do you have a specific video your having issues with you can link too? Some of the major ISP use their own caching server for youtube, that could be your problem?

I would rightclick on a video and get the info, what speed are you getting. I would also again from rightclick on video to a speedtest - what does that show?

post-14624-0-87586700-1361996596.jpg

REJECT/DROP 173.194.55.0/24

REJECT/DROP 206.111.0.0/16

(for the uninformed, /16 and /24 is not a range, but a subnet class) ie, 206.111.0.0 - 206.111.255.255 = /16)

Problem solved, was posted on reddit just this week. I did it myself and everything loads instantly now on my 85mbit FiOS line vs before laggy as ever. This affects all the feeds on youtube/vimeo, so all will be well. It can be confirmed by adding and removing with tests before after and then removed after again.

Time Warner and Verizon have this issue, no one is quite sure the absolute cause, but those servers your blocking are google and vimeo servers that most likely handle content throttling. When they are blocked you download directly from the source, ie; google data center.

Use caution as you are blocking a wide range of ip address locations. No one has reported any adverse effects yet.

Linux commands below; (Advanced Firewall on Windows Vista or higher can handle this also)

sudo ipfw add reject src-ip 173.194.55.0/24 in

sudo ipfw add reject src-ip 206.111.0.0/16 in

Source; http://www.reddit.co...50w8x?context=1

Could also be shoddy ISP DNS caching, I used to have issues with 1080 YT videos till I stopped using Comcast's DNS for a couple of servers that were closer to me, took a few days to notice the difference because like a dork I forgot to run ipconfig /flushdns after making the changes

REJECT/DROP 173.194.55.0/24

REJECT/DROP 206.111.0.0/16

Problem solved, was posted on reddit just this week. I did it myself and everything loads instantly now on my 85mbit FiOS line vs before laggy as ever. This affects all the feeds on youtube/vimeo, so all will be well. It can be confirmed by adding and removing with tests before after and then removed after again.

Time Warner and Verizon have this issue, no one is quite sure the absolute cause, but those servers your blocking are google and vimeo servers that most likely handle content throttling. When they are blocked you download directly from the source, ie; google data center.

Use caution as you are blocking a wide range of ip address locations. No one has reported any adverse effects yet.

can you elaborate on this? i also have this Youtube issue. you sit there and constantly have to wait for youtube to buffer. oh, you wanted to watch that 30 second clip? that'll be 5mins of buffering...

Anyone else have similar experiences/frustrations?

No where near as well educated as Budman in wifi, bandwidth, or any thing of the sort as, but I've never had any of buffering or lag watching stuff on youtube

I just downgraded to 30meg last month as I was effectively wasting money on 120

Edit Please disregard my post

I didn't realise we were talking about US broadband, as a UK resident I don't know your infrastructure

can you elaborate on this? i also have this Youtube issue. you sit there and constantly have to wait for youtube to buffer. oh, you wanted to watch that 30 second clip? that'll be 5mins of buffering...

See; http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/13kmvd/have_time_warner_internet_but_can_barely_stream/c750w8x?context=1

Couple posts down.

I was having problems last Spring... found out my modem was not fully supporting all the channels offered by my ISP. Purchased a new modem and am taking full advantage of the offered bandwidth.

"all the channels"? what's that mean?

I also confirmed the above fix on my works Verizon MPLS connection, amazing it was. :) I always just dealt with the slow YouTube thinking there was nothing could be done about it till I stumbled on the reddit post made this week.

Hi Klownicle, can you elaborate on how to implement this fix? Thanks!!!!

See; http://www.reddit.co...50w8x?context=1

Couple posts down.

from what i gathered in the post, i just need to add the 206.x.x.x/16 space in the windows firewall, right? i just added a Deny rule on my work laptop. Do i also need to do the other 173 range that you posted?

Also, some people were doing this in their router's IP tables, but i'm not so sure i can do that.

from what i gathered in the post, i just need to add the 206.x.x.x/16 space in the windows firewall, right? i just added a Deny rule on my work laptop. Do i also need to do the other 173 range that you posted?

Also, some people were doing this in their router's IP tables, but i'm not so sure i can do that.

Someone linked to a good guide the other day, but I'm not able to find it at this time.

You need to go into your advanced firewall for windows, create a outbound rule, choose custom, all programs, all ports, tcp for protocol, enter address lines as 206.111.0.0/16 etc, and finish.

It should look like below for 206.111.0.0/16 in your advanced firewall if done right.

firewall_settings.png

The 173 subnet class c is for vimeo if I read correctly, I just used google in the above example. And its 206.111 not 206.x

And IpTables wise, routers like the Actiontec supplied by FiOS allows for GUI Web Access for advanced filtering.

So if that blocking works, then yes its a caching issue with the verizon and timewarner peering caches.

Sure you can block those networks, and then you should bounce to some other source.

I am not sure I would jump on blocking a /16 like that, but if that whole block is just used for cache - then its not going to hurt anything. As long as your aware if you run into connection issues sometime in the future, verify if on that netblock, etc.

"all the channels"? what's that mean?

His issue has nothing to do with youtube but his connection speed. He probably switched to a docsis 3 modem, which needs at least 4 channels to bond with in order to take advantage of the higher tier offerings. This shouldn't have been a problem to begin with unless nobody informed him of upgrades or he ignored letters sent out.

Virgin Media over here have a similar issue - there's a thread on their forums that's been going on for over a year now.

They run caching servers, but those servers don't have enough capacity to deal with the number of requests. Which results in me having a 100mb connection and not being able to stream a standard def video from YouTube!

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • U.S. partially reverses Anthropic AI ban for Mythos but keeps Fable 5 off the market by Karthik Mudaliar Anthropic says that the U.S. government has finally allowed it to restore Claude Mythos 5. But of course, there's a catch. The rollout is again for a limited set of U.S. organizations that operate and defend critical infrastructure. The company announced this in a post on X (formerly Twitter). This does not mean that Anthropic's latest frontier models are back to normal availability. Fable 5, which was a tuned version of Mythos 5 for public release, remains unavailable. Anthropic said that it is still working with the government to expand Mythos 5 access and make Fable 5 available again, but there's no timeline. Reports from Bloomberg and Reuters say that this decision actually came through a letter from the U.S. Commerce Department. According to Reuters, this would allow more than 100 companies and institutions access to Mythos 5. Reuters also reported that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s letter removes the need for export licenses for approved companies’ non-US citizen employees, as well as Anthropic’s own non-US citizen employees, while restrictions remain for organizations outside the approved list. Anthropic isn't alone with this kind of controlled rollout. OpenAI's newest model family, GPT 5.6, was announced just yesterday, but isn't available for everyone yet. In its announcement, OpenAI also said that access to these models is initially limited to a select group of trusted partners and organizations, with broader access planned later this year. Both of these cases show that frontier AI launches are no longer just ordinary product releases and more like slow and vetted deployments shaped heavily by the U.S. government.
    • Sol, Terra, Luna - aren't those the names of failed crypto coins? 🤣🤣🤣
    • Microsoft Weekly: 5 years of Windows 11, more support for Windows 10, and expensive Xbox by Taras Buria This week's news recap is here, with Microsoft giving Windows 10 one more year of support, Windows 11 getting new taskbar settings in preview updates, Steam Machine prices, higher XBOX prices, and many more. Quick links: Windows 10 and 11 Windows Insider Program Updates are available Reviews are in Gaming news Great deals to check Windows 11 and Windows 10 Here, we talk about everything happening around Microsoft's latest operating system in the Stable channel and preview builds: new features, removed features, controversies, bugs, interesting findings, and more. And, of course, you may find a word or two about older versions. On June 24, 2026, Windows 11 turned five. The controversial operating system was released half a decade ago, and during these years, it received a fair share of criticism (such as poor Windows Search and its web results), which Microsoft is now actively addressing with regular preview updates that deliver missing, long-requested features. With Windows 12 nowhere to be seen on the horizon, it will be interesting to see if Windows 11 can stay on the market for as long as Windows 10 did. Speaking of Windows 10 and staying on the market, this week, Microsoft quietly prolonged the Extended Security Updates program for Windows 10, allowing users to get one more year of security updates if they do not want or cannot upgrade to Windows 11. Finally, Microsoft released this month's non-security update for Windows 11. KB5095093 arrived with a traditionally long list of new features, including point-in-time restore, new Windows Update settings, quieter Windows Widgets, new accessibility features, File Explorer updates and performance improvements, and more. Windows Insider Program Here is what Microsoft released for Windows Insiders this week: Builds Canary Channel Build 29617.1000 and build 28120.2374 These builds bring new accessibility features, new Windows Update controls, audio improvements, and more. Dev Channel Build 26300.8758 This build includes redesigned taskbar settings, File Explorer improvements, and more. Beta Channel Build 26220.8754 and build 28020.2366 This small update fixes the OneDrive bug in File Explorer, tweaks system sounds in dark mode, and more. Updates are available This section covers software, firmware, and other notable updates (released and coming soon) delivering new features, security fixes, improvements, patches, and more from Microsoft and third parties. If you use AI-powered browsing history search in Microsoft Edge, the company has bad news. A new update on the Microsoft 365 Roadmap revealed that Microsoft is discontinuing the feature. Despite using on-device models for natural search, some users found it creepy, claiming that Microsoft lacks trust in features like this. While the ability to find pages without using 100% precise words may sound cool, customers argued that it was nothing but another feature to bloat the browser with more AI. Good riddance? PowerToys received several updates this week. For one, Microsoft released version 0.100.1 with several improvements and bug fixes for the recently arrived version 0.100. A couple of days later, Microsoft dropped another update, this time fixing memory leaks in Command Palette Dock. In addition, the company is working on a new module that will make it easier to switch between windows within one application using the Alt + ` shortcut. The new module should make it to the stable release somewhere soon. Here are other updates and releases you may find interesting: New Ventoy update adds Windows 11's mandatory update support and more Microsoft updates Visual Studio Code with chat cost tracking and multi-agent chats Microsoft is building an AI datacenter that "uses less water than a fast food restaurant" Microsoft adds new AI study and teaching tools for free to Microsoft 365 Education Researchers claim Microsoft's quantum breakthrough is flawed by basic Python errors Microsoft is bringing a much-needed Recap app to Teams Microsoft's fast coding model, MAI-Code-1-Flash, comes to Copilot Business and Enterprise Here are the latest drivers and firmware updates released this week: AMD Radeon Software 26.6.2 with FSR 4.1 support for RDNA 3 graphics card. However, the driver contained a bug, which prevented installations on Windows 10 PCs. AMD fixed that with a quick hotfix update. Reviews are in Here is the hardware and software we reviewed this week This week, Steven Parker published several reviews. He shared his experience with the Creative Sound Blaster AE-X PCIe, a high-quality sound card with a headphone amp, low-latency communications, great build quality, and DSD256. However, it is on the pricier side of the spectrum, and it lacks EMI shielding. Check out the full review here. The second review is about the TerraMaster F4-425 Pro, an octa-core Intel NAS with a stand-out feature: built-in AI (OpenClaw). We also published a few Hands On reviews, which you can view below: We check out the SKG PS700 Neck Massager SKG Hand Massager with Heat OS500 hands on Hands-on with BOOX Tappy: cute little reading accessory Hands on with the ProtoArc EM25 affordable ergonomic mouse On the gaming side Learn about upcoming game releases, Xbox rumors, new hardware, software updates, freebies, deals, discounts, and more. If you plan to purchase a new Xbox, it's time to act now. This week, Microsoft announced yet another Xbox price increase. Starting August 1, 2026, all Xbox Series X|S models with 512 GB of storage will cost $100 more. As for the 1TB models, they are going up in price by a whopping $150. Finally, Microsoft is discontinuing the 2TB Xbox Series X. To make up for that, Microsoft announced a few programs to make its consoles more accessible. Those include BNPL, interest-free financing, pre-owned consoles, certified refurbished consoles, and more. Valve also shared some not-so-welcome news. The company has finally announced prices of the upcoming Steam Machine console, and if you plan to buy one, get ready to spend a whopping $1,049 on the 512GB configuration. The Steam Machine is now available for preorder, with shipments scheduled for June 29, 2026. Grand Theft Auto VI also received its official price tag. Rockstar Games announced that the long-anticipated game will launch at $79.99 for the base edition and $99.99 for the ultimate edition. The latter includes an exclusive collection of premium vehicles, weapons, apparel, and action threaded across all aspects of Jason and Lucia’s story." Those who preorder the game will get extra bonuses, including a Vintage Vice City Pack of cosmetic items as well as a free month of GTA+. NVIDIA announced new games for its GeForce NOW streaming service. Those include Dark Scrolls, SAND: Raiders of Sophie, Deer & Boy, EMPULSE, and more. Steam is running its annual Summer Sale, during which you can purchase plenty of various games with big discounts. It runs until July 9, so in case you missed it, you can still get some games at a lower price. Also, you can get two games for free in the Epic Games Store, plus more deals are available in this week's Weekend PC Game Deals issue. This link will take you to other issues of the Microsoft Weekly series. You can also support Neowin by registering for a free member account or subscribing for extra member benefits, along with an ad-free tier option.
    • Text extractor hasn't been working great on 0.99.1 but I am now updating to this version, hopefully it's better!
    • Yet you did exactly what they wanted you to do - is it better now without "Europrats"? BTW, UK had joined EU (EEC back then) and was one of the leading member states, it never joined Schengen Zone though 😉
  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      flexorcist earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      Woland13 earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      Woland13 earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Year In
      bernmeister earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Week One Done
      Scoobystu earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      502
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      226
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      156
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      75
    5. 5
      FloatingFatMan
      71
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!