Intermittent buffering

[get the test]

I have been experiencing intermittent buffering issues for over a year.  I have had different download speed packages by the same provider over this period of time from 50 mbs to what I have now 500mbs.  I have had my connections checked many times.  Lines checked.  I have had them change modem/router several times to make sure I have the latest version.  I have experienced this problem  while streaming Hulu, Fubo and now Greenstream TV.  I have even made a hardwire ethernet connection between the router and the streaming box.  The buffering may come at any time and persist for 20 min to an hour or so then disappear.   My last resort is to change my internet provider.  Any advice would be appreciated.

[Sean]

Trying running a continuous ping on a PC in the background as you stream the TV as follows:

 

1. Right-click the Start button and click either "Command Prompt" or "Windows PowerShell". 
2. Type this command: ping -t 8.8.8.8

 

The next time the buffering issue starts, have a look at the PC to see whether there are any "Request timed out" lines.  If there are two or more in a row, this is a good that your Internet connection dropped.  If however the "Request timed out" lines are intermittent (e.g. 2 or more per screen-full), there likely indicates high packet loss on your connection.

 

If the pings continue fine during the buffering issue and there are no latency spikes ("time=" value doesn't exceed 100ms), this could indicate a possible issue with the ISP's CDN server for those streaming services, something which happened with my ISP a few years ago.  In this case, switching Internet provider may fix the issue as the replacement ISP may serve you from different CDN servers.