Fix: Hulu Keeps Buffering

Hulu is one of the top video streaming services and always competing with Netflix and Amazon Video. It is an American company that provides OTT media services. Hulu is just available for the United States and Japan; access for other counties is not available.

However, there have been many reports by the users that their videos on Hulu keep buffering.

What Causes Hulu to keep Buffering?

The reason for this issue is not specific, but according to our research and Hulu’s article about this issue, we found some of the reasons related to it

• Application and Device problem: It is possible that the application is loaded incorrectly or some faulty files are causing the videos buffering. Also, there can be an issue with your device configuration.
• Outdated Application/System: Hulu refuses to play your videos on the device if you are using a severely outdated application or system update. The latest updates will trigger fewer errors.
• Internet Speed: HD videos on Hulu have a requirement for a high-speed internet connection. A slow internet connection can be responsible for buffering.

Now that you have a basic understanding of the nature of the problem we will move forward towards the solutions. Make sure Hulu servers are not down by checking it on “DownDetector”.

Solution 1: Checking the Updates

Running a Hulu application or the device on previous OS versions may trigger the buffering issue for the user, due to compatibility with Hulu’s latest services. You can solve that by installing the latest updates available.

Browser: Users don’t need to download and install the updates for browser, because most modern web browsers will automatically update to the latest version available.

Application or System Updates: Hulu users on the phone or TV can check the updates for application in the app store and for a system in the settings. But if the auto-update option is ON, it will update automatically.

Solution 2: Checking Application and Device Problem

An application can have broken or corrupted cache data causing the issue. And, a device like Roku TV may limit the bandwidth for videos which can trigger the buffering.

Note: A simple Restart for the application or device may solve most of the problems for you.

Clearing Cache on Application:

1. Go to “Settings” and select “Application/App”
2. Search for “Hulu” app, and open that
3. Now press “Clear Cache” or “Clear Data”

Clearing Cache on Browser:

1. Open your Browser and click on the “Settings bar” on the top right corner
2. Now select “Settings/Options” in drop-down menu
3. Click on “Privacy & Settings”
4. You will find cookies and data in there, then click “Clear Data”

Buffering Issue of Hulu TV app on Roku:

Roku TVs often have the problem of buffering for Hulu videos. So to fix it you have to press these buttons consecutively

1. Home button – 5 times
2. Rewind (<<) – 3 times
3. Forward (>>) – 2 times

Note: Press them quickly to make it work, this will set the bandwidth settings to automatic.

Solution 3: Checking your Internet Connection

Having a slow or bad internet is probably the reason why videos are buffering on Hulu. And there are speed requirements for Hulu videos with different resolutions.

Make sure that no other devices are using the same internet because it will drop the speed for your Hulu videos and resulting in buffering. Computer or console users can change Wi-Fi to Ethernet cable, which will be a great help (you cannot do this on a mobile device). Your internet speed must match the required speed for Hulu videos. These are speed requirements for Hulu videos:

720p – 3 MB/s

1080p – 6 MB/s

4k – 13 MB/s

Solution 4: Changing Browser

Another workaround that seemed to work for a lot of the people was changing the browser which they were using for Hulu. Every browser has different temporary data and configurations which get loaded whenever you launch the website and stream. As it turns out, your browser might have bad data which may cause further delays in the streaming process.

Try using Hulu in another browser that you don’t use regularly (for example, Firefox or Edge) and see if the issue persists. If it doesn’t, you can continue reinstalling your current browser and see if this does the trick.