5 Tips for Reducing Buffering and Connectivity Issues During Your Online Meetings

When you are in the middle of an online meeting, there is nothing more annoying than constant stopping and starting or watching the video freeze over and over. Live streaming a meeting can be a fabulous way to connect with your team members or customers anywhere in the world. However, things can quickly go awry when you have issues with connectivity. Buffering and connectivity issues can be a major distraction and frustration for both the meeting host and its viewers.  Here are some tips for putting an end to your live streaming buffering problems. 

1. Determine the Strongest WiFi Signal in Your Home

In many cases, your WiFi connection is not equal throughout your home, particularly if you live in a large or multi-story home. If you are in an area of the home with a poor connection, you are likely to experience buffering issues during online meetings. One way to remedy this is to use a wireless signal app to determine where your signal strength is best. This app can also tell you where the best location is for your router. Improving the WiFi signal should help with connectivity issues. 

2. Pause File Downloads and Uploads

If you are downloading or uploading files, this can take up a great deal of your internet speed and power. If you know you are going to be at an online meeting, it’s best to pause file downloads and program updates until after the meeting. 

3. Disable HD Video

Having that crystal clear video might seem like a bonus, but it can also overwhelm your connection and cause your internet to run slower. This can lead to buffering issues or freezing up your computer. By heading into your settings and disabling the HD quality option, you boost your internet connection which will help alleviate buffering issues. 

4. Sit Near Your Router

If you’re lucky enough to have a router in your home office, you’re in luck. If not, it’s time to get cozy wherever your router is located. For the strongest WiFi connection, you want to sit near your router with as few obstructions as possible. This includes walls, mirrors, TV’s, and anything else that could disrupt your signal. For optimum connectivity, connect your computer directly to your router using an ethernet cable. 

5. Close All Other Applications

If you tend to experience connectivity issues during online meetings, try shutting down every other program that is running on your computer. You should also have anyone else in the home that might be streaming stop and pause their programs until your meeting is over. This will allow you to get the maximum bandwidth possible which should improve your connectivity.