Whether you want to bust stress by watching some of the funniest videos, hone your coding skills, or binge-watch highly-rated flicks, YouTube is your go-to destination. Backed by a massive community of content creators – from renowned brands to newbies, there is always a ton of exciting content to catch up with.
No wonder most of us heavily rely on this video-sharing platform for exploring both trending and ever-green videos. That’s the reason why it feels rather frustrating when YouTube gets into a buffering loop on Windows and doesn’t seem to get back on track. But fret not! I have gone into the depths of this rampant issue and come up with the 21 most effective ways to fix YouTube buffering in Windows 11. Keep reading to…
Best Tips to Fix YouTube Buffering on Windows 11 Like a Pro
So, what has derailed YouTube on your Windows device, preventing it from running smoothly? Well, there are multiple reasons why the noted video-sharing platform goes out of track including –
- Slow internet connection
- Outdated browser
- High video resolution
- Cache and cookies
- Background processes
- Outdated network drivers
- ISP throttling
- Firewall interference
- Outdated Windows version
- Corrupted browser extensions
- VPN or proxy issues
- Insufficient system resources
- YouTube server outages
Controlling these known culprits will let you resolve the buffering problem in YouTube and restore your video-streaming experience. With complete clarity about the roadblocks, let’s get into the troubleshooting mode to put an end to the problem.
1. Check Your Internet Speed
Needless to mention that the sluggish internet is the most common cause of YouTube buffering. Note that YouTube requires a minimum speed of 3 Mbps for HD videos and 25 Mbps for 4K videos. So, fix your slow-moving internet connection in order to bring your video streaming back in action.
- To do so, open a web browser and head over to Speedtest by Ookla.
- After that, run the test to check your upload and download speeds.
- Just in case your internet speed is lower than required, make sure to contact your ISP for assistance. If need be, upgrade your plan for better speed and efficiency.

2. Restart Your Router
Bear in mind that routers can sometimes run into persistent problems like memory overload or temporary connection failures, resulting in below-par internet speeds.
- To begin with, turn off your router/modem.
- After waiting for 30/40 seconds, turn your router back on.
- Then, reconnect to your network and check if YouTube has started playing videos smoothly.
3. Close Background Apps and Downloads
Too many intensive apps running in the background, particularly the ones that gobble up a ton of bandwidth and CPU could trigger buffering in YouTube.
- Press the CTRL+Shift+ESC to launch Task Manager > Select all the useless apps/services one by one and hit the End task option to close them.
- If you’re downloading certain files, pause them until you finish watching the video.

4. Switch to a Wired Connection
As compared to a wired connection, Wi-Fi is generally less stable and more prone to interference. For times when you would like to enjoy the high-definition video streaming, switch to a wired connection – if possible.
- Connect your computer to the router using an Ethernet cable.
- This ensures a faster and more stable connection, reducing buffering.
5. Clear Browser Cache (For Chrome & Edge)
If not cleaned up from time to time, the browser cache can become corrupted or cluttered, which will cause issues like slower page load times and video buffering.
Steps for Chrome:
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Delete to open the Clear Browsing Data window.
- Select Cached images and files and Cookies and other site data.
- Click Clear data and restart your browser.
Steps for Edge:
- Press Ctrl + Shift + Delete to open the Clear Browsing Data window.
- Choose Cached images and files and Cookies and other site data.
- Click Clear now and restart your browser.
- Try watching YouTube again.

6. Update Your Browser (For Chrome & Edge)
Your outdated browser may not be fully equipped to deal with the newer video streaming technologies.
Steps for Chrome:
- Open Chrome and click the three dots in the upper-right corner.
- Go to Help > About Google Chrome.
- Chrome will automatically check for updates and install them.
- Restart Chrome and check YouTube.

Steps for Edge:
- Open Edge and click the three dots in the upper-right corner.
- Go to Help and feedback > About Microsoft Edge.
- Edge will check for updates and install them.
- Restart Edge and try YouTube again.
7. Disable Browser Extensions (For Chrome & Edge)
Some browser extensions, such as ad-blockers, might be interfering with video playback, impacting YouTube.
Steps for Chrome:
- Go to chrome://extensions in the address bar.
- Disable all extensions by toggling off the switch next to each extension.
- Restart Chrome and check YouTube.
- If buffering improves, enable extensions one by one to identify the culprit.
Steps for Edge:
- Go to edge://extensions in the address bar.
- Disable all extensions by toggling off the switch next to each extension.
- Restart Edge and check YouTube.
- If buffering improves, enable extensions one by one to identify the culprit.
8. Change Video Quality
Is your connection speed low? If the answer is yes, change the video quality as YouTube may buffer videos at higher resolutions like 1080p or 4K.
- To do so, click on the settings gear icon in the lower-right corner of the YouTube video player.
- Select Quality and choose a lower resolution (e.g., 720p or 480p).
- Observe if buffering is reduced.
9. Enable Hardware Acceleration (For Chrome & Edge)
Activate the hardware acceleration as it is designed to offload video processing tasks to your computer’s hardware (GPU), improving video playback performance.
Steps for Chrome:
- Open Chrome and go to chrome://settings.
- Scroll down and click Advanced.
- Under System, toggle Use hardware acceleration when available to On.
- Restart Chrome and check YouTube.
Steps for Edge:
- Open Edge and go to edge://settings/system.
- Under System and performance, toggle Use hardware acceleration when available to On.
- Restart Edge and check YouTube.
10. Check for YouTube Server Issues
Sometimes, YouTube experiences server issues that cause buffering for everyone, not just you.
- Visit a service status website like DownDetector and search for YouTube to see if others are reporting issues.
- If YouTube servers are down, wait for the issue to be resolved.
11. Use a Different Browser
Some browsers may not be fully optimized for YouTube, causing performance issues. Switching browsers can help rule out browser-specific issues.
- Try using Chrome, Firefox, or another browser to see if the buffering issue persists.
- Observe if a different browser reduces buffering.
12. Disable VPN/Proxy
Be aware of the fact that VPNs or proxies have the habit of throttling internet speeds by rerouting traffic through different servers.
- If you are using a VPN or proxy, disconnect from it.
- Test YouTube to see if buffering improves.

13. Update Your Graphics Drivers
Condering that outdated graphics drivers can impact video playback performance, it would be apt to update your graphics drivers.
- Open Device Manager (press Windows + X and select it) on your PC.
- Now, expand Display adapters.
- After that, right-click on your graphics card > select Update driver > Search for drivers automatically and go through the prompts to complete the process.

14. Reinstall Your Graphics Drivers
Should YouTube buffering continue to haunt you, reinstall your graphics drivers. Bring up the Device Manager > Expand the Display adapters > Next, right-click on graphics card > Uninstall device and then restart your PC.
15. Adjust Windows Power Settings
When the built-in power-saving mode, Windows smartly restricts network performance in order to conserve battery. Hence, try fine-tuning your power settings.
- Go to Control Panel on your Windows device > Power Options.
- Select the High-Performance power plan to ensure maximum performance.
16. Reset the Network Stack
If the problem still exists on your device, consider resetting the network settings to eliminate the network-related glitches.
- Press Windows + X and choose Command Prompt (Admin).
- Type netsh int ip reset
- Then, press Enter and restart your computer.
17. Switch DNS Servers
If your ISP’s DNS server is below-par or inconsitent, it might be playing the spoilsport. Hence, switching to a faster DNS can help get rid of the problem.
- To begin with, open Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center.
- Click Change adapter settings and right-click on your active network.
- After that, choose the Properties option.
- Then, you need to click Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4).
- Up next, select the Use the following DNS server addresses option.
- Enter Google DNS:
- 8.8.8.8
- 8.8.4.4
- Finally, click OK and test YouTube to figure out the issue is gone.
18. Disable Windows Firewall/Antivirus Temporarily
In some cases, security software can come in the way of video streaming and hurt its functionality. Thus, temporarily disabling them could let you diagnose the issue.
- To get going, launch Windows Security (Settings app > Privacy & Security) or your antivirus software.
- Turn off, real-time protection temporarily.
- Now, find out if YouTube’s buffering has been reduced. If it has, tweaking the settings in your security software will let you overcome the hurdle.

19. Update Network Drivers
Out of date network drivers can create a number of issues with your internet connection, leading to endless YouTube buffering on your PC.
- Open Device Manager on your Windows 11 device > Next up, expand Network adapters.
- Up next, rght-click on your network adapter > Update driver > Search automatically for drivers.

20. Disable YouTube Autoplay
Autoplay can cause YouTube to start buffering the next video while you’re still watching the current one.
- Click on the settings icon in the YouTube player.
- Toggle Autoplay to Off to stop videos from automatically starting.
21. Check for Windows Updates
Updating Windows on your PC can resolve bugs and also bolster the overall system performance, including internet and video playback issues.
- To do so, head into Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update.
- Now, click on the Check for updates option and install the latest available updates.
- Once the update is successful, restart your computer.

Wrapping up…
That’s pretty much it! I’m pretty sure that you have eventually eliminated the YouTube buffering problem on your PC. With a variety of viable tips and tricks, I don’t see any reason why the video-sharing platform won’t return to form. Now, let us know what sort of ticks have clicked for you.