Google home keeps stopping to buffer

[AusWaz]

Hi, I just recently got a Google Home and I can't seem to get a consistent stream when playing spotify through the device. Spotify works flawlessly when I play through a device on the same network. Is there a way I can change the streaming bitrate for Google Home in order to get a smooth playback?

[realaaronbown]

Thanks for sharing. Sorry that you weren't able to figure this out.
I tried an experiment recently on my Google Mini. It was starting to lag, not badly, but noticeable, while streaming Spotify.
I performed the same thing as before. I de-linked it from my phone and connected it to the 2.4ghz band of my wifi. Problem solved. Hasn't had a hiccup since.
My personal, not expert opinion, is that there is an issue with some of the routers and the Google Home language that gets exasperated with Spotify (3rd party).
Good luck with Alexa. I hear good things, but I am not a big fan of Amazon's approach to business generally.

[heineken1]

Here we go again. Now Spotify wont play at all from google chrome. Tried on two computers. last Version 67.0.3396.99 (Official Build) (64-bit). So its no point trying Chromcast. Hmm so sad friday evening:(

[cohenfs]

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@BrettD85 wrote:

Last update from me. After taking to Twitter, Spotify support advised to try a re-link of my account again using the Google Home App. This appears to have now fixed the issue. While I had done this previously, it is possible they resolved an underlying issue that the re-link will fix. 

If you haven't done this in the last few hours and are still experiencing the issue, perhaps give it a try.

Open your Google Home App > Devices > Google Home > Music > Un-link

then ...

Link to Spotify > Enter credentials > Done > Test.

Good luck everyone; I hope this is the last we see of this issue.

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You're wrong. That's just chance. I've linked and unlinked 10 times but to no avail. Still buffering or even rebooting

[BlueRisjard]

Great. Buffering-problems solved in my HomeHub. Switch off that option. Thanks.

[schouffy]

Same here, issues comes and go but still very present.

This thread should be marked as unresolved and Google and Spotify should get on the phone to solve that.

[realaaronbown]

Yeah -- this kind of describes my experience. It comes and goes. I have found that Spotify on Google Home requires solid bandwidth -- and when my wifi gets spotty, this issue becomes more pronounced. As I have improved my wifi, this issue becomes less and less. 

Best of Luck! 

[moz3]

I did everything and nothing worked. I unlinked and I even RESETTED my google home mini. And then all of a sudden it plays 1 song and does the same s#!t again. Very annoying 😠

[realaaronbown]

Hey there. Have you tried changing the network to the 2.4ghz option? This worked for me for a while. The 5ghz doesn't travel as well across the house. I have 2 mini's, 2 chromecasts, 1 home and about half a dozen other 'linked' outlets and switches. The 2.4ghz side of the home network seems to be more stable.

[Tom9k9]

Im sorry to report that this literally doesnt help at all. 

[Tom9k9]

Relinking your spotify account does not solve the problem what so ever.

[nhodlik]

I had the same issue and followed the advice of the unlink and relink which did not resolve my issue until today when I resolved it. For me it was a setting on my router, Netgear Rax80. I turned off the UPnP setting and no further problems. I plan on submitting a bug report to Netgear on this by this weekend.

[mfraser]

Are you sure?  I could possibly understand if the wrong UPnP setting prevented you from getting the music at all, but it makes no sense to me that it would cause buffer issues, i.e. occasional blank periods in the music stream.

I think it might be just a coincidence cause I believe the problem in most cases is between Spotify and Google further upstream and not something downstream that you can control.

Does the problem come back if you turn UPnP back on?

I didn't change anything and the problem just went away once Google and Spotify figured it out for my area I believe.  Occasionally now the stream will stop, but usually it stops for a long time, like hours.  I don't even notice and walk away from my Google Home, and then when I return to the kitchen later in the day, there's the music, playing away.

But even that hasn't happened to me in 2019.

[realaaronbown]

It's definitely hard to say what the issue is, but for me, it definitely was worsened by my router set-up. Like some on here, it mostly went away on it's own, which suggests that it was resolved upstream.

It does come back occasionally if I have all of my smart speakers on the 2.4ghz band.

I have Rogers Ignite service in Canada.

[nhodlik]

Yes, I'm positive. On this router with it's firmware settings under UPnP  you can adjust the advertisement period. In this case the default was 30 minutes which is pretty typical.  The advertisement time to live (in hops) is 4 again typical default settings which you can adjust.  You also have the option with a portmap table. Now then. I don't know what routers you use or have used in the past as mileage may vary amongst individuals but for me turning this off resolved my issue. Since I also have been in the IT field for over 17 years, with this setting turned on I noticed it caused an uptick in some VPN problems for me when I would remote into work. 

So yes turning this off resolved my issue. Will it work for everyone? Maybe, maybe not as not all routers are the same.

[nhodlik]

Mine are mixed. We have a total of five devices with some on 5g and some on 2.4g. I can easily switch mine from one room to the next with no drop off at all playing one of my Spotify fav songs. Since you mentioned both your router and upstream its possible you had a combination of both your ISP and your router.  Issues with your ISP can play havoc for some in certain areas. Its why its also best to check the DNS maps to see if there are any problems going on in the world that can cause an issue that you might experience especially in this day and age.

[realaaronbown]

I completely agree. Google have been pretty upfront about Home wreaking havoc on home wifi. It's not a simple issue, because it would be resolved by now.

[nhodlik]

Exactly, when you start adding on devices especially in this day n age i.e; smartphones, smart TVs,  smart watches, tablets, laptops, desktops, etc. you can quickly exceed the capabilities of a home network in nothing flat when you toss in streaming services such as music like Spotify or movies like Netflix and gaming Xbox and Playstation. ISP'S will tell you hey we can move you up to this speed for such n such price and it will handle all of this for this price and plenty of people will go sure awesome lets do it BUT will the internal network of their home handle it. Its why you now see mesh network equipment starting to grow for homes. You didn't see that just a few years ago yet people didn't realize that at their places of employment you were already experiencing it by the wireless devices attached to the ceiling panels.  Its also why those routers that look great being sold for less than $100 at the stores catch many eyes but take it home and hook it up and watch it basically **bleep** out under the stress that gets thrown against it. I'm waiting for the day when I walk into Best Buy and listen to one of their sales reps try talking someone into buying something telling them how they need this so I can say to them to ask him to explain network saturation to  them if they buy that and if it will handle it.

[realaaronbown]

Too funny...I share the same view.

I have half of my house running on some sort of smart connection.

It seems like the ULTIMATE solution for everyone is to buy the $300 (cdn) Google Mesh home wifi!

[nhodlik]

True, but when I researched this one and its new sister which should be out soon Rax120. The Rax80 that I have actually out did the Google wifi mesh as it was tested against it and others. I came across a site that did a unique coverage test which sold me for what I was after. Now I'm not saying the Google wifi mesh isn't worth it at all. What I was specifically looking for and after was covered in this test and this router did the best which is one of the main reasons why I purchased it. Cost comparison is comparable to what you stated as I spent $399.00 US dollars. What intrigued me though was the wifi coverage map as it had an actual wider and broader band of coverage. Now with additional devices yes a Google mesh would beat it but then you can do an actual cost comparison and an ROI and break things down. The other thing was the design with the antennas for up n down coverage and side to side to which I also looked at.  It gives food for thought though as people need to think about the size of their homes and in some locations that fiber is now being touted in sales.

[schouffy]

So, i did the same and disabled UPNP on my router.

It did NOT resolve my issue, so it's not a silver bullet. Glad you got it solved for you though.