What can I do to stop buffering or unstable playback?

Buffering is caused by your internet connection cutting out and joining again, so to play a programme smoothly and without interruption, you’ll need a good internet connection.

If your internet connection isn’t fast enough, it could be because you’re either sharing bandwidth with other devices or you are connecting to your internet router via WiFi and the signal quality is poor.

What can I do to improve playback?

  • Try disconnecting other devices using the same internet connection, or just turn them off to see if that makes a difference
  • If you’re using WiFi, move closer to the router or try a wired connection to help rule out interference from other networks
  • Check your internet speed using our internet speed checker page on the Â鶹ԼÅÄ iPlayer help site
  • Radio 3 uses a higher quality stream which in turns uses more data so if you’re having a problem just with Radio 3, this might be why

Other suggestions

  • If you’re using the Â鶹ԼÅÄ Sounds website, try using a different browser to see if that helps
  • If you have lots of tabs open in your browser, close them down as they could be affecting the device’s performance

Still having streaming problems?

Try downloading full radio programmes, podcasts and music mixes via the Â鶹ԼÅÄ Sounds app (if you're based in the UK). Once you've downloaded a programme you can listen to it offline, so you won't need to worry about your internet connection. If you're using a computer or laptop, you can download podcasts. Check the following pages for more: 

If you're still having problems after this, please contact your internet service provider, especially if stations and programmes from other broadcasters are affected.Â