YouTube app on Roku constant buffering

[BeachGuy]

Sorry I'm posting here but Roku only has forum support and they aren't very good. I have 2 TCL/Roku TVs and a Roku Streaming Stick 4K+. YouTube app constantly buffers on them. I have an LG TV with the YT app and it plays back fine. So I don't think it's my network/WiFi (or am I wrong?). Like I said, I reached out to Roku but they're no help. Any ideas of interference on YT/Roku and none on YT/LG? Any suggestions where else I might post this question? Of course YT is owned by Google and I sent the question to them but never heard back. Very frustrating as I've spent months trying to figure this out and tried all the suggestions they give you. Delete/reinstall app, reset network, reboot router (of course that's it!) etc. TIA

 

[RMinNJ]

Where is the LG TV..maybe it's getting a better signal? Can you attach anethernet cord to the one roku tv to rule out wireless?

 

[BeachGuy]

Streaming Stick is attached to LG TV (so same location). All Rokus (TVs & Stick) are wireless only (no ethernet port).

 

[BeachGuy]

Very common issue on internet. Lots of posts on Reddit and Roku forums. Not sure it's specific to my setup. Weird thing is it works on my LG. My daughter has Roku Express in Savannah and it works fine there. I bought a Roku Express and same problem, buffering on YT. All other apps (Netflix, Prime etc.) all run fine.

 

[BeachGuy]

Tried this suggestion (iptables -I FORWARD -s xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx -p udp --dport 443 -j DROP) from someone on Reddit but no difference...

Constant YouTube Buffering on Roku TV [TCL]For anyone still seeking a resolution to this issue, I think I have the solution.First, the cause: YouTube is intentionally throttling streams. They're doing this by not allowing stream buffering of more than about 1 second.How this is being achieved: The YouTube TV app is using UDP port 443 to send messages to the CDN, preventing sufficient data buffering.Solution:On your home router, assign the TV/Roku device a static IP address.Block UDP port 443 forwards on the static IP address you assigned to the TV.If your router accepts admin commands, run thisc:iptables -I FORWARD -s xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx -p udp --dport 443 -j DROP(replace the xxx octets with the actual static IP you set in step 1)I immediately noticed 3 things: 1) My wifi connection rate to the TV/Roku was also being capped. It jumped from the mid- 20mbps to upper 40mbps. 2) Stream buffering on 4K HDR content went from ~ 1sec to over 10sec. This stopped the stuttering/buffering. 3) When starting 4k HDR streams, the default rate is at 2160P, instead of 1140p ( or less).

 

[BeachGuy]

User error. I had read a long time ago about firewall url filtering. Had put some urls in there (google analytics etc.). Apparently YT uses those (of course) and won't work without them. Removed them and bang, it works. Still don't understand why YT on LG worked. Somehow it was bypassing url filter?