Buffering / latency issues with streaming on Firefox 94 on Windows 10
Hello - I've been unable to stream Twitch content on Firefox 94 for the last day or so, however, the issue impacts Youtube and Vimeo live feeds as well.
1. No outages in my area (Twitch works fine on my phone) 2. Tried Firefox in Troubleshoot mode (which disables all extensions) Twitch still broke. 3. Tried Incognito and Troubleshoot mode, Twitch still broke. 4. Cleared cookies and cache, plus Incognito and Troubleshoot mode, Twitch still broke. 5. Tried a different browser, Twitch works fine on Edge 6. I tried all of the above using a 4G Hotspot instead of my fibre connection, same issue
I’ve done some side by side testing of Edge and Firefox today, streaming the same content on each at the same time. Twitch runs fine on Edge. Twitch loads on Firefox and the chat looks fine. The chat arrives simultaneously on Edge and Firefox, it’s just the audio and video won’t play on Firefox. The audio and video don’t work on the ads either.
Watching a Youtube game stream side by side on both Edge and Firefox gives a slightly different result. Again, the chat feed is almost simultaneous, maybe a fraction faster on Firefox. However, while the audio and video run fine on both Edge and Firefox, there is a 15 second lag on Firefox. Both are playing full 1080 video.
So there is a definite issue with how Firefox is buffering audio/video content. The 15 second delay between the audio video stream and the chat I am seeing today with Youtube is what I was experiencing on Twitch over the weekend. I noticed it on streams that include a chat window on the video. I wasn’t overly concerned about the latency issue, as long as I had audio and video. Both of those stopped working for Twitch on Firefox yesterday. It could be that Twitch has slightly richer content than Youtube and that’s why Twitch isn’t working at all on Firefox?
OK, so I’ve installed the Twitch app for Windows and done some side by side testing with that. Interestingly, the app has a couple of seconds latency over Edge but it works fine. I shall use the app for now but would prefer to use Firefox if the buffering/streaming issues can be resolved.
Chosen solution
My problem is solved. Turns out it was a problem with the Sound Drivers.
In addition to the streaming issues I had with Firefox (which wasn't an issue on Chromium based browsers) I was also having delays in connecting to MS Teams meetings and trouble with my volume control freezing. I didn't connect the issues until after they were all resolved.
I found an article on the Microsoft forums for the MS Teams issue that suggested I download (from Dell) and reinstall the following two sound drivers, this is despite the fact that both the Windows Update and Dell Update were telling me I had the latest drivers and everything was working fine: Realtek-High-Definition-Audio-Driver Realtek-USB-Audio-DCH-Driver
Downloading the running the Realtek driver executables resolved all the issues I was having with streaming, video calls and volume adjustment.
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Hi Mark,
can you update to 94.0.1 and see if it solves your issue?
No luck. Same behavior as above. Plays fine on Edge, fine on the desktop app, fine on Firefox for Android, won't play on Firefox 94.0.1 on Windows 10.
@Mark In that case, Try Firefox Troubleshoot Mode to see if the problem goes away. Firefox Troubleshoot Mode (previously known as Firefox Safe Mode) is a special diagnostic mode that temporarily turns off hardware acceleration, disables add-ons (extensions and themes) and resets some settings. See the Diagnose Firefox issues using Troubleshoot Mode article for details.
If Firefox is open, you can restart in Firefox Troubleshoot Mode from the Help menu:
- Click the menu button
, click Help, select Troubleshoot Mode and click Restart in the "Restart Firefox in Troubleshoot Mode?" dialog that opens.
If Firefox is not running, you can start Firefox in Troubleshoot Mode as follows:
- On Windows: Hold the Shift key when you open the Firefox desktop or Start menu shortcut.
- On Mac: Hold the option key while starting Firefox.
- On Linux: Quit Firefox, go to your Terminal and run firefox -safe-mode
(you may need to specify the Firefox installation path e.g. /usr/lib/firefox)
When the Firefox Troubleshoot Mode window appears, select "Open".
If the issue is not present in Firefox Troubleshoot Mode, your problem is probably caused by an extension, theme or hardware acceleration. Please follow the steps in the Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems article to find the cause.
To exit Firefox Troubleshoot Mode, just close Firefox and wait a few seconds before opening Firefox for normal use again. (If you can't exit Firefox Troubleshoot Mode, please see Firefox is stuck in Troubleshoot Mode).
When you figure out what's causing your issues, please let us know. It might help others with the same problem.
Had already tried that, have had another go and no change. It won't even play the ads prior to joining the stream. It just seems to keep on buffering.
What about trying it on a fresh Firefox profile? See Profile Manager - Create, remove or switch Firefox profiles to learn more.
No luck. Same result as above. I can see the buffering time and latency on the advanced settings window of Twitch. Both values just keep climbing, nothing will play. As far as I can tell, this only happens with the Twitch, Firefox, Windows 10 combination.
Have you tried clearing cookies and cache?
Many site issues can be caused by corrupt cookies or cache. In order to try to fix these problems, the first step is to clear both cookies and the cache. Note: This will temporarily log you out of all sites you're logged in to. To clear cache and cookies do the following:
- (Firefox 57 and above) Click the Library button
and choose History.
(Click the menu button
and choose History in older Firefox versions.)
- In the History menu, choose "Clear Recent History...".
- Under "Time range to clear", select "Everything".
- Now, click the arrow next to Details to toggle the Details list active.
- From the details list, check Cache and Cookies and uncheck everything else.
- Now click the "Clear Now" button.
Further information can be found in the Delete browsing, search and download history on Firefox article.
Yes, tried that a couple of times. No luck.
Chosen Solution
My problem is solved. Turns out it was a problem with the Sound Drivers.
In addition to the streaming issues I had with Firefox (which wasn't an issue on Chromium based browsers) I was also having delays in connecting to MS Teams meetings and trouble with my volume control freezing. I didn't connect the issues until after they were all resolved.
I found an article on the Microsoft forums for the MS Teams issue that suggested I download (from Dell) and reinstall the following two sound drivers, this is despite the fact that both the Windows Update and Dell Update were telling me I had the latest drivers and everything was working fine: Realtek-High-Definition-Audio-Driver Realtek-USB-Audio-DCH-Driver
Downloading the running the Realtek driver executables resolved all the issues I was having with streaming, video calls and volume adjustment.
Thanks for getting back here with the update, Mark. I'm glad you find a way out of your issue.