Infrequent Pauses while Streaming Tidal – Problem Solved!

[jamco]

Having you ever had your favorite album suddenly pause on Tidal?

I've ran into some infrequent music streaming challenges ever since we bought a new house. During the move I switched from CenturyLink DSL (measured 37.5 Mbps down) to Xfinity Cable Modem (measured 165 Mbps down). Greater speed equals less issues, right? Not for me; I acquired an issue with infrequent pauses while streaming Tidal Hi-Fi or Masters. In addition, the Tidal user interface controls on Win10Pro, Sonos and AppleTV4k were infrequently delayed or unresponsive. Spotify Premium and concerts on YouTube have never been a problem.

I should mention that I purchased the new Arris Surfboard SB8200 Cable Modem last summer after confirming Xfinity supported DOCSIS 3.1 in our zip code.

The web had several solutions for this Tidal issue. I'm posting a few solutions as they may help you as well.

Solution #1 – This solution had the biggest impact on resolving the infrequent pauses. You may have to repeat this process. I likely received new firmware a few times over the coarse of several months.
1) Power down the cable modem, router and switch
2) Remove the cable from the cable modem
3) Wait 5 minutes
4) Reinstall the cable on the cable modem
5) Power everything up

Solution #2 – I discovered that I had a bad bufferbloat problem. I experimented with the Quality of Service settings for several nights using my Netgear R7000, but my best measured results were inconsistent over time. I moved on to the new Ubiquiti EdgeRouter 4 using their Smart Queue Management and now the bufferbloat test results consistently toggles between [A+ A+ A+] and [A+ A A+]. I should mention that Ubiquiti EdgeRouters have a steep learning curve for the average consumer.  There are other solutions to Bufferbloat.

Bufferbloat Information: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bufferbloat 

Bufferbloat Test: www.dslreports.com/speedtest

Solution #3 – There are other solutions that I read about like contact your Internet Service Provider. While I passed on this approach, they may prove to be helpful.

Solution #4 – Tidal recommends changing your DNS settings to Googles DNS (vs your Internet Service Provider’s). This solution didn't make a difference for me. 

Tidal Buffering: support.tidal.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005871405-Buffering

Happy Streaming…

[petew]

I had tidal issues that were so bad that I cancelled it and cancelled Roon. I tried solution four with no improvement. I also rebooted everything per step one, but didn't remove the cable. I have a ubiquiti router too and the learning curve is more than I have time for.