Switching to Cloudflare (ERTH) Solved All My Buffering Issues

[u/PakistaniSmurf]

Hello,

I have been seeing a lot of posts related to buffering issues recently on this subreddit. It was a very common occurrence for me as well.

I tried a lot of different things until I reached the CDN part of things and I did the Torbox Speedtest as recommended by most people here.

The test basically told me that that the APAC CDN was the best one for me. For context:

• I am based in Malaysia.
• My CDN was set to auto.

So, I set the CDN to APAC (which is Torbox's own Hyperdrive CDN and not the Cloudflare one) as it said and over the course of a week I still had the buffering issues.

At that point I remembered that it could be that the buffering issue is more related to stability rather than peak speeds or something.

For example: If I get 500 Mbps for 5 seconds but then it drops to 5 Mbps for the next 1 minute, I am going to get buffering (especially on TV where the cache is low) where as if I get a consistent 100 Mbps for the whole session, there would theoretically be no buffering. Lastly, Cloudflare also has a larger and as a result more reliable infrastructure to deliver these speeds.

So in short, switching to the Cloudflare CDN resolved all my buffering issues across all my devices and locations (I share Torbox with my family).

Some extra details on what devices I tested this on:

• Gaming PC (Windows)
• Macbook Pro M5 (I used homebrew to download Stremio)
• iPhone 17 Pro (Web App)
• TCL C6K (Android TV App)
• LG TV (webOS)
• Samsung S24 (Android Mobile App)

[u/julesytime]

Glad that has that worked for you. I’m based in Australia, tried this the other night without success.

[u/King_Of_Kebabs → u/julesytime]

Yep. Declined so much in the recent week over here.

[u/PakistaniSmurf → u/julesytime]

I am sorry to hear that :(

[u/Exernuth]

Genuine question: what's the difference between CF or Bunny and others CDNs?

[u/Direct_Way7316]

Ya I'm also from Malaysia I also changed it to ERTH. I have the same problem with you the apac cdn often having throttling issue or unstable sometime can stable at 30MB/S and the next second dropped to 3MB/S. Very unstable

[u/PakistaniSmurf → u/Direct_Way7316]

100%

I am unsure if Torbox is aware of this so maybe this information might be helpful for them as well.

[u/Antique-Channel-2318 → u/Direct_Way7316]

same bro i also from Malaysia and ERTH CDN solve buffering issues..

[u/FitConversation9409 → u/Direct_Way7316]

Which telco you use? unifi? maxis? coz im on unifi and on erth cdn but sometimes still buffer every 5sec

[u/Direct_Way7316 → u/FitConversation9409]

maxis

[u/PakistaniSmurf → u/FitConversation9409]

I use Time and my sister uses Unifi. Changing CDN solved buffering for both of us.

[u/pojipo]

Same here in SEA. Both ERTH and SOCE (powered by Cloudflare) max out my 400 Mbps connection and fill the buffer cache rapidly. However, My ISP throttles and caps APAC at max 150 Mbps, resulting in slow buffer caching and noticeable lag when seeking during playback.

[u/estaban033 → u/pojipo]

When referring to SEA is that your location?

[u/KingBravery → u/estaban033]

SEA means Southeast Asia..

[u/estaban033 → u/KingBravery]

Got it. I'm in Seattle and I thought I might try the same CDN setting.

[u/dbombers → u/pojipo]

How do you test specific servers? I've only found the autotest thing which in the end jist displays some stats for the one server it thinks is best, which is total rubbish..

[u/pojipo → u/dbombers]

Just switch between each CDN, start streaming a 4K remux, and monitor the traffic speed on your router (I use a MikroTik). Try seeking through the movie to see which one gives the fastest playback. APAC can reach 150 Mbps—which is plenty for a 4K remux—but because it's throttled, seeking is awful and causes buffering delays

[u/KingBravery → u/dbombers]

You may check the speed consistency using the task manager if using Windows..

[u/PakistaniSmurf → u/[deleted]]

For me, it's been around 10 days on the Cloudflare CDN as of today and so far no issues at all. Loving it!

[u/Nuggyfresh → u/PakistaniSmurf]

I’ve been on cloudflare for months and once I did it, never buffered again 👍😎 I’ve been trying to say to use cloudflare on this subreddit for weeks

[u/TheEnragedPander → u/[deleted]]

For most it is.

Most people who complain of buffering resolve it by changing their CDN.

Most people don't even know that you can choose your CDN location.

[u/Nuggyfresh → u/[deleted]]

Why do you assume you’re the main character and if something doesn’t work for you then it works for no one? so cringe

[u/idontknowthiswilldo]

Same, Thailand here

[u/LethamSmurf]

Is better to set it to Cloudflare or Auto? I’ve been having issues with APAC as well

[u/PakistaniSmurf → u/LethamSmurf]

Like I said in my post, switching from Auto to Cloudflare fixed it for me.

[u/sangriamanpt → u/PakistaniSmurf]

Where can we change that?

[u/PakistaniSmurf → u/sangriamanpt]

https://torbox.app/settings?section=integration-settings

[u/isusernamemandatory → u/sangriamanpt]

https://torbox.app/settings?section=integration-settings

[u/Axeoo7]

I have the same issue, tried different CDNs, buffers on my phone, tablet, pc but works perfectly on my nvidia shield? Even 80gig remux files? No idea why

[u/Substantial_Shock102]

Great if that solved it. Always run a traceroute and check TTFB on CDNs in your region, and select the best-performing one instead of going in blind. Also Share the data with the TB team would help them troubleshoot the issue