Desktop: Music Stops / Buffering Issues

[pamelarae05]

My boyfriend cancelled his subscription for this exact reason.  I experience as well on a desktop computer and my android phone as well.  None of the troubleshooting steps makes any difference. It just started happening a couple of months ago and is something Pandora should look into on their side and get corrected.

[jazzman4000]

 DONE ALL THAT, even got a new modem and it still does the same thing, stops playing and sit and buffing! all my other streaming apps work OK.  WHAT UP PANDORA????

[AlyssaPandora]

Hey there, @jazzman4000. 👋

Sorry to hear that you're having trouble with buffering.

How are you listening when this happens?

• MAC or PC?
• Web browser or desktop app? If you're using a browser, which one?
• Have any other error messages popped up?

Let me know. 🎧

[matt144]

Adam,

I don't know about the original poster, but I am having similar issues on my Mac.  I only experience it on the Mac, not windows, roku, or android.  Using the app vs chrome doesn't seem to fix the problem.  Almost daily it just stops and starts buffering, and won't continue until I reload.  My internet connection is solid and I don't have these issues with any other music streaming services.

Thanks,

Matt

[AdamPandora]

@matt144 Nice to see you around the Community. 👋🏽

Please try connecting your device directly via an Ethernet cable and see if that helps.

If there is no change, try rebooting your connection: 

1. Shut down your device completely;
2. Unplug your modem and router, wait one full minute, and then plug them back in;
3. Wait five more minutes to allow the modem and router to fully boot back up;
4. Turn your device back on and try Pandora again.

If Pandora still isn't working, could you check if you're able to connect to your network using another streaming service, such as YouTube?

You might also try connecting your device to an entirely different network, or using a different device on your current network, to see if your streaming improves.

Let me know how it goes! 

[Shack]

Pandora won’t play at all says buffering, been saying  buffering for 5 days now and my phone is working fine just not the Pandora 

mod edit: change title for clarity

[eleanorboba]

He/she said it was NOT the phone. I am having the same problem. It plays on my phone, but not on my computer since yesterday. Just continues to buffer.

[AlyssaPandora]

Hi there, @Shack @eleanorboba. 👋

Thanks for reporting the buffering issue you're experiencing.

Could you clarify how you're listening when this happens?

• MAC or Windows computer?
• Using a web browser or the Pandora Desktop app?
• Have any error messages popped up (other than "Buffering...")?

Let me know. 🎧

[MiYUKi]

I'm actually having the same problem too, I click the song I want to listen to, it opens up the ad window and then it just closes the ad and it won't play the song. Ah, and I'm listening on a web browser on my Chromebook.

[AlyssaPandora]

Hey, @MiYUKi. 👋

Have any error messages popped up? 

I would recommend running through the troubleshooting steps for your specific browser or Pandora Desktop App to see if it helps.

Web Browser Troubleshooting:

• Google Chrome Troubleshooting
• Safari Troubleshooting
• Microsoft Edge Troubleshooting
• Firefox Troubleshooting

Hope this helps! 🎧

[Itzfloyd]

How can I get Pandora to stop buffering and actually work? 

[AlyssaPandora]

Hey, @Itzfloyd. 👋

Sorry for the inconvenience. 

It's possible that this error message was triggered by multiple listeners on your account, a problem with Pandora on your device, or an issue with your internet provider. 

This could also mean there were indications that the Pandora service was being accessed in ways that don't fit our Terms of Use. You can review our terms here. When this happens, we automatically disable access to Pandora for a period of time.

I made a small change, and you should be able to listen without any issues now.

Let us know if you continue to have trouble with this. 🎧

[TheEquinox]

@AdamPandora  I'm having a similar thing happen to me. Pandora doesn't like finishing a song the last several days for me for some reason. They tend to cut off about 3/4 the way through, about every 5 songs I'll get one that finishes. 

Listening on Windows 10

Happens on both Brave and Microsoft Edge

No error message. Just says 'buffering' and then skips to the next song after several seconds of silence. Problem is, my videos and other downloads never stutter.

I think it started happening after a windows update. My personal guess is that for some reason the song's won't download past a certain point, or their is an error in the code that makes my browsers think the song is totally downloaded when its not. 

[AdamPandora]

@TheEquinox Thanks for sharing your experience on the Community. 

Unfortunately, we don't support the Brave browser. Please use one of our supported browsers for listening to Pandora, like Firefox, Chrome, Safari, or Microsoft Edge.

Since it sounds like you are having trouble with this on Microsoft Edge as well, I recommend running through the following troubleshooting steps: Edge Troubleshooting

Let me know how it goes.

[domrobpez]

It is not the modem or any device in house... this happens in my office, in my home office, and on my phone. Stop trying to blame out hardware and do some real work to resolve.. I will cancel my subscription too if this isn't fixed. I am not paying for lousy music 

[AdamPandora]

@domrobpez Could you tell me a bit more about what is happening?

Office/Home computer:

1. On your office/home computer, are you listening from:
• A Mac or Windows computer?
• Our website, or the desktop app? If you're listening from our website, what browser are you using?
2. Is there an error message? If so, what does it say?
3. Can you provide me with a screenshot of what you're seeing? (If you're not sure how to take a screenshot, just let me know and I'll be happy to provide you with some additional steps.)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

Phone:

1. When listening on your phone, is there an error message? If so, what does it say?
2. Can you provide me with a screenshot of what you're seeing?

Thanks for working with me on this.🤝

[klaughter]

Also experiencing this on Mac. Doesn't matter if I'm on Chrome browser or the desktop app. Both pause for 30 seconds or so "buffering" and I sit in silence. No error message, just buffering. Forward skip button also lags for many seconds. Nothing I do seems to make a difference and my internet speed test comes back perfect (over 200mbps download).

[AdamPandora]

@klaughter It sounds like the issue may be related to the network you're using to connect to Pandora.

Please try connecting your device directly via an Ethernet cable and see if that helps.

If there is no change, try rebooting your connection: 

1. Shut down your device completely;
2. Unplug your modem and router, wait one full minute, and then plug them back in;
3. Wait five more minutes to allow the modem and router to fully boot back up;
4. Turn your device back on and try Pandora again.

If Pandora still isn't working, could you check if you're able to connect to your network using another streaming service, such as YouTube?

You might also try connecting your device to an entirely different network, or using a different device on your current network, to see if your streaming improves.

Let me know how it goes.

[noellesmith]

Sometimes it says "buffering," but other times it shows the song but no sound is coming out.  I can play videos with sound,  so my sound is working fine.

[AlyssaPandora]

Hi there, @noellesmith. 👋

Could you share a bit more about what is happening?

• Are you using a web browser to stream Pandora? If so, which one?
• Or, are you using the Pandora Desktop App for Windows or MAC computers?

++

In the meantime, I would recommend through the troubleshooting steps based on how you listen. I've included links below.

• Edge Troubleshooting
• Chrome Troubleshooting
• Safari Troubleshooting
• Firefox Troubleshooting
• Pandora Desktop App Troubleshooting

I hope this helps. Let me know how it goes. 🎧

[johnathon007]

When I start a station it will get stuck buffering on a song until it skips it just to do the same thing on several songs before one will play. It does this on desktop and android and on several different internet connections. I have to either manually skip 3-5 songs or just let it fail them before it will play a couple. I've tried resetting the cache on android and clearing my browser on desktop and making new stations and nothing is changing it.