Virtual Private Networks are becoming quite popular throughout the country and that may not be a bad thing, considering the level of privacy regular users give up on a daily basis.

People use VPNs for a lot of reasons—mostly to unblock geo-restricted content, to stop your ISP from seeing what you’re doing, and to keep a more anonymous profile on the internet.  

Then there is the Amazon Firestick. It’s a decent little streaming device that seems to have a common problem for some users; it tends to buffer quite a bit.

VPNs certainly aren’t the cure-all they are marketed to us as but they do have their uses and one of those may help to stop the buffering on your Fire TV Stick.

Will A VPN Stop Buffering On Firestick?

A VPN can stop buffering on Firestick if the buffering is being caused because your ISP is throttling your internet speed. If the Buffering is being caused by anything else, a VPN will likely make it worse. 

It’s possible but probably unlikely that your ISP is throttling your internet speed. If your ISP is not throttling your bandwidth, a VPN is likely to make the buffering worse. Try this first; instead of using WiFi, try to connect an ethernet connection to the device the Firestick is connected to and see if that helps with the buffering.

It’s never a good idea to sign up for an internet service plan that has limitations on the gigs of data you can burn through before the ISP begins throttling your internet. However, ISPs will throttle networks during the most congested parts of the day, oftentimes without your knowledge or permission. 

Since a good VPN masks your IP address when you connect to the internet, your ISP may have trouble throttling you because they won’t know which sites, apps, or services you are using. Sometimes ISPs will throttle bandwidth to certain websites or streaming services to discourage their use.

But first, you need to determine if that is indeed the issue that’s causing your Firestick to buffer. 

Unless you want to purchase a VPN for different reasons, you don’t want to spend the extra money only to discover that installing a VPN on your Fire TV Stick wasn’t the solution, after all.

Related Article: Can My VPN Be Blocked By My ISP? (What You Need To Know)

Other Possible Causes of a Buffering Firestick

There are other potential culprits behind a buffering Firestick, including the following:

  • Something is wrong with your hardware (Router, modem, TV, ethernet cable, etc)
  • Your internet is slow
  • Its a problem with the remote server
  • Too many apps on the Firestick
  • App Cache needs to be cleared
  • You need to turn off automated settings, such as Collect App Usage and Data Monitoring
  • Notifications and Automatic Updates need to be turned off
  • Free up some RAM

All of these things are pretty easy to check and dismiss as potential problems causing your Fire TV Stick to buffer. For instance, a problem with the remote server can be eliminated by switching to a different streaming service to determine if it’s the Firestick or the streaming service.

Installing a VPN On Your Firestick

First, you need to choose the right VPN for you. There are a lot of great options out there, including NordVPN, Private Internet Access, Surfshark, ExpressVPN, PrivateVPN, CyberGhost, and more. 

Once you have a subscription for your VPN started, you can install your VPN on your Firestick. 

  • Go to the Amazon App Store
  • Search VPNs by typing “VPN” in the search bar
  • Select your VPN
  • Download it
  • Log in to your VPN account
  • Connect your VPN to your Amazon Firestick

As a matter of fact, you should check the Amazon store first to see which VPNs are easily compatible with your Firestick, then jump on the PC and find the one you want. It will make things easier later on, rather than having to sideload apps on your Fire Stick.

All Things Considered

While a VPN is capable of stopping the buffering problem on your Firestick, it will only do so if you are being throttled by your ISP.

If you have a cap on your data consumption each month, it may be cheaper to just raise or eliminate the cap.