Unusual streaming slowdown

[Khat0varBrewMoth]

Hi there,

I am running 2GB version on Android. This was initially working at great speed.

Now I'm experiencing problems streaming online content (using catch up TV apps) as well as things from NAS on local network using Kodi. Streaming videos buffer really slow over wifi and wired ethernet connection. Seems to be a problem with the Pine64 rather than network issue.

Can anyone point me to a way to get some logs for more specific help here?

Cheers

[Khat0varBrewMoth]

Hi there,

No ideas?

Would really love some direction as I'm not sure whether I've got a hardware issue of not. Willing to capture some logs and help do some analysis but not sure which way is best.

Help would be great. Thank you.

[MarkHaysHarris777]

Now I'm experiencing problems streaming online content (using catch up TV apps) as well as things from NAS on local network using Kodi. Streaming videos buffer really slow over wifi and wired ethernet connection. Seems to be a problem with the Pine64 rather than network issue.

The reason you're not getting any takers here is that this is a very well-known problem, with as yet no known permanent solution. 

What may have changed on your end is if you changed the router where you plug in your Android. Obviously wifi is going to be slow. If you plug your Android into a 10/100 jack, it will be better than if you plug your Android into a 1000mb/s jack (GbE) does not work for many pine boards !  Plugging a pine board into a GbE jack can cause horrible performance problem.  This is a hardware problem on the pineboard itself (most probably) (people are sick of arguing about it) and it has no known solution at this time, but the engineers are working on it.

There are two work-arounds:  1) software fix using ethtool, and 2) hardware fix by modifying the cat5 cable to the jack. Both methods force 100mb/s avoiding the GbE glitch.  A third method (which some folks have used successfully) is to place a 10/100 switch between the Android and gigabit router. Take your pic. 

sudo  ethtool  -s  eth0  autoneg  off  speed  100  duplex  full 

To modify the cable open the sheath and cut the blue and brown pairs; make sure only the blue and brown pairs are cut (remove a 1/2 inch length) so that only the green and orange pairs are left pins 1 2 3 &6.   All eight wires (four pairs) are required for GbE...  cutting the blue and brown pairs forces 100mb/s.

well, there it is....  you asked. If you have other questions about it, see me on the irc chat listed below... i'll speak with you live about it.

[Khat0varBrewMoth]

Thanks marcushh777, I had not come across this issue so thank you for the breakdown. There's some stuff for me to work on. Will post about what I choose and how it goes. Cheers!

[Khat0varBrewMoth]

There are two work-arounds:  1) software fix using ethtool, and 2) hardware fix by modifying the cat5 cable to the jack. Both methods force 100mb/s avoiding the GbE glitch.  A third method (which some folks have used successfully) is to place a 10/100 switch between the Android and gigabit router. Take your pic. 

Ok I have used workaround option 3, placing a Sonos speaker device in between the gigabit router and Pine64. With two ethernet ports on the back, this doubles as a 10/100 switch. While a shame not to get full benefit of GbE speeds, streaming issues have been ironed out here. Thanks again!

[MarkHaysHarris777]

You are most welcome.