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What is the most common cause of dropouts when streaming Tidal?

Sometimes when streaming Tidal on my Bluesound Node 2 I will experience audible dropouts in the music...sometimes for a few seconds, sometimes longer. I can go for days and never experience a dropout and then for a period of 15 min or so they frequent. I contacted Bluesound support and they requested a log file, which I sent them. They saw no indication of a problem on their end and suggested I contact Tidal. Tidal support directed me to Bluesound. When I told them I had already discussed this with Bluesound they suggested it might be my ISP. Of course, everything from their end also looked good and I had not been having any other Internet connectivity issues. My high speed Internet speed is around 48mbps. My Bluesound is connected via Ethernet and I have no dropout issues when playing music from my NAS. Just wondering if anyone else has run into this issue and if so how/if you were able to resolve it.  BTW, I stream CD and MQA quality.
randyhat
hgeifman
1,193 posts
 

Another suggestion is it possible that your modem and/or router needs to be reset and/or updated. Try these simple fixes:

1)  Power cycle your modem. Unplug the power to your modem, wait one minute and then plug the power back in (AND also remove the battery if you have one).  You may need to wait up to several minutes for the Internet light to turn solid green and start working. 

2)  Reset your modem to its factory default settings.  Be sure you read your manual before resetting your modem. You do not want to accidentally erase network information you need, and doing a reset clears out any custom settings you have programmed into your device including: static IP entries, DNS, customized admin password, customized wireless settings, port forwarding, routing and DHCP settings.

3) Update your firmware. Firmware is the software that runs your modem, and it can become old, obsolete and/or corrupt. Check if there's an update for your device and then download any recommended software fixes. (If your device is not listed, go to the device manufacturer's website for more information.)

4)  Power down your router for 1 minute and re-boot.  Also power down your switch boxes for one minute if you have any.

5)  Review what else is going on on you network when you experience the signal dropouts.  Is your phone ringing?  Are there are other users on your network watching a video or downloading a large file? 





erik_squires
5,268 posts
 
Randy,

I use AT&T via Sonic and have the exact same thing happen, but it's not just Tidal, it's everything. For days everything is good, then I'm getting bumped off everything every 15 minutes.

I can tell because my music is wired, and it stops, and when it does, I loose access to all internet services, but like you, access to internal servers/NAS continues.


Best,


E
lalitk's avatar
lalitk
1,105 posts
 
@randyhat,

As @tomcy6 and @hgeifman suggested, I would look into increasing speed with your ISP.  I used to experience frequent dropouts with 45mbps speed. Now I am at 75mbps and very seldom experience dropouts. Whenever I do, a simple reset of my AT&T modem fixes the problem.

Ask you ISP to run a diagnostic check, in this will also help you determine what is the minimum speed you need based on number of devices connected to your modem. 
dlcockrum's avatar
dlcockrum
2,105 posts
 
My Xfinity ISP tests at 120 Mbps via Ethernet and this still happens sometimes as described above, albeit much less frequently since moving my router/modem to my listening room with 1m Ethernet cable between my router/modem (Motorola MG7550) and Aurender. No other devices (fed through WiFi) from same router/modem ever have a problem, even while my computer audio front end acts up  streaming Tidal. 

????

Dave


wgutz
85 posts
 
https://www.cnet.com/internet-speed-test/

Bill
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