iTunes radio keeps rebuffering stream during song play

I've had this problem a lot ever since updating iTunes to 8.0.1. It could be a coincidence and my ISP has somehow been the problem, but I wanted to put it out there that perhaps iTunes isn't working properly. My network configuration hasn't changed.

Sometimes it will stay "rebuffering stream" endlessly. Hitting 'Cancel' and double-clicking the stream entry will start the stream right back up no problem, until it dies again anywhere from 2 seconds to many minutes later.

iTunes 8 does not seem to be able to stay connected to an audio stream - iTunes 7 did a fine job with hours upon hours of listening without a hiccup. This problem persists with many different streams originating from many different servers, including popular internet radio.

If anyone has any suggestions or clues, thanks in advance.

My other response might belong elsewhere, as it may be a different problem than yours.

You may simply need to adjust the stream buffering size, which should be found in iTunes Advanced preferences. A larger buffer should help keep the stream from being interrupted.

hi all,

i'm getting exactly the same problem! my itunes radio will play for anything up to 1 to 2 mins and then i get the dreaded "rebuffering stream" msg which it doesn't recover from until i hit stop and replay the stream!
extremely frustrating!

can anyone help???

I've had the same problem and the following procedure worked for me:

1) Increase the "Streaming Buffer Size" to "Large" (Edit - Preferences - Advanced)

2) If you have the option of using a 64K stream instead of a 128K stream, use the 64K stream. Sound quality goes down a bit but this really helps with the buffering issue.

Good luck.

I'm having the exact same problem. I have tried several different networks, have changed the buffer size to large, and have tried several different stations (both from the iTunes Radio list and internet stations). I'm still having the problem though. The stream will play for approximately 1-2 minutes then cut off permanently in a "Rebuffering Stream" message, which never resolves itself.

As of Sat Evening.. (and way before this) My "systems" have been shutting down to some issues I was later able to isolate to the "itunes" player. Yet I can not pin point the exact cause of this error (once, I thought it was the /privite/cups/etc glitch) I was forced to locate another or alternate player for my online music content.

This has been corrected, but Itunes has been removed from my system. After it's all said and done. Itunes has been getting worse instead of better.

"Keep It Real, and make it simple"

hello to everyone,

i'm another unlucky person with the same problem. i've adjusted the streaming buffer size to large like everyone has suggested, but it did absolutely nothing to fix the problem. i have high-speed internet with a really good connection. not sure what else to check. i really hate this 'cause it used to work just fine for me up until about 6 months ago. i played streaming radio all day long with no problems.

is there anyone out there who knows how to fix this? or is it just an itunes problem that apple has not addressed?

Has anyone escalated these issues to Apple?

Yes, I am having the same trouble with endless rebuffering when I want to sample music on the iTunes store! It has been doing this since I installed itunes 8. It was fine before. I tried changing the buffer size to large, but it didn't help.
I told Apple about the problem, also. Does anyone have any other ideas?

I experience rebuffering silence when streaming some (not all) iTunes radio through my iBook - not w/MacBook; likely because MacBook's larger memory, faster speed - problematic because I use iBook as dedicated music player.
If you stream to remote speakers using AirTunes or AirPort (not sure about other routers) try this rebuffering work-around: choose "multiple speakers" from the "choose which speakers to use" drop-down list (lower right when in List View).

Since I have upgraded to Itunes 8.0 this has been happening to me as well.

I have changed ISPs (going from Road Runner to Verizon FIOS) but the buffering is WORSE.

Honestly, I cannot even listen to an excerpt of something to purchase. Consequently I will not be doing any purchasing from Apple unless someone can figure out why all the buffering and rectify the issue.

Unfortunately that did not work for me.

Any other suggestions?

I've read several blogs on-line and this seems to be a regular issue. I've always had the same problem. I get the problem right off the bat, or it works great at first, then after 20-30 minutes it starts cutting out. I've tried listening to stations with lower bit rates, but once the problem shows up the only way to get rid of it is to restart/logoff my computer. Strangely, it works fine, as mentioned above, but then goes right back to cutting off (rebuffering stream). By the way, I had this problem way before V8.0. The station in question were KICKRADIO (256kbps) and RockRadio1 (192 kbps).

I spoke to a Mac specialist about this and here's what he had to offer:
1) The problem may be coming from the Server used by the station.
2) Some of these stations monitor use and after a certain amount of time, you get bumped.
3) Although it may be a different station, it may still come from the same company (ie same server).

During this phone conversation with the tech, I was getting a rebuff every 10-15 seconds. I changed it to another station and the problem went away.

This is my recommendation. For those of you having this problem, post what station(s) you're listening to. Maybe, there's a hand full of stations (servers) who are the culprits. I'll post my updates as I keep track.

Update: For the past 5 days I've used iTunes radio more than usual. The stations listed below didn't give me any problems except some initial streaming when I first connected. Immediately after posting the problem on the 18th, I went back to the 256kbps station and it played for 4 hours without interruption.

Also, I forgot to mention, I set the Streaming Buffer Size to Large.

At this time, I'm happy. If something changes, I'll add to this listing.

Hi Solar,

I am the owner/operator/admin/DJ of Rockradio1 and I can assure you that we do not do any of the things that you or that tech suggest. We get over 1400 people connecting at max times and very few, if any, have problems with buffering. The tech that you spoke to forgot to add this as a possible reason. Usually the culprit is the listeners connection or the path that is taken from them to the rockradio1 servers.


We have servers located in various places around the world. In the future you can try to connect to our servers manually by using the following links.


http://94.23.16.167:8000/listen.pls

http://91.121.201.88:8000/listen.pls

http://78.129.197.4:8000/listen.pls

http://78.129.142.172:8000/listen.pls

http://66.90.103.144:8140/listen.pls

http://77.74.192.50:8005/listen.pls

http://77.74.192.50:8000/listen.pls

http://91.121.203.207:8000/listen.pls

Please contact me if you or any others have any connection problems and I will do my best to try to help you resolve them: admin@rockradio1.com

Regards