AirPlay Streaming (Video) Stuttering on Google Wi-Fi

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AirPlay Streaming (Video) Stuttering on Google Wi-Fi

Since moving over to a Google Wi-Fi mesh setup, I’ve been experiencing stuttering issues when attempting to AirPlay videos from my iPhone 8 or from my MacBook Pro.

This is only an issue for videos I‘ve taken myself (on my camera roll) and does not present itself when using AirPlay to stream from other sources such as YouTube or when streaming audio.

This issue is also occurring for my parents with the same Google Wi-Fi setup. Prior to the Google devices, both homes were utilizing the AirPort router with no issues while streaming at all.

I can confirm that both devices (source device and Apple TV) are connected to the 5GHz band and there is no issue with signal strength.

Any ideas?

Posted on Sep 3, 2018 2:26 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

LaPastenague

Level 9

67,262 points

Sep 4, 2018 1:00 AM in response to IwasSam

The videos on your phone may actually be fairly large and need a lot more bandwidth that is having issues with double hop wireless.

Would it be possible to setup the Apple TV with ethernet (or using powerline adapters) and see if you have the same problem. Also in the Mac you can use the activity monitor to track the bandwidth usage required to send the video over the network.. and compare that to your internet sources.. Any time you try to double hop wireless which mesh systems still do, you are limited to their ability to handle packets quickly enough in two directions. There is usually some tricks like setting much smaller packet sizes.. but i am guessing the google system has pretty much followed Apple in locking you out of anything useful.

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Answer 2

Sep 3, 2018 11:31 PM in response to IwasSam

Google wifi and airplay are not happy little protocols.

Airplay issues with Google Wifi

Simplify your mesh back to a single unit and see if you still have issues. If so talk to google wifi support people as they probably need to fix iOS compatibility issues.

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Answer 3

Tesserax

Level 10

158,592 points

Sep 4, 2018 3:40 PM in response to IwasSam

As you know the Apple TV relies on AirPlay for streaming as would any other AirPlay-enabled client. And as mentioned in the ASC post that LaPastenague has provided you a link with, AirPlay is a suite of standard IP protocols (mDNS, HTTP, RTSP, RAOP, RTP, & NTP). There is nothing "magic" about it ... so it would be interesting if there is some "slight of hand" between Google and Apple as to why it seems that the Google WiFi system is having issues with transporting AirPlay over it.

On the other hand, the Google WiFi mesh system relies on a wireless network that does not use a dedicated wireless backhaul. This is also true for Amazon Luma, Eero, Asus HiveDot, and a few others. Going up one step in performance would be a Mesh system that does rely on this type of backhaul. These would be: Asus HiveSpot, Linksys Velop, or Netgear Orbi. So if streaming performance is key for you, you may want to consider returning your Google Mesh hardware and "upgrading" to the Asus, Linksys, or Netgear systems I mentioned.

... and if your home can support Ethernet connectivity, then either the Cisco Aeronet or Ubiquiti Uni-Fi systems would be the way to go.

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Answer 4

Sep 4, 2018 3:54 PM in response to IwasSam

OK.. That is great because now you have a source for the problem.. the solution is easy peasy.

Wire the Apple TV. It can be direct ethernet if that works for you.. it can be powerline adapters.. if that works for you.. it can even be wireless to ethernet bridge (if you have a left over airport express) or another google wifi puck.. just as long as the Apple TV is removed from having to handle wireless.

Or maybe just airplay. But your test shows with ethernet to the apple TV it works ok.

Can you tell which apple TV he is using in the video.. it looks like 4 or new 4K one.

That is a great video btw.. simple to test.. but that is no joke to setup.

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Answer 5

IwasSam Author

Level 1

12 points

Sep 4, 2018 3:12 PM in response to LaPastenague

I found this really interesting video where a gentleman puts Google Wi-Fi through a stress test (7 streams/5MB each) and it performs flawlessly until Apple TV is introduced. At that point it begins to stutter, the same stutter I experience when using AirPlay for videos.

https://youtu.be/asRpz8dMq5s

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Answer 6

Sep 3, 2018 5:46 PM in response to IwasSam

Try using 2.4ghz if you have not done so. It can be better than 5ghz in some instances.

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Answer 7

IwasSam Author

Level 1

12 points

Sep 3, 2018 10:06 PM in response to LaPastenague

Unfortunately, Google Wi-Fi doesn’t allow one to choose a specific band. The network uses both 2.4 and 5 and Google uses Band Steering to automatically choose the “best” frequency.

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Answer 8

IwasSam Author

Level 1

12 points

Sep 4, 2018 10:03 AM in response to LaPastenague

Yes, I assume in an effort to make it more "user-friendly" Google has locked down the router making any type of real investigation tricky.

I have tested with the AppleTV hardwired directly from my modem, and the video streaming performs flawlessly. I will test with a hardwired connection from the Google router to see if it performs the same, and I will monitor the bandwidth to/from while streaming a video wirelessly to see if there seems to be an issue with the amount of data traversing through.

I've also posted the issue on the Google Wi-Fi support forum, so I'll report back with any information/advice I hear on that side.

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Answer 9

IwasSam Author

Level 1

12 points

Sep 4, 2018 12:10 AM in response to LaPastenague

I did attempt to troubleshoot by removing my second access point from the mesh, however even on a single router the issue remains

I had seen the post referring issues with music streaming and that’s what prompted me to open the discussion. I have read about issues that pertain to audio stuttering on Google Wi-Fi, but I haven’t come across anything involving video as in my case. And since I am experiencing the issue in two separate instances, but with identical hardware (iPhone 8’s on ios11 and Apple TV 3’s) I was hoping someone out there could either confirm or debunk the idea that it may be related to that specific setup. .

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Answer 10

IwasSam Author

Level 1

12 points

Sep 9, 2018 2:35 PM in response to LaPastenague

Yeah, I’ve known the “source” of the issue for some time: the wireless interaction between Apple TV AirPlay and Google Wi-Fi.

I was hoping to learn if it was isolated to my hardware versions or if it was an actual issue prevelant on all devices.

Unfortunately I’m not in a good position to hardwire either Apple TV box, so I’ll be forced to try one of your options - most likely a wireless to ethernet bridge.

Before I do, I’m waiting to hear from a friend if he experiences the same issue on his 4K Apple TV. If not, I’m more than happy to go that route.

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AirPlay Streaming (Video) Stuttering on Google Wi-Fi

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