Server Version#: 1.43.1.10495
Player Version#: 2026.4.1 (971050026)
<If providing server logs please do NOT turn on verbose logging, only debug logging should be enabled>
Since the major “New Plex Experience” update in 2025, I’ve been experiencing constant buffering when trying to play high-bitrate 4K rips at original quality on my Samsung Tab S9 Ultra and Samsung S25 Ultra.
It isn’t a network bottleneck, my server is connected to my router at 10GbE, and my devices pull nearly 1Gbps down over Wi-Fi. Also other devices on my network like my Nvidia Shield TV Pro, play these exact same files flawlessly on both Wi-Fi and Ethernet.
To troubleshoot:
I built a completely new server (running Plex via Docker) and have kept my Plex Media Server updated over the past year, but the problem remains over multiple versions.
When I roll back to the older Android app from before the 2025 overhaul, playback is absolutely perfect. I’ve tested the new app every couple of months hoping that an update has fixed it, but the buffering always returns. Because of this, I’m currently forced to stick with the legacy version of the app. I strongly suspect there is an issue with how the new app handles high-bitrate playback on these specific devices or on all devices.
Do you have version 2026.9.0 or 2026.8.x installed on your phone? (Latest versions fixed that for me, but the AndroidTV player hasn’t been updated since January on Chromecast with Google TV devices.)
Does it happens with every single 4K high-bitrate content? Do you have a title in mind?
Thank you for replying, I’ve just been testing again with 2026.9.0 and the occasional buffering is still happening.
Seems to really only affect content with a bitrate of about 75mbps or higher. It’s all MKV rips of my 4K Blu-rays, seems to happen on both HDR10 and Dolby Vision. Also seems to happen on any audio streams (TrueHD 7.1 Atmos, FLAC 2.0 etc.).
Other than the buffering it’s actually very responsive and seeking, stopping, and starting playback is all very quick.
I’m also certain my network is still not the issue, I’m consistently getting 900+mbps over WiFi, with no packet loss or ping issues of any kind. Also the fact the old app is working perfectly indicates to me it’s not my network.
I’ve tested Groundhog Day (110mbps), Nightcrawler (94mbps), Star Wars Project 4K77 (SDR 86mbps), 1917 (82.5mbps). Once I got into the 70mbps range the issue seemed to go away with Interstellar playing back perfectly which is 70mbps.
Do you make your own backups with MakeMKV? I had issues once because my disc was dirty from all the oily smudges we find in the cases these days… I had to clean it and redo a backup. IIRC, it ran well on VLC, but not so well with Plex.
That being said, I doubt that’s the main problem here because it seems to affect a lot of movies…
What wi-fi version do you have?
I’m sorry, I won’t be super useful I think.
My problems with such files stopped when they released newer versions, but maybe that was a coincidence too… Maybe my server was the issue.
All I know is that I upgraded my wi-fi and the problem was still there. However, weeks later, as of today, everything seems to be fine.
I do, however they all run flawlessly on Plex on my Shield TV. I’ve also tested other downloads like the Star Wars Project 4K77 fan restoration and that also has the buffering issue.
Using WiFi 6, but I just tested with a USB C to ethernet adapter into my tablet and the issue is still there.
I appreciate the replies nonetheless, hopefully this gets a fix soon.
