Connecting Binge+ to your Wi-Fi, and fixing buffering
4 min read · Updated 31 July 2026
Binge+ uses the internet only for streaming apps, voice search and casting — live channels come down from the dish and keep working whether or not the broadband is up. Plan on roughly 15 Mbps for comfortable HD streaming and about 25 Mbps for 4K, measured at the television rather than next to the router, because that is where the box has to work.
What actually needs the internet
Streaming apps, voice search, casting from a phone and software updates all need a connection. Live satellite channels do not.
This is worth remembering during a broadband outage, and during monsoon in the other direction: when heavy rain interrupts the satellite signal, the streaming side carries on regardless.
The speed that matters is at the TV
Around 15 Mbps is comfortable for HD streaming and about 25 Mbps for 4K. Those are per-stream figures, so a household streaming in two rooms at once needs headroom above them.
Test the speed standing where the box sits, not beside the router. A connection that measures 100 Mbps at the router and 8 Mbps behind the television will buffer, and the broadband plan is not the reason.
Why the signal is weaker at the television
Wi-Fi weakens through walls, and the box is often in the worst possible spot — low down, behind a television, in a cabinet, with the metal of the screen between it and the router.
Moving the router into the open, or simply raising it off the floor, frequently does more than any setting change. If the router is two rooms away, that distance and the walls in between are the constraint.
Working through buffering
If apps stall or drop resolution, take these in order:
- 1Run a speed test on a phone held where the box sits, and compare it with one taken next to the router.
- 2Restart the router and the box together, and let both come up fully.
- 3If your router offers a 5 GHz network as well as 2.4 GHz, use 5 GHz when the box is in the same room and 2.4 GHz when it is further away or through walls.
- 4Move anything metal or electrically noisy out from between the router and the box.
- 5If nothing helps and the box is far from the router, run an Ethernet cable — a wired connection removes the variable entirely.
Wired beats wireless every time
If the router happens to be near the television, an Ethernet cable is the most reliable option there is. It is unaffected by walls, neighbouring networks and interference.
Where a cable is impractical, a powerline adapter or a mesh node near the television is the next best thing. Both are more effective than repeatedly changing Wi-Fi settings on the box.
Questions people ask
Do I need internet for Binge+ to work at all?
No. Live channels arrive from the dish and work with no internet connection. Only the streaming apps, voice search, casting and updates need broadband.
What internet speed do I need?
About 15 Mbps for HD streaming and around 25 Mbps for 4K, per stream. Measure it where the box sits — the figure next to the router is not the figure the box gets.
Why does it buffer when my broadband is fast?
Usually because the Wi-Fi is weak at the television even though the line into the house is quick. A box low down behind a screen, with walls between it and the router, can see a fraction of the speed the plan provides.
Should I use 5 GHz or 2.4 GHz?
5 GHz is faster but travels less well through walls. Use it if the box is in the same room as the router, and 2.4 GHz if it is further away or the signal has to pass through walls.