Download and Streaming problems since 7/1/2022

[gemcal]

My Fios has started acting up since 7/1/2022. Disney+ is not working on my Firestick. It is caught in a bootup mode with a spinning circle endlessly. The Firestick is on the WIFI. I have another app that downloads videos for my bicycle trainer. That app now fails at 0 bytes download. That is on an ethernet connection.

Other apps are very slow to start downloads either on the WIFI or ethernet. Are there any others having similar problems? I am wondering if Verizon did a recent firmware update on the 3100 routers that is having problems or if it is some other problem with Verizon or further down the line.

[gemcal · Accepted solution]

I spent a few days trying to figure out what was going on and after quite a bit of research figured out the problem.

My router in the Washington D.C. area was updated to using Ipv6 around 6/30/2022. It turns out there is a long standing problem with Amazon Firesticks and some streaming apps when the Firestick is using Ipv6. The Disney+ App just sits at the login page with a spinning dial for me. A couple of other apps (Peacock and GCN+) also have problems. My fix was to install an older Roku stick I had along with the Firestick on the TV. The Roku does not have any problems with the Disney or Peacock. I do need the Firestick for a couple of apps not supported by the Roku stick.

I also had a problem with an older computer not downloading videos while using a Windows 10 program supplied by a bicycle trainer subscription service. I tried setting the TCP checksum offload Capability as one of the fixes described in this forum. One file would download and then it would hang again. I Finally turned off Ipv6 on the network settings for the computer. Now the downloads work again.

If you find that your router's firmware has been updated to use Ipv6 then you may have streaming problems with your Amazon Firestick. As far back as 2020 Amazon's response was to turn off Ipv6 on the router. With the firmware and app updates since then it does not look like the problem has been fixed.

[Cang_Household]

If this is not yet clear, I will repeat it again. Disabling IPv6 at the router level is not advisable. It takes away all the benefits for devices that understand IPv6. Furthermore, there is a part of the Internet that is exclusively using IPv6, if you disable it at your router, you cannot access that part of the Internet.

If some device does not support or violate the specifications in RFC 2406, you'd better replace those devices rather than missing out on the advantages of IPv6.

[gemcal]

Agreed. That's why I am using the Roku for the problematic apps. I don't know whether it is the Firestick hardware or a glitch in the apps that is causing the problem but it hasn't been fixed in two years.

As far as the computer that I disabled Ipv6. I only use it for that one program on a bike trainer. It only is used for that program.

[LawrenceC]

I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to post your comments and opinions related to this topic. This topic has been thoroughly discussed and will now be closed. Please feel free to open a new thread for further discussion. Thank you.