How to Diagnose and Resolve Verkada Live View Buffering
Verkada's platform is renowned for its reliability and ease of use, providing instant access to live and recorded video feeds. However, seeing a constant buffering symbol or experiencing a choppy, lagging live stream can disrupt monitoring and cause significant frustration. This issue is almost always rooted in network performance rather than a fault with the camera itself.
This guide provides a professional overview for IT administrators and users to diagnose the underlying causes of Verkada live view buffering and implement effective solutions for a smooth streaming experience.
Understanding the Root Causes of Buffering
When you initiate a live view in Verkada Command, you are creating a secure, direct-ish tunnel to pull a video stream from the camera. Buffering occurs when the viewing device (your computer or phone) cannot receive the video data from the camera fast enough to display it in real-time.
The primary bottlenecks are:
- Insufficient Upload Bandwidth: The camera's location needs enough upload speed to send the video stream out to the internet.
- High Network Latency: Latency (or ping) is the time it takes for a data packet to travel from the camera to you. High latency creates a delay that manifests as lag or buffering.
- Network Packet Loss: When data packets are lost in transit over the network, the stream must pause to re-request the missing data, causing stuttering.
- Client-Side Performance: The device used for viewing may lack the processing power to decode the video stream efficiently.
Step-by-Step Network Troubleshooting
Follow these steps to systematically identify and address the network bottleneck.
1. Analyse Camera Network Health in Command
Verkada Command has built-in tools to help you diagnose the issue.
- Log in to Verkada Command.
- Select the camera that is experiencing buffering issues.
- Go to Settings > Info.
- Here you will find real-time data on the camera's Uplink speed and Latency.
- Uplink: Verkada requires a minimum of 600 kbps per camera. If the reported uplink is consistently near or below this threshold, you have found your bottleneck.
- Latency: A latency above 100ms can lead to noticeable lag and buffering.
2. Conduct a Network Speed Test
Run a speed test from a computer connected to the same local network as the camera. This is crucial.
- Use a reliable speed testing service (e.g., Speedtest by Ookla).
- Pay close attention to the UPLOAD speed. A typical residential or office internet connection has a much lower upload speed than its download speed. If the result is below 1-2 Mbps and you have multiple cameras, your internet connection is likely saturated.
3. Reduce the Stream Quality
A simple and immediate way to alleviate buffering is to reduce the amount of data being requested from the camera.
- While viewing the live stream, click the 'HQ' (High Quality) or 'Auto' button on the video player.
- Select 'SQ' (Standard Quality) from the dropdown menu.
- This significantly lowers the bandwidth requirement and will often result in a smooth stream on constrained networks. Note that this only affects the live view; the camera continues to record locally at its highest configured quality.
4. Investigate the Local Network Infrastructure
If bandwidth seems sufficient, the problem may lie within the local network hardware.
- Check for Network Loops or Storms: A misconfigured switch can cause a broadcast storm that cripples network performance.
- Analyse Firewall and QoS Settings: Ensure that your firewall is not throttling traffic from the cameras or to Verkada's cloud services. Quality of Service (QoS) rules can be implemented to prioritise video traffic and ensure it isn't delayed by less critical data like large file downloads.
- Examine Switch Port Statistics: Check the switch port the camera is connected to for high error rates, dropped packets, or duplex mismatches.
5. Assess the Viewing Device
Rule out the client device as the source of the problem.
- Try a Different Device: Attempt to view the live stream on a different computer or mobile device on the same network.
- Use a Wired Connection: If you are viewing on a laptop over Wi-Fi, try connecting it directly to the network with an Ethernet cable. This provides a more stable connection than wireless.
- Check CPU Usage: While streaming, open the Task Manager (Windows) or Activity Monitor (Mac) on your computer. If the CPU usage is at or near 100%, your computer is struggling to decode the stream, which can cause buffering.
By methodically evaluating these areas, you can effectively pinpoint the cause of live view buffering and take the necessary steps to ensure a reliable, high-performance video security experience with Verkada.