How to Solve OBS Dropping Frames issue

Recently, a lot of users have been reporting the “OBS dropping frames” issue, which keeps them from the streaming server constantly and encountering stream lags. This problem usually occurs as a result of poor network connectivity. The affected users reported that as the effect of this issue some of the video frames are dropped or lost.

How to Fix OBS dropping frames issue?

The OBS dropping frames issue can occur due to the connection to the server is not stable, high Bitrate, connection problem due to firewall or Anti-Virus, and few other reasons. If you are the one struggling with the same issue and finding a solution to resolve it as quickly as you can, then it would not be an issue anymore, if you follow the solutions given below. Have a look.

Fix 1 – Troubleshoot the hardware issue:

Whenever the “OBS dropping frames” issue triggers, the first action that you have to perform is troubleshooting the hardware issues. Yes, troubleshooting will help you to find out if there is any hardware issue. Follow these basic checks,

Firstly, check the router. Sometimes, the router may not work properly and even jams the signals at the router itself, as a solution we have to connect the modem directly to the system by skipping the router in the way.
Check for the Ethernet cable damage. If so, then try to change the cable.
Finally, we recommend you to stream over a wired connection instead of Wi-Fi, as the wired connection is more stable than the Wi-Fi connection.

After following the above solutions, still, you facing the OBS dropping frames issue, then follow the next solution which may be the reason for your issue.

If you don’t have proper knowledge and do not want to update your network driver by yourself then you need to find any dependable third-party automatic update tool. The tool will help you to find the exact network driver for your system and download and install it automatically.

Fix 3: Change the Firewall and Anti-Virus:

Not only the routers and drivers, even the firewall and installed Anti-Virus are responsible for the OBS dropping frames issues. So, it is a better idea to on/off the firewall and anti-virus whenever you face this issue. For doing so, follow the steps given below,

Firstly, in the desktop search bar type Windows firewall and open the Windows Defender Firewall from the search result.
Now in the Windows Defender Firewall window, from the left-pane, select the option Turn Windows Defender Firewall on or off.
Next, in the newly opened window, under the Domain network settings, Private network settings, Public network settings tap on the radio button besides Turn off Windows Defender Firewall (not recommended) option and click on the OK button.

Once you are done, check for the issue, if it is solved then add an exception for obs32.exe/obs64.exe to your anti-virus or firewall.

Turning off the windows firewall is not at all a recommended step because it may create a few malfunctioning so, after turning off the Windows firewall, still the issue is not solved, then restore the settings that performed in the Windows Defender Firewall.

Fix 4: Lower the Bitrate:

One of the proven solutions for the OBS dropping frames issue is lowering the Bitrate. The bitrate is responsible for the quality of the video and audio that we watch online. If the high Bitrate is the problem in your case, then try to change the Bitrate settings (lower the video Bitrate) to solve the issue for you. For doing so, follow the steps given below,

Firstly, open the OBS studio.
Then go to Files, that you can see at the upper left corner of the screen and select Settings from the drop-down menu.
Now in the Settings window, from the left-pane select the Output tab. Then under Streaming section, from the right-pane, lower the video Bitrate and click on OK button to save the changes.

Note: In the case of OBS Studio 24, the inbuilt feature, Dynamic Bitrate allows you to adjust the Bitrate automatically as per to your internet connectivity.

Fix 5: Close Bandwidth and hogging applications:

As per few suffered users, closing all the bandwidth hogging programs before streaming helped to resolve the OBS dropping frames issues for them. Hence consider doing the same and to do so, follow the steps given below,

Firstly, right-click on an empty space in the taskbar and select the option Task manager from the list.
Now, find out the programs that consuming more data and try to end their session by clicking on the End Task tab.

Once done, check for the issue. If you still struggling with the OBS dropping frames issue then try the next solution.

Fix 6: Switching the Servers:

There may be a chance of triggering the OBS dropping frames issue, when you are connected and using the default servers. In this scenario, to get rid of the issue you have to switch the server and try it once. To do so, follow the steps given below,

Open OBS and go to Files then select the Settings option from the drop-menu.
Now from the left-pane menu select the option Stream.
Then choose the service you need to use and click on the option Connect Account(recommended).
Further, log in using the username and password.
When the login process completed, from the server drop-down list, change the server and click on OK to save the changes.

Note: You can also try different available servers till you get one that you can stream smoothly.

The OBS Dropping Frames issue is not a serious one and it can be solved yourself without the help of any technical hands. The reasons of the said issue may be several and each does consist respective solution as well.

These were all the possible fixes that will help you in resolving the “OBS dropping frames” issue easily. All of the above given solutions are tested, tried and proven, as well as helped lot of affected users. We hope that at the end of this article, you will find all the information mentioned above as helpful and relevant. If you have any queries or feedback, please write down the comment in the below comment box.