Video/audio stuttering while playing youtube videos and playing music on iTunes.
Detailed description:
At first I thought it was a Firefox bug. But it also happened in Chrome and other applications while playing videos or music. A full reinstall of Windows 11 using Windows update didn’t fix it. The problem finally stopped happening after I uninstalled Norton 360.
Product & version number:
I had the latest Norton version installed.
OS details:
Windows 11 - latest version running on a Dell Precision T1700.
What is the error message you are seeing?
No error messages, just random stuttering of audio and video.The audio stuttering was the worst because it’s jarring while playing music and completely random. I ran the SysInternals ProcMon.exe tool. It showed Norton 360 file system activity around the times the stuttering occurred. After I uninstalled Norton 360, the problem stopped happening. I’m reluctant to reinstall N360, even though my subscription is good through Nov 2024.
If you have any supporting screenshots, please add them:
I was running the latest version of Norton 360 Deluxe. The problem started happening within the last couple of months so it may have been caused by a recent N360 update.The audio and video stuttering seemed to get worse when running other programs or tasks in the background, such as scrolling a web page or opening a new tab in the browser. But it could also happen when nothing else was running but the video and/or audio playing.
Are you streaming this video/audio, or is it stored locally on your system?
If streaming, with 360 installed, you could temporarily disable the Smart Firewall and test to see if that is interfering with your streams. Right click on the Norton icon in the system tray and click on Disable Smart Firewall.
The random audio/video stuttering happens while streaming web videos in the browser but also when playing local music files in iTunes.
I reinstalled Norton 360 Deluxe and disabled smart firewall, but the stuttering returned immediately after reinstalling it.
I also disabled behavioral protection but the random stuttering still happened.
I even disabled auto-protect, but the random stuttering still happened.
I’m going to uninstall Norton 360 and cancel my subscription auto-renewal. Clearly something has changed with the product, since this never happened before. But I don’t have time to help debug it by tweaking different settings to see which setting(s) are causing the stuttering. It appears to be a low-level bug that Norton needs to figure out by testing on older computers. For now I’ll go back to using Windows 11 built-in anti-virus protection.
Hello Owen. Just an observation from what I read your opening post, you said, you are running a Dell Precision T1700. And are on Windows 11. According to Dell that device isn’t Windows 11 compatible as shown below. Using an OS that isn’t officially hardware supported, it appears, may be a part of the issues you are seeing with performance. Changes to Norton ( an update ) do not like the system flags it is seeing and having a hard time adjusting. These are the CPU’s that unit was released with, they aren’t on the Microsoft list of compatibility: Intel® Xeon® E3-1200 v3 processors or 4th Generation Intel® Core™ processors
SA, I downloaded the latest installer from the Norton site, so I assume it was the latest version installed for my N360 Deluxe subscription. It’s uninstalled now so I can’t check the version. It’s true my computer isn’t “authorized” for W11 but everything has been running fine on it, including N360 until just recently. This seems like a N360 problem, not a W11 problem since it goes away as soon as I uninstall it.
True, mine was just an observation that gets overlooked a lot. If the version you are installing gets to version 24.xxx its filled with issues and so soon after release.
As an example of the issue of non-authorized OS installs, Norton will run on Insider releases of Windows and do so without issues. On some installs but not all, because not all hardware requires the same device drivers to function. Different OEM’s create their drivers in different ways and most times are specific to that hardware. Therefore Norton doesn’t guarantee their products will work correctly with those scenarios in mind. Having an OS that has been installed with using a registry tweak can be a part of the issue then on its face the assumption is Norton is at fault. The blame falls on both sides of the fence unfortunately. Norton should have a disclaimer stating a tweaked OS running with Norton isn’t guaranteed to function correctly as future updates to the OS and Norton my break that functionality. In your case removing Norton solves the issue. That means something within Norton has changed that most likely your OS doesn’t allow Norton to use.
What is your build and version of Windows 11?
I’m experiencing the same problem since Norton updated to the new product early October, 2024. It’s almost impossible to watch YouTube videos as they extremely slow to load and keep stalling. The video also appears in low resolution. Some images on websites are either missing or in low resolution. The problem is resolved by uninstalling Norton. I’ve tried different browsers, but to no avail.
My laptop is fairly new and came with Windows 11 preinstalled. Everything working fine until the latest Norton product update.
Anyone else had the same problem? Any solution(s)?
I am having the same issue and Its dreadful, I reinstalled Norton, I have repaired Norton and it worked fine for one day. Today I cannot load a page. After many many years of using this product I will now be deleting and finding an alternative.
The video also appears in low resolution. Some images on websites are either missing or in low resolution. The problem is resolved by uninstalling Norton. I’ve tried different browsers, but to no avail.
Same here.
Youtube is a big problem for Norton since version 24.x
Hi have a similar problem “video playback in Chrome or Firefox browsers is stuttering/slow, mostly visible in YouTube” on a Dell XPS laptop running Windows 11.
Disabling Security/Advanced/Browser Protection/“QUIC/HTTP3 scanning” resolves the problem.
Strangely, i don’t see this problem on an older HP Spectre running Windows 11, and also not on my self build desktop running Windows 10.
I was having a similar issue on my Windows 11 PC where the sound would either stop, or there would just be noise, like a loud buzzing sound. This would happen frequently, like every hour or every half hour, when either watching YouTube, streaming music, or even when recording using Ableton Live 12. I use a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 4th Gen audio interface. For a long time, at least a year I thought my PC was the problem, and that it also just couldn’t support an audio buffer size of 512, so I had it set real low to 128, which wasn’t great for latency when recording. My PC is not the worst spec with a intel core i5 processor and 16G memory.
I read this thread a week ago. I immediately uninstalled Norton 360. My PC audio has been running perfectly for the last week. Audio buffer size set to 512 without any issue at all.
I won’t be using Norton again. Unfortunately my subscription just renewed a month or so ago, but have turned auto-renew off.
After doing some research many people have said the anti-virus and firewall provided by Windows is sufficient. You just don’t get all the other nice tools that Norton provides, but it’s definitely a lot better not having the audio issues.
Hello @BigLegowski
Norton Community urges users that do not want automatic renewal to cancel recurring subscription service and also remove their payment profile.
Norton Cancellation and Refund Policy [here]
How to request a refund for an annual renewal fee [here]
Norton annual and monthly subscription refunds [here]
Hi,
Very Interesting. I just created a new post called “Norton 360 Premium update for Win 11 - now various website access issues”
Came to same conclusion re: disabling “QUIC/HTTP3” as a fix for now to cure various websites not loading or not getting past stalling at login stage. Happened about a week ago when Norton 360 Premium updated to the new look version Norton 360 v24.10.9535.
Many of the subsequent posts on this thread confirm that the audio/video stuttering problem is unrelated to Windows 11 builds or hardware. It is definitely an N360 issue.
Following on from my previous post where uninstalling Norton 360 solved the audio issue on my Windows 11 PC, I installed the latest version of Norton 360 4/5 days ago and it seems the audio issue has been resolved. I haven’t had a single issue after hours of use for the past 4/5 days. Previously the issue was occurring at least hourly. Seems Norton have fixed it with the new version.
Keep in mind my post where Norton “officially” states Insider / BETA and other wise non public released OS software isn’t supported. Norton doesn’t say you will or won’t have issues using those, because you will at some point. Running versions of Windows on unsupported hardware is also NOT supported, Norton products may or may not work correctly. Again!! At some point you will run into issues.
I have tested Norton products on hardware and OS’s they don’t support. In both instances, IE Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server Essentials 2016 both ran fine on actual servers. Just making the point that not supported statements are implemented into Norton product support for a specific reason. Glad hearing your issue is resolved too.
