What to Do When Your Super Bowl Stream Fails
- More
Credit: Mike Hill / Getty Images
Congratulations. You decided to stream the Super Bowl this year. But even the most reliable broadband connections get choked, and because you'll be streaming the largest sporting event in America, then the best antidote to any problems that may come about is good old-fashioned preparedness. After all, that guac only lasts for so long. Read on to learn exactly what to do when your Super Bowl stream fails.
RELATED: The Super Bowl That Killed Cable
Step 1: Troubleshoot your technology.
- Make sure that other computers and Internet-connected devices in your house aren't consuming your bandwidth with a coincidental streaming marathon of Game Of Thrones. If someone else is downloading or streaming on the same wireless network, then the Super Bowl suffers as a result.
- The classic "turn it off and turn it back on" test. Do this for your streaming device, your wireless router, and hell, even your television.
- Run a speed test using a site like SpeedTest.net to see if you're getting the performance you need in order to successfully stream live video.
- Check Twitter to see if other people are having the same problem you are. It might not just be you.
Step 2: Go old-school.
- Suck it up and use your cable subscription. Don't have cable? Use your digital antenna to pick up television signals from over the air. Don't have an antenna? Then you're going to have to…
RELATED: Why the Super Bowl Sucks
Step 3: Suck it up and go to that Super Bowl party that you ditched.
- You might have some luck here, unless, of course, they also decided to stream the game.
Step 4: Find a nearby bar that's showing the game.
- It's the Super Bowl, for crying out loud. Practically every bar with a television will be showing it. But you should play it safe and look up nearby bars on Yelp, which will indicate pretty quickly if the bar is the kind that has sports on TV. If you're in doubt, it will list the phone number right on the page.
Step 5: Try a different streaming solution.
- Verizon customers can stream any NFL game for free using the official NFL app. Don't have Verizon and you're too cheap to pay to watch through the app? Then...
Step 6: Screw it. The Super Bowl is probably going to suck anyway.
Get the latest in gear, fitness, travel & more delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up now for the Men’s Journal newsletter.