The Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling ("HAGS") feature added with Windows 10 is currently known to cause performance and capture issues with OBS, games and overlay tools. It's an experimental feature and we recommend disabling it via
this screen or
these instructions.
In many cases, wireless connections can cause issues because of their unstable nature. Streaming really requires a stable connection. Often wireless connections are fine, but if you have problems, the first troubleshooting step would be to switch to wired. We highly recommend streaming on wired connections.
Lenovo Vantage / Legion Edge is installed and is known to cause connection issues while streaming. Open Lenovo Vantage and set the "Network Boost" feature to disabled when streaming with OBS.
You are running Windows 11 24H2, which will be supported by Microsoft until October 2026.
Your stream encoder is set to a video bitrate that is too low. This will lower picture quality especially in high motion scenes like fast paced games. Use the Auto-Config Wizard to adjust your settings to the optimum for your situation. It can be accessed from the Tools menu in OBS, and then just follow the on-screen directions.
In Windows 10 versions 1809 and newer, we recommend that "Game Mode" be enabled for maximum gaming performance. Game Mode can be enabled via the Windows 10 "Settings" app, under Gaming >
Game Mode.
Dynamic Bitrate is enabled. Instead of dropping frames when network issues are detected, OBS will automatically reduce the stream quality to compensate. The bitrate will adjust back to normal once the connection becomes stable. In some (very specific) situations, Dynamic Bitrate can get stuck at a low bitrate. If this happens frequently, it is recommended to turn off Dynamic Bitrate in Settings -> Advanced -> Network.