The 4 Most Common Streamrun Setup Problems
Most support cases from new Streamrun users come down to one of four things. None of them are hard to fix once you know what to look for. This page lists them in the order they come up, with the symptom, the reason behind it, and the exact steps that resolve it.
Check these four things first
The stream key belongs to the configuration you are using
Each Streamrun Pro configuration and Streamrun Go has its own Stream URL and Stream Key. Keys are not interchangeable.
Your bitrate fits your real upload speed
Measure the upload with a speed test and stay well below it. On mobile networks, use SRT with enough latency rather than RTMP.
Your encoder points at Streamrun, not at the platform
Streamrun has to sit between your device and platforms like Twitch or Kick. If your device streams straight to the platform, none of the Streamrun features apply.
You stream through Streamrun only, not to the platform as well
Sending video to the same platform key from both your device and Streamrun makes the player buffer and drops quality. Keep the platform key inside Streamrun and stream to Streamrun alone.
The four problems in detail
These come from real support cases. Each one has a clear symptom, so once you recognise the pattern you can usually fix it in under a minute.
Problem 1
Using the wrong stream key for the configuration
What you see: Your broadcasting app says it is connected or live, but the Streamrun input stays empty and the preview never shows video.
Why it happens: Every Streamrun Pro configuration has its own Stream URL and Stream Key, and Streamrun Go has a separate key of its own. The key is what identifies which configuration and which input a stream belongs to. A Streamrun Go key sent to a Streamrun Pro configuration does not match anything, so the connection simply never arrives.
How to fix it
Problem 2
Bitrate set above what the connection can carry
What you see: The stream connects, then stutters, drops frames, freezes for long stretches, or disconnects repeatedly. It might look fine for the first minute and fall apart once you start moving.
Why it happens: Two things usually combine here. The video bitrate is set higher than the sustained upload speed, for example 6 Mbps on a connection that uploads 2 Mbps. And RTMP is used on a mobile network with packet loss, where a single lost packet blocks everything behind it and the stream stalls for seconds at a time.
How to fix it
Problem 3
Streaming directly to the destination platform instead of through Streamrun
What you see: A Streamrun session is running, but the stream on Twitch or Kick behaves as if Streamrun is not there. When the phone drops, viewers see the stream end, and disconnect protection appears to have done nothing.
Why it happens: Streamrun works by running between your encoder and the destination platform. If your encoder is configured with a Twitch or Kick stream key, the video travels straight from your device to the platform and Streamrun is not in the path at all. Starting a Streamrun session does not change where your encoder sends video.
How to fix it
Problem 4
Streaming to the platform directly and through Streamrun at the same time
What you see: Your stream is live, but the picture on Twitch or Kick constantly buffers and rebuffers, the quality looks worse than your bitrate should give, and Streamrun features have no effect even though a session is running.
Why it happens: The same platform stream key is receiving two streams at once. One comes straight from your device and one comes from Streamrun, which is also forwarding to that platform. The platform cannot accept two sources on a single key cleanly, so it flips between them, buffers, and drops quality. Because only one of the two paths passes through Streamrun, its features cannot apply reliably either.
How to fix it
Where Streamrun sits in your stream
Problems 1, 3 and 4 are all really the same misunderstanding: the stream has to reach Streamrun, and only Streamrun, before anything Streamrun does can apply. This is the path a working setup takes.
Correct path
Streamrun holds the connection to the platform. If your device drops, the platform still sees a live stream and disconnect protection can take over.
What goes wrong
The session is billed and running, but no video ever reaches it. Nothing protects the stream, because the stream never passes through Streamrun.
Still stuck?
If none of the four fixes apply, work through the chain one step at a time. The issue checklist in the documentation walks through what to check before the input reaches Streamrun and what to check between Streamrun and the destination platform. When you contact support, including your configuration name, the time the problem happened, and your encoder settings makes the investigation much faster.
Open the issue checklist →Frequently asked questions
Answers to the questions that come up most often when setting up Streamrun.
Why does my Streamrun input show nothing when I start streaming?
The most common reason is that the stream key belongs to a different configuration. Every Streamrun Pro configuration has its own Stream URL and Stream Key, and Streamrun Go has its own separate key as well. A key from one configuration will not connect to another. Pro stream keys are listed at streamrun.com/configurations behind the small triangle next to each configuration, and Streamrun Go keys are at streamrun.com/go. Copy the URL and key from the configuration you actually want to use and paste those into your broadcasting app.
Can I use the same stream key for all my Streamrun configurations?
No. The stream key is what tells Streamrun which configuration and which input the incoming video belongs to. Each configuration, and each input inside a configuration, has its own key. If you switch between a Streamrun Go session and a Streamrun Pro configuration, you have to update the key in your streaming app as well.
I added Streamrun to Moblin but it streams somewhere else. Why?
The Streamrun QR code and quick link now select the new entry automatically, so on a current setup this is handled for you. You can still hit it if you added Streamrun manually, or added it on an older version before this was fixed, because Moblin stores multiple destinations and keeps broadcasting to whatever was selected before. If that happens, tap the gear icon in Moblin, open the stream list, and select the Streamrun entry so it becomes active. Then start the broadcast.
What bitrate should I use for mobile streaming?
Start well below your measured upload speed. Run a speed test on the connection you will actually stream on, then set the video bitrate to roughly half of the sustained upload figure. On a 3 Mbps upload, 1500 kbps is a sensible starting point. Mobile upload capacity fluctuates as you move, so the headroom is what keeps the stream alive. Trying 6 Mbps on a 1 Mbps connection will not work regardless of any other setting.
Why does my stream stall for long periods on mobile?
Long stalls on a mobile connection usually mean RTMP is being used on a network with packet loss. RTMP runs over TCP, so a lost packet blocks everything behind it until it is retransmitted. Switch the input to SRT and give it enough latency, typically 3 to 4 times the round-trip time to the ingest server. SRT then absorbs the brief interruptions instead of stalling the whole stream.
I had a Streamrun session running but disconnect protection did not work. What happened?
Disconnect protection only applies to streams that pass through Streamrun. If your phone or OBS was configured with a Twitch or Kick stream key, the video went straight to the platform and Streamrun was never in the path, even though a session was running. Your encoder must point at the Streamrun Stream URL and Stream Key, and Streamrun sends the stream on to Twitch, Kick, and other destinations.
How do I verify my stream is actually going through Streamrun?
Look at the Streamrun Preview and the Input Stream element. If the input shows an incoming bitrate and the preview shows your video, the stream is passing through Streamrun. If your broadcasting app reports it is live but the Streamrun input stays empty, you are streaming past Streamrun to something else.
Can I stream to Twitch directly and through Streamrun at the same time?
No. If your device sends video straight to Twitch while Streamrun also forwards to the same Twitch stream key, Twitch receives two sources on one key. It cannot accept both cleanly, so the player buffers, quality drops below what your bitrate should give, and Streamrun features do not work because the platform is switching between two streams. Pick one path. Either stream to Streamrun and let it forward to the platform, or stream to the platform directly, but never both to the same key. To keep Streamrun features, point your device only at the Streamrun Stream URL and Key and let Streamrun hold the platform key.
Related
Input Stream Documentation
Where to find your Stream URL and Stream Key, which protocol to choose, and how to set SRT latency.
IRL Streaming Documentation
Setting up Moblin and IRL Pro with Streamrun, including bitrate and codec recommendations for mobile.
RTMP vs SRT for Live Streaming
Why RTMP stalls on mobile networks and what SRT does differently when packets are lost.
How to Stream Without Disconnects
The causes behind stream drops at a network and protocol level, and what actually prevents them.
Get your setup right the first time
Copy the Stream URL and Key from the configuration you want to use, point your encoder at it, and add your destinations inside Streamrun. That is the whole setup.