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Laptop Netflix Not Working

I’ve been using Netflix on my computer and it stopped working all of a sudden. I thought it must be an issue with the app so I tried to access it from the browser but that didn’t work either. So, I researched how to get it to work again, and thought I’d share how to do it in this article.

For the Netflix app installed on a laptop you should ensure the Netflix app is up to date in the Microsoft store. Next, go to the list of apps on your computer and select the advanced options for the Netflix app, select ‘terminate’ and ‘reset’. Below are some more steps if it’s still not working.

Watching Netflix in Laptop

These include using the Windows App Troubleshooter, and deleting your temporary files. If it still does not work then you should uninstall and reinstall Netflix, and restart your computer.

Below, I will explain step by step how to do each of these steps as well as how to fix Netflix when you’re accessing it from your web browser.

Laptop Netflix Black/Blank Screen/No Picture

Couple shock while looking at the laptop

When I’ve used Netflix in the past it worked perfectly without any issues. But, lately it seems to not be working more and more often and when I open it up I’ll get a blank screen and no picture. Here’s what to do when Netflix isn’t working on your laptop.

Check your web browser, and the Netflix app is up to date. Go to the settings on your web browser and check for updates. For the app, go to the Microsoft store, select the three dots on the top right, and select ‘downloads and updates’.

Under that menu will be a list of the apps you have installed. Find Netflix in this list and if there are any updates it will say next to the Netflix app. If it’s all up to date here’s step by step what to do next.

The following steps are for fixing the Netflix app on your laptop NOT for if you’re using Netflix in a web browser such as Google Chrome or Safari. After the steps below, I will explain how to fix Netflix when you access it from the web browser.

Feel free to skip to that section now if you’re having an issue with watching Netflix in a web browser, as the below steps won’t apply to you. It starts with step ‘1. Check the Netflix Server status’.

1. Reset and terminate Netflix in the Apps & Features menu

Click on the Windows icon at the very bottom left of your screen. Or, press the windows button at the bottom left of your keyboard. Click on ‘Settings’. You can also type ‘settings’ and it will bring up the settings and then click on it.

It will open a window that has some options. On the left hand side there is an option that says ‘App & Features’. Click on that. This brings up some additional options as well as a list of all the apps you have installed. Scroll down until you find the Netflix app. Click on it, and some additional options will appear, one of which says ‘Advanced options’.

Click on that and then scroll down to where it says ‘Terminate’ and ‘Reset’. Click both of these, and then exit out of this window by closing it on the top right of the window.

Open the Netflix app as you normally would and see if it’s working now, if not move on to step 2.

2. Use the Windows App Troubleshooter

Open the start menu by pressing the windows key, or by clicking the windows icon on the bottom left of your screen. Type in ‘settings’. That will open up the settings menu. Press the back arrow and there is an option that says ‘Home’. Click on home and it will bring up a bunch of different options as well as a search bar.

In the search bar type ‘troubleshoot a’. When you type that it will show an option that says ‘Find and fix problems with Windows Store Apps’. Click on that, then it will bring up the app troubleshooting wizard.

Follow the steps in the wizard where Windows will identify and fix any issues with the apps you have installed on your computer. It can take some time. Once it’s finished, open up the Netflix app and see if it’s working now. If it’s still having issues, move on to the next step.

Copyright protected content owner: ReadyToDIY.com and was initially posted on September 2, 2021.

3. Delete your temporary files

Press the windows key again, or click the windows icon on the bottom left to bring up the start menu. Type on your keyboard %temp% and then press enter. That will open the ‘Temp’ folder.

This contains a whole bunch of temporary files that are fine to delete. Press ‘Ctrl’ and the ‘a’ to select all. Or, you right click and press ‘select all’. Then press the ‘delete’ key. It will ask you whether you want to delete the files and hit yes.

Some of these files can’t be deleted and it will say ‘the following files can’t be deleted what would you like to do?’. Simply press skip for each of the files it asks you about until it doesn’t ask you anything anymore.

Following that, open up the Netflix app and see if it’s working.

4. Uninstall and Reinstall Netflix

Open the start menu by clicking the windows button on the bottom left of the screen, or by pressing the windows button on the keyboard.

Then type settings, or select ‘Settings’ if it’s listed on the start menu that opens up. A new window will open, and there are some options on the left part of this window. One of them says ‘App & Features’, click on that and some new options will appear as well as a list of all the apps you have installed.

From the list of apps find the Netflix app, and there is a box that says Uninstall. Click that and wait for it to uninstall. Then go to the Microsoft Store, by typing ‘Store’ and hitting enter. Or, type ‘Store’ and click the Microsoft Store when it comes up.

The Microsoft Store will open and then click on search. In the search field type in ‘Netflix’ and hit enter. It will show the Netflix app, and simply click ‘Install’.On top of that, sometimes you can get an error where Netflix won’t download, install, or update.

Laptop Netflix Won’t Download / Install / Update

Frustrated woman while looking at her laptop

The Netflix app can get stuck where it won’t download if you haven’t installed it before, it doesn’t install after it has been downloaded, or it doesn’t update when there’s an update available. Here’s what to do when that happens on the Netflix app on your Laptop.

Terminate and reset the Netflix app in the ‘Apps and Features’ option from the Windows settings. If it’s not downloading, installing, or updating after that then run the Windows App troubleshooter. Finally, delete the files in your ‘Temp’ folder.

I have provided step by step instructions for how perform each of these steps:

Reset and terminate Netflix in the Apps & Features menu to do each of these steps above

The steps below are for if you’re watching Netflix through a web browser such as Google Chrome or Safari.

1. Check the Netflix Server status

Netflix is a stable platform but in rare cases the server can go down. Go to this page on the Netflix website to make sure the server is up: https://help.netflix.com/en/is-netflix-down.

If it’s down, you’ll need to wait until their technicians fix it before you can watch Netflix again.

2. Use a different browser

One of the most common web browsers are Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari (for Mac). Download a different browser and try to go to the Netflix website using the different browser.

Safari doesn’t appear to be available for Windows. But, Firefox and Google Chrome are both available and can be downloaded for free. And Google Chrome is available on Macs. This will allow you to see if it’s the browser that’s causing the issue, and fix it from there.

There are a bunch of plugins that make browsing easier and improve functionality but sometimes one of them can cause Netflix or other websites to not work. Disabling your plugins and enabling one by one can work to identify which plugin is causing the issue.

The nature of plugins is that they are made by developers as a pet project but as new browser updates happen they don’t update them. Then they can begin to cause issues. But, since they run the background you won’t really notice if they’re up to date, or need to be disabled and uninstalled.

3. Ensure your browser is up to date

Most browsers by default are set to update automatically. For example, when you open up your web browser it will say downloading update.

Copyright article owner is ReadyToDiy.com for this article. This post was first published on September 2, 2021.

With others though, they will only show a color somewhere small on the browser to let you know to update it. Safari is also typically updated when you update iOS.

Identify what browser you’re using to watch Netflix, and then search for how to make sure it’s up to date. Each browser is slightly different, and they change quite frequently so it’s best to search Google to see how to check if it’s up to date.

If it needed an update and you updated it, then try to watch Netflix again to see if it’s working now.

4. Clear browsing data

Sometimes Netflix won’t work because of corrupted data in the cache. As you may know the cache are small files that are downloaded to your computer to make web pages load faster when you go to them the second time.

The cache can be cleared in the settings. Depending on when you last did it, it may take a while. The instructions to do that differ by browser, and also change a lot so it’s best to do a quick search for ‘how to clear the cache on Google Chrome’. Replace Google Chrome with whichever browser you’re using.

A note of warning. Sometimes the way to clear the browsing data and cache will sign you out of all the websites you’ve signed into. It can be a bit of pain to log back into all the websites you use a lot like your email, especially if you have complicated passwords like I do.

I would select the options that won’t sign you out of all of the websites you’re signed into as a first step – it will typically give you a warning. And if it’s still not working then clear everything. After that open up Netflix, and see if it’s working now.

5. Adjust the playback settings

By default the video settings are set to ‘Auto’. You can adjust the settings to medium or low by clicking your profile on the top right. After that select the option that says ‘Account’. A new page will open up, and one of the options is ‘Playback Settings’. This will give you 4 options, auto, low, medium, or high. Select, low or medium and see if it plays now.

Laptop Netflix Not Loading/Opening

Frustrated woman while looking at her laptop

It’s happened to me a few times that I’ve opened up the Netflix app or Netflix in a web browser and it won’t load and nothing happens. Here’s what I found to do to get it working again.

Overall, start by closing it and reopening it again. For example, if you’re using the Netflix app on Windows, exit it and open it again. If you’re accessing it in the browser, close your browser and reopen it.

If that has not solved the issue then below are a range of steps to do. I’ve broken down the steps into those to do when using the Netflix app on a Windows computer. As well as, those that you should do if you are trying to watch Netflix in a web browser.

For the Netflix app on a Windows computer scroll to the top of this article and perform the steps starting with step ‘1. Reset and terminate Netflix in the Apps & Features menu’.

If you’re using a web browser to watch Netflix at Netflix.com then go up a little bit and start with step ‘1. Check the Netflix Server status’. And then proceed through the following steps if it still isn’t working.

Netflix Not Casting/Stream to Laptop

Frustrated woman while looking at her laptop

I love casting to my laptop from my phone and my casting devices. However, when I first got it and a few times when I went to cast Netflix wouldn’t work. So, I thought I’d share how to get it to work.

Anti virus software, the firewall or a VPN on the device you’re casting from, or casting to can be clocking it. If it’s not that then disconnect and reconnect both devices to the Wi-Fi network, and check both devices are on the same Wi-Fi network.

If it’s still not working, restart the device you’re casting from, and to. I’ve included full details on how to perform each of these steps in an article about using Chromecast to watch Netflix.

Interestingly, the same steps to fix Netflix not working on a Chromecast apply to any device you’re casting from. Go to one of my other articles “Chromecast Netflix Not Working” and follow the step by step instruction.

Netflix Not Connecting on Laptop

Frustrated woman while looking at her laptop

When I open up Netflix in the browser or the app itself on my laptop it will begin connection but sometimes hang, and nothing happens. I figured out what causes it and how to fix it, and here’s what you should do.

Generally, this means there’s an issue with your internet connection. To troubleshoot your internet connection try to access a different webpage in your browser such as YouTube.com and see if you can play a video.

If your internet connection has a stable and fast connection there are some additional steps above. There are steps for both the web browser and the Windows Netflix app.

Simply, follow one or the other depending on how you’re trying to watch Netflix. It’s easy to find because they are numbered. At the top of the list of steps it says whether it’s for the Netflix app or for the web browser.

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ReadyToDIY is the owner of this article. This post was published on September 2, 2021.

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