Watching Netflix on a Mac computer is like watching your favorite TV shows on a mini TV, but still in amazing quality. But not every Mac is immune to having issues with the Netflix website, and sometimes it can be hard to know why. This article will help you fix any of the common issues Mac users find with the Netflix website.
One reason for Netflix not working on a Mac is outdated browser or app software. To fix this, update your web browser to the latest version or reinstall the Netflix app, ensuring you have the most recent update installed.
Another potential cause could be issues with your network connectivity. If your internet connection is unstable or too slow, Netflix may not work properly. Try resetting your modem or router, and if you’re using Wi-Fi, consider moving closer to the source or switching to a wired connection.
Lastly, problems with Netflix on a Mac can sometimes stem from conflicting browser extensions or plugins. If you’re streaming via a web browser, try disabling extensions, particularly those related to ad-blocking or privacy, and see if this resolves the issue. This method can often eliminate conflicts that interfere with Netflix streaming.
I will explain each of these fixes in detail throughout the article so that you know exactly how to fix Netflix on your Mac. Even if Netflix is working but you just can’t login, there are easy solutions to this as well.
Mac Netflix Not Working
When Netflix does not work on your Mac, you should start by restarting the software, including your web browser (Safari) and the Mac itself. Netflix also has a Mac-specific error that you can troubleshoot using the methods below.
Restart Safari
Step 1: Close Safari with the ‘Command’ and ‘Q’ keys or by selecting ‘Safari > Quit Safari’.
Step 2: Open the Safari app again.
Restart your Mac
You can shut down your Mac from the Apple Icon menu. Otherwise, you can perform a hard reset following the steps below.
Step 1: Save any unsaved work on your Mac.
Step 2: Press and hold the power button for 10 seconds
Step 3: Release the power button and wait another 2-3 seconds.
Step 4: Press and release the power button to reboot your Mac.
Troubleshooting the S7053-1807 Error
The S7053-1807 error seems to be related to information stored in your web browser, but you can start by restarting Safari, which has been detailed above. You will then need to try resetting the website data or delete the indexed DB files to try to solve the problem. To reset the website data on Safari, follow the steps below.
Step 1: From the Safari menu bar, select ‘Safari’.
Step 2: Navigate to ‘Preferences > Privacy > Cookies and Website Data > Netflix > Remove’.
Step 3: Select ‘Remove Now’ to confirm you want to delete the website data.
In order to delete the indexed DB files, you will need to quit Safari. Follow the steps below to quit Safari and delete the files.
Step 1: Quit Safari by pressing the ‘Command’ and then ‘Q’ key.
Step 2: In Finder, select ‘Go’ from the menu bar.
Step 3: Navigate to ‘Library > Safari > Databases > __Indexed DB’.
Step 4: Drag all these files into the trash.
Step 5: Empty the trash.
Mac Netflix Can’t Download
Normally any Netflix account can download up to 100 downloads across two different devices at any time. However, this option is not available on a Mac computer. Reasons for this are unknown and this may change in the future.
For now, the only way to download Netflix shows or movies onto a Mac computer is to install Windows. Alternatively, you could use another device, such as an iPhone or iPad, to download content to watch offline.
Mac Netflix Not Available/Found
You can only access Netflix on a Mac through your web browser because there is no Netflix app available for Mac computers. Therefore, you won’t be able to find the app in the App Store, but can go to https://www.netflix.com on Safari or another web browser.
If the web version of Netflix is not available on your Mac, the Netflix servers may be down. You can check if the servers are down directly through the Netflix website here. Otherwise, you can use other websites such as Down Detector.
Netflix Keeps Freezing/Crashing On Mac
Netflix may crash if the website data in Safari is overfull. Therefore, you can use the method mentioned above to clear all website data from Safari and start again. Note that this will log you out of Netflix.
You should also try restarting your web browser (Safari) or restarting your Mac. This may be enough to clear any errors on the Mac that have occurred over time, affecting the performance of the Netflix website. Alternatively, Netflix coils also crash or freeze due to issues with your internet, outlined below.
Connectivity Issues
You should try another website to test whether your internet is working or not. You could also try using the internet on another device connected to the same network. If the internet is not working, you should reset your modem and router (if you have one) by following the steps below.
Step 1: Unplug your modem and router from their power source.
Step 2: Wait at least one minute.
Step 3: Plug your modem back in and wait for it to fully reboot.
Step 4: Once the modem has started up, plug in your router.
Step 5: Once your router has fully rebooted, test your internet again.
If you are still struggling with the internet connection, make sure your modem and router are within 30 feet of your Mac computer. Any further and you may experience signal drop-out. In saying that, they also should not be too close (at least one foot away).
Other issues may be caused by other devices or objects interfering with the signal. Obstructions can include water, solid timber or concrete walls or metal. Disruptive devices include Bluetooth devices, other WiFi networks, microwaves and radios.
If none of the above seems to be disrupting your signal, you could try connecting your Mac to the modem/router via an ethernet cable. If this works, you should contact your internet provider to organise a new modem or router.
Internet Speed
Another possibility is that the network is connected, but it is too slow to stream Netflix. Your download speed determines how much of the video can load while you watch. If it is not fast enough, your video will continuously freeze.
You can check your internet speed through the Fast.com website. Once you have determined your network’s download speed, you should compare it to the minimum requirements for Netflix, listed below.
- Basic connection to load Netflix: 1.5MB/s (0.5MB/s minimum)
- Stream in Standard Definition: 3MB/s
- Stream in High Definition: 5MB/s
- Stream in 4k or Ultra HD: 25MB/s
If your network is not reaching the speed required to watch quality video streams, you can reduce the video quality through Netflix on your web browser. Slower internet requires low or medium quality. To change this, follow the steps below.
Step 1: From your web browser, open the Account page.
Step 2: Scroll down to ‘Profile & Parental Controls’ and select your profile.
Step 3: Select ‘Playback Settings’ and then ‘Change’.
Alternatively, you could connect your computer to the modem or router via ethernet cable, as mentioned above. This will provide the fastest internet available on your network.
Netflix Flickers/Flashes On Mac
Turn off Automatic Graphics Switching
The ‘Automatic Graphics Switching’ setting can cause videos played on your Mac to flicker or flash. You can turn this off using the steps below.
Step 1: Click on the Apple Logo in the top left of your Mac screen.
Step 2: Navigate to ‘System Preferences > Battery > Power Adaptor’.
Step 3: Ensure that ‘Automatic Graphics Switching’ is off.
If you cannot find this function, try looking in ‘Battery’ instead of ‘Power Adaptor’. Here you should find the option to turn off ‘Optimise Video Streaming while on Battery’.
Reset NVRAM
‘NVRAM’ stands for ‘Nonvolatile Random-Access Memory’. This function serves to speed up processes on your computer by storing certain settings in memory. If this function is malfunctioning, it may cause your video to flicker.
To reset NVRAM, you will need to follow the steps below. Keep in mind that some settings, such as volume or display resolution may have been reset.
Step 1: Turn off your Mac.
Step 2: Press and hold the ‘Option’, ‘Command’, ‘P’ and ‘R’ keys immediately after turning your Mac back on.
Step 3: Only release the keys when you hear a second startup sound or see the Apple logo disappear for the second time.
Reset the SMC
‘SMC’ stands for ‘System Management Controller’. This plays a role in managing the power, batteries, fans and other features of your Mac. If there has been an error in any of these, your Mac may begin to glitch, such as flickering when playing a video.
To reset the SMC, you simply need to unplug your Mac for 15 seconds before plugging it back in and turning it on. However, for Macbooks, you will need to follow the steps below instead. These steps apply to Macbooks with a T2 security chip.
Step 1: Press the Apple Logo in the top left of the screen and select ‘Shutdown’ to turn off your Mac.
Step 2: Once it has shut down, press and hold the ‘Control’, left ‘Option’ and right ‘Shift’ keys at the same time.
Step 3: After 7 seconds, keep holding these keys while you press and hold the power button (top right on the keyboard) as well.
Step 4: Wait another 7 seconds before releasing all four buttons.
Step 5: After another 2-3 seconds, press the power button to turn on your Mac.
Computers that do not have a T2 chip will need to use the left ‘Shift’, ‘Control’ and left ‘Options’ keys instead. Otherwise, all other steps are the same as above.
Mac Netflix Black/Blank Screen
Unplug any External Monitors
If an external monitor is plugged in, this may be causing your screen to go blank when playing videos, even if the image is not showing up on the external monitor. Try unplugging all cables from your Mac and refresh your webpage.
Change or Update your Web Browser
You could also try using a different web browser. Mac computers automatically come with Safari installed, but you could also install Google Chrome, Firefox, etc. Each of these has different processes running in the background, which may be causing the Netflix video to be black.
One thing to consider is whether or not you are using the most updated version of your web browser. Developers are continually trying to fix bugs such as this and release these bug fixes with each new update. To update Safari, you will need to keep your Mac updated, which you can do following the steps below.
Step 1: Click on the Apple Icon in the top left of your screen.
Step 2: Navigate to ‘System Preferences > Software Update > Update/Upgrade Now’.
Copyright protected content owner: ReadyToDIY.com and was initially posted on August 31, 2021.
You should also consider disabling any extensions you have installed on your web browser. This particularly applies to Google Chrome, where extensions can interfere with the performance of certain websites.
Clear Browsing history and Netflix Cookies
You can easily clear Netflix cookies through the Netflix Website here. Cookies and other temporary data files can become congested within your browser and decrease its performance. For this reason, you can also try clearing your Safari browsing history, using the steps below.
Step 1: Within Safari, select ‘History’ from the menu bar.
Step 2: Navigate to ‘Clear History > All History’.
Step 3: Confirm by selecting ‘Clear History’.
Reinstall Silverlight Plugin
Silverlight is an internet plugin that helps some websites stream multimedia content. It will not interfere with websites that do not require Silverlight, but if you are running an outdated version, this will affect how websites operate that do need to use it. To reinstall the latest version of Silverlight on your Mac, you first need to uninstall the current version using the steps below.
Step 1: Exit all web browsers by pressing the ‘Command’ and ‘Q’ key.
Step 2: Ensure you are in ‘Finder’ by clicking on your background or on the Finder icon.
Step 3: From the menu bar, navigate to ‘Go > Library > Internet Plug-Ins’.
Step 4: Drag the Silverlight.plugin into the trash.
Step 5: Empty the trash to complete uninstalling Silverlight.
Copyright article owner is ReadyToDiy.com for this article. This post was first published on August 31, 2021.
Once you have uninstalled Silverlight, return to your web browser and sign in to Netflix. When you try to play another video, you should be prompted to install Silverlight. Follow the prompts and this will install the latest version of Silverlight.
Temporarily Turn off Security
If you have some form of security on your computer, try turning it off to test Netflix as it may be blocking some of the Netflix content. If the problem is resolved by doing this, you may need to update the security software, or contact support to allow Netflix content. Make sure to remember to turn your security software on again after you have tested Netflix.
Mac Netflix Login/Sign-in Problems
If you can’t sign into Netflix, you should check that your web browser is up to date. As I mentioned earlier, Safari is updated automatically when you update your Mac OS. Otherwise you can try the troubleshooting methods below.
Verify Email and Password
Ensure you are entering the email address you used to sign up to netflix and that you are entering your password as a case-sensitive password. You should also check your emails so make sure your password has not been recently reset. If you still can’t login, you may need to create a new password, detailed below.
Reset your Password
You can reset your password when prompted after entering an incorrect password into Netflix. You can choose to send the instructions to do this to your mobile or email. Either way you simply need to follow the prompts to erase your old password and create a new one.
Clear or Turn On Cookies
You can reset the Netflix cookies through the Netflix Website here. Otherwise, you should make sure cookies are enabled within your web browser as these help with running the Netflix website smoothly. If this does not solve the problem you can disable cookies again afterwards if that is your preference.
Below are steps to enable cookies on the Safari web browser. This will vary slightly with other web browsers, but cookie settings are generally found in your browser’s privacy settings.
Step 1: Select ‘Safari’ from the Safari menu bar.
Step 2: Navigate to ‘Preferences > Cookies’.
Step 3: Make sure ‘Allow local data to be set (recommended)’ has been enabled.
Step 4: Close the preferences tab.
Mac Netflix Full Screen Problem
Mac computers with full screen problems generally have the same issue as if they had a blank screen (detailed above). In general, the fixes below have been known to solve this issue.
- Disable ‘Automatic Graphics Switching’
- Reinstall the Silverlight plugin
- Clear your browser cookies
- Restart or update your web browser
- Try a different web browser
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ReadyToDIY is the owner of this article. This post was published on August 31, 2021.