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Netflix streaming issues

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• January 3, 2016 at 3:06 pm #430
  docnific

  Participant

  I set up the router and all devices are working great, however when I try to stream Netflix I receive an error (“content is unavailable, try again later) for all of Netflix titles. This is happening with my Roku and Kindle. Amazon titles seem to stream fine so it appears that this is happening with Netflix only. I was (and still am) able to stream Netflix using the unprotected router that was provided by the ISP. Any ideas?

  January 3, 2016 at 7:15 pm #431
  support

  Keymaster

  @docnific Netflix uses IP addresses (instead of domain names) directly to get streaming media. So if you uncheck “Block literal IP addresses” in parental control, it’ll work. This is usually OK, unless you find that kids are trying to circumvent parental control by typing IP addresses directly into the browser. Then you have to “Block literal IP addresses”, but allow Netflix in another way. It’s doable, but will require more effort on your part.

  February 7, 2016 at 5:44 am #464
  raffy

  Participant

  I’m having trouble with Netfix streaming, too. It’s on a smarttv connected wirelessly, and on a profile with parental controls disabled. Please help.

  February 7, 2016 at 7:56 pm #465
  support

  Keymaster

  @raffy You should have no trouble with Netflix in such a configuration. Did you correctly identify the SmartTV device?

  In order to troubleshoot, you can try these steps:
  1. Disable parental control entirely by clicking the Disable button of the Parental Control page. Are you able to watch Netflix?
  2. If above is yes, turn parental control back on. Is Netflix blocked now? If yes, are you blocked from the whole site or only when you try to stream a video?
  3. If Netflix is blocked in step 2, disable parental control in all profiles (uncheck “Enable Parental Control” in each profile). Are you able to watch Netflix now?

  February 8, 2016 at 4:53 pm #466
  raffy

  Participant

  I will try that tonight. Please note, however, that I am not blocked from Netflix. It just freezes up and stops every few minutes. Same thing on Amazon and YouTube. Streaming worked perfectly on this TV prior to installing new router. TV is on a separate profile with no parental controls.

  February 8, 2016 at 8:22 pm #469
  support

  Keymaster

  @raffy What you are seeing seems to be slow network speed – the TV is buffering before it can continue to play. The suggestions I made before are not relevant.

  First thing to check is to see if you have a strong enough wifi signal for the TV: log in the router and click Status, check the value in the Signal column. Should not be less than -80dBm.

  If wifi signal strength is good, you might want to try switching wifi to a different channel (in Settings/Wireless).

  You might also want to try comparing Netflix playback on a PC vs. on the TV.

  February 10, 2016 at 11:08 am #470
  raffy

  Participant

  It’s around -60dBm. I’ll try switching channels. Video playback is fine on my tablet in the same room.

  February 11, 2016 at 3:55 am #471
  raffy

  Participant

  It was on channel 7. I changed it to channel 9. Is there any particular channel that should work better?

  February 11, 2016 at 5:41 am #472
  support

  Keymaster

  @raffy Wifi signal is strong enough. The reason I suggest that you try changing channels is that sometimes there are electronic interferences from other nearby wifi signals. In such cases, even though the wifi signal is strong, the transmission speed remains low due to the interference. If by changing channels you don’t see any effect, we can rule out the interference factor. Since it was originally on 7, you might want to try something like 1 or 11.

  Just to help further debugging this issue, what model and year is your SmartTV? Does it have a built-in wifi adapter or a plugin type such as a USB stick? If plugin, what is the model?

  February 12, 2016 at 5:04 am #473
  raffy

  Participant

  I changed to channel 9, and the performance has improved substantially. Only froze up once or twice tonight. 2012 Samsung with built-in adapter. I’ll experiment further and get back with you.

  February 12, 2016 at 12:26 pm #474
  raffy

  Participant

  Amazon Prime and YouTube are working fine now as well. Thanks a bunch for the excellent support!

  August 15, 2016 at 5:07 am #901
  Dan

  Participant

  @Support

  Any further clues or links on the “doable, but will require more effort” method of blocking literal IPs AND still accessing Netflix?

  August 15, 2016 at 7:27 pm #903
  support

  Keymaster

  @Dan As it turned out, Netflix no longer request video streams by literal IP addresses. So blocking literal IP addresses will no longer block Netflix. And, if you want to set up a calendar for Netflix, take a look at this: How to set a calendar on Netflix.

  August 18, 2016 at 9:07 am #910
  Dan

  Participant

  @Support

  Hmmm… toggling the literal IP option still seems to block and unblock Netflix for me, I am using Australian Netflix though.
  (AU Netflix is sadly significantly different from US despite the fact it is still Netflix, perhaps they are slow in implementing the new US Netflix method?)

  Any thoughts on this?

  I’d love to try the “doable, but will require more effort” method if you think it could be worth trying?

  • This reply was modified 7 years, 8 months ago by Dan.
  August 18, 2016 at 5:05 pm #913
  pcwrt

  Keymaster

  @Dan Here’s how to do it:
  1. Open Netflix in a browser (Chrome or Firefox will do).
  2. Press the F12 key. A developer toolbox will display.
  3. Click the Network tab.
  4. Start streaming with Netflix. You’ll see the requested URLs in the developer popup.
  5. Notice the URLs for video streams, those will probably be requested via IP addresses directly.
  6. Collect the IP addresses used.
  7. For each IP address, add a line in the Hosts box in the System Settings page, e.g., 54.214.39.210 netflix.com

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