How to Fix It When Netflix Keeps Freezing

When you're looking forward to watching a movie or TV show, it can get very annoying when Netflix keeps freezing.

This issue can appear in one of several ways:

• The Netflix app becomes completely unresponsive.
• Netflix video gets stuck on the loading screen.
• Your entire device (computer, mobile, media player, or game console) freezes.
• The video itself freezes, but the sound keeps playing.
• The video plays but keeps stopping and buffering.

The issues listed above all freeze your video, but different things could cause them.

Cause of Netflix Freezing

A few things can cause your video to freeze on Netflix, and it also depends on the device you're using.

Most of the time, it's related to data stored on the device that needs to be refreshed for the Netflix app to work correctly. However, sometimes it's associated with an out-of-date driver, or your OS needs to be updated.

We'll explore all of the causes for Netflix freezing and how you can resolve them.

How to Fix Netflix Freezing on Windows 10 and macOS

Use the following steps to troubleshoot whenever a Netflix video is freezing on your desktop PC or laptop.

1. Restart your home network. Often issues with loading videos on Netflix come down to a bad network connection. Restart your router and test your internet connection to make sure you can connect to the internet. If you discover that you're having internet connection issues, then work on troubleshooting your home network router. If your router works, but your computer can't connect to the network, then you'll need to fix your computer's wireless connection.

2. Restart your computer. Most of the time, issues with Netflix freezing are caused by information that needs to be refreshed on your system; the easiest fix is properly restarting your Windows 10 PC or restarting your Mac.

   If you see errors during restart, try starting Windows in safe mode or using your Mac's safe boot option to troubleshoot those errors.

3. Delete Netflix cookies from your browser. Clearing cookies is one of the best ways to ensure all browser information is fully cleared. While you're at it, you may also want to clear your browser cache.

   Netflix provides an even faster method to specifically clear Netflix cookies. Just go to netflix.com/clearcookies and sign in to your account.

4. If network and internet connections work fine, you could have an outdated version of the Windows or Mac operating system. Make sure to run Windows Update on Windows 10 or update your macOS to ensure you have the latest patches.

   If you recently updated Windows before the Netflix freezing problem started, you may need to troubleshoot fixing the issues caused by those updates. Specifically, you may need to roll back your graphics driver to the version that was previously working.

5. Speaking of graphics drivers, an outdated graphics driver can cause issues whenever Netflix updates its website or app. Visit the manufacturer's website for your graphics driver and then download and install the latest version for your operating system. In Windows 10, you can do this by searching automatically for driver software.

How to Fix Netflix Freezing on Android or iPhone

A variety of other reasons can cause Netflix to freeze on a mobile device. These are usually associated with an outdated app, data caching issues, or a bad internet connection.

1. Restart your Android or reboot your iPhone. This will make sure the information Netflix has stored on your device gets properly refreshed.

   On both Android and iPhone, you have the option to turn off the device or reboot. When you're walking through the steps to reboot, ensure that you do a hard reboot of your device. You'll know you did this correctly if you see the OS loading screen upon startup.

2. Fix any connection issues to your home network, problems connecting to your mobile data, or issues relating to the internet for your Android. iPhones can also have issues with connecting to Wi-Fi or issues with mobile data connections. If your mobile device can't access the internet, that's most likely the culprit for Netflix freezing issues. If that's the case, then troubleshoot your internet connection.

3. If you're using a free Wi-Fi hotspot or public network, the network administrator might have disabled the ability to stream video over the network. It's typical at hotels where streaming movies or shows on Netflix are blocked.

   Even if the network you're on has blocked Netflix streaming services, you might be able to unblock Netflix with a VPN connection. If you have a VPN service, you can connect to a VPN with an Android or set up an iPhone VPN.

Fix Netflix Freezing on Media Devices

Whether you use a Chromecast device, a Smart TV, or a PlayStation gaming console, many of the troubleshooting steps for Netflix freezing are the same.

1. A bad internet connection is a common culprit with Netflix freezing on streaming devices. Ensure you thoroughly troubleshoot and test the internet connection on devices like your smart TV, Roku, Chromecast, Wii, PlayStation, or Xbox.

2. Sign out of your Netflix account. Many devices like Chromecast or gaming consoles stay logged into Netflix for extended periods. It can lead to issues when Netflix or the device manufacturer updates the Netflix app. The first fix that often works for freezing videos is signing out of your Netflix account and signing back in.

3. Restart the device. Just like on a computer or mobile device, Netflix caches information in memory on streaming devices. Restarting can clear this and resolve issues. If the problem still doesn't go away, you may need to try a complete reset of your streaming device.