Q. I tried to watch Netflix on my laptop last night and I kept getting error messages for an hour or more. Did it go down? Did it have anything to do with that Texas indictment of Netflix? — Roxanne, Tulsa.
Roxanne, if you had trouble connecting to Netflix late last night, you were not alone. The nation’s most popular streaming service suffered numerous login and error messages (meaning you couldn’t watch anything) although it appears that the glitches were largely confined to laptops and computers.
We are aware and working on a fix. At the moment it seems to be affecting browsers and the Windows 10 app. While we work on a fix we recommend streaming on a different device if possible. *CS
— Netflix CS (@Netflixhelps) October 7, 2020
DownDetector.com, which tracks online outages, reports that nearly 9,000 people were simultaneously complaining about Netflix at the height of the problem around 11:30 p.m. ET. That’s not a small number, but remember that Netflix has more than 60 million paying subscribers in the U.S.
@Netflixhelps Another SoCal customer getting HTTP error code 503 here. You're interrupting my Cobra Kai binge!
— Matthew Kane (@matthewkane) October 7, 2020
Does anyone know why these keeps happening to me on @netflix ????? I signed out and signed back in and still nothing! pic.twitter.com/Hrl9RBpz8O
— layla, 🐇 (@MindOfLayla) October 7, 2020
My @netflix appears to be down and I was mid binge of #AmericanMurder
This. Is. Not. Ok. 👀😫(Error code is AVF:11800;OS:3840; should there be any clever clogs amongst you!)#netflixdown #Netflix pic.twitter.com/Fn14WDMSR4
— Ferris (@LizzyFerret) October 7, 2020
Within a few hours, Netflix customers started posting messages saying the issue had been resolved, although others said they were still having trouble logging in. Netflix’s Twitter customer service team advised those that were still having connection issues to re-set and/or reinstall their app, or try another device.
Despite its growing popularity, video streaming is still a work in progress with occasional picture buffering and other snafus. But Netflix has largely operated without such issues, except, that is, for last night.
By the way, the technical problems had nothing to do with yesterday’s news that a grand jury in East Texas has indicted Netflix for alleged lewd displays in the Netflix original series, Cuties. The show, which was intended to criticize those who sexualize young children, has come under fire from some social conservatives for actually doing the opposite.
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvpredictions.com. Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
— Phillip Swann