Netflix keeps crashing on smart TV, phone or laptop - Quick fix

Netflix has around 13-15 million different users in the UK, meaning more than 20% of folks are subscribed to the service. It’s a similar number to the amount of people that are subscribed to Amazon Prime, and Netflix doesn’t offer you anything else than decent TV and films to watch.

And when we assume that many people may watch one account, that means that there’s a large amount of us consuming Netflix on a regular basis. One of the main reasons for this is that as well as a good range of things to watch, the playback is generally pretty great.

However, sometimes people do have problems where Netflix keeps crashing on them, or in some cases, Netflix issues with low resolution. This can be down to a variety of different reasons, and we’ll look at some of them now to determine why this can happen, even with a fairly reliable service like Netflix.

Netflix keeps crashing – Solutions

When the Netflix app crashes on you, the first thing to do is reboot your router. Your network connection is the most likely culprit to cause an app crashing or freezing. After doing this, use the power button to restart your device, as well as installing any required software updates too.

Fortunately, even if you are experiencing crashing and freezing issues with your Netflix playback, there are a lot of different solutions we can look at. It will all depend on the device that you’re using.

We’ll consider all of the things you should try no matter what method you’re using to watch Netflix, and then some more tips which are independent to each device.

Some of the advice will depend on the method you’re using to watch Netflix. For example, if you’re using the Netflix app on your phone, then this is a little different than watching it in your browser. Either way, you should be able to find a resolution.

Reset your router

Now, one thing that you’re probably going to want to do if you’re having problems with your Netflix crashing is that you’ll want to reset your home router. This can definitely be an inconvenience, but it’s the cause of the problem a decent amount of the time.

Of course, depending on the device you’re using you could switch to using mobile data (on phone or tablet) to identify if the wifi is actually the root of your problem. Having a stable internet connection is important, whether you’re using wifi or mobile data.

If not, then you can consider other areas which may have caused the problem itself.

Turn the device on and off again

It doesn’t matter what device you’re using, one of the best ways for you to try and fix the issue is by simply turning the device off and on again. Doing these kinds of resets will essentially get rid of all the temporary data that’s being used on your device.

This means that when you turn it back on again, you’re starting from fresh. There’s a reason why this advice is so commonly given for problems with pretty much any device – it works to fix these kinds of issues a lot of the time.

Netflix Crashing Fixes – By Device

The fixes above can be applied to all devices, and they’re the first thing to try across all devices – whether you’re watching with a Fire TV stick or on your Xbox.

However, some of them will be individual to the method that you’re watching Netflix. Let’s check them out so you can see which you’re using, and what else you can do to try and resolve the problem.

Netflix keeps crashing on my smart TV

The most issues with Netflix tend to be on smart TVs, likely because they’re often using playing higher resolutions (4K). The Netflix app tends to have problems when you’re playing in Ultra HD in comparison to just standard quality.

Though this can contribute to a crashing problem, there are other things which are just as likely.

Sign out of Netflix – More commonly a problem on smart TVs than any other device, there can be issues with your account being signed in properly. Sign out of your Netflix account, then sign back in with your password to see if this fixes the problem.

Switch to ethernet – If you’re using wifi to connect your smart TV to the internet, then you can consider getting an ethernet cable and using that instead. Although wireless connectivity has grown a lot in recent year, it’s still not as good as a hardwired connection.

Move your router closer – For those that don’t want to use an ethernet connection, then potentially moving your router closer to your TV could be another solution. Make sure that it’s very close, and there’s no obstructions or other devices between the two that could be causing problems (home phones are the worst for this).

Netflix crashing on phone/tablet

The next most common way for us to watch Netflix is on our phones and tablets. With many people on the go, it makes sense to have it readily installed on your phone to watch when you’re travelling. Here’s a few ways you could fix a crashing problem on your phone.

Uninstall the app – If you’re having problems on your mobile, then you should try uninstalling the app and reinstalling the Netflix app. This is a pretty common issue on phones.

Check Updates – Keeping all of the apps on your device updated is key to them working properly. Make sure that there’s no updates for Netflix on your mobile, and if there is, go ahead and download them.

Clear data – On your phone, you can actually go into your settings and clear the app data that’s currently on your device (this will get rid of any downloads). It’s pretty easy to find this in your Settings, under Storage.

Netflix crashes on laptop/computer

Whilst many of us prefer to watch Netflix on our phone or smart TV, there’s also a good amount of folks out there that watch it on their laptop too. You should start by reinstalling the app from the App store, unless you’re watching it within your browser.

If you’re watching on a Windows 10 laptop or computer, then there are a few things you can check.

Review your antivirus software – Although not the most common cause of Netflix crashing, sometimes there can be issues with any firewall/antivirus that you’re using on your laptop. Make sure that restrictions aren’t interfering with your playback.

Update your drivers – Another common solution to a lot of problems on your laptop lies within simply updating the drivers that you’re using. Outdated drivers can definitely contribute to a crashing issue with your device. This only applies if you’re using Windows 10.

Clear cookies and cache – If you’re watching Netflix within a browser, then clearing your cookies and cache could be a potential resolution to the problem. This will get rid of all the stored cache data that your browser has retained.

Conclusion

In conclusion, if you’re having freezing and crashing problems when you’re streaming Netflix, then there’s usually a pretty simple reason behind it. You could reinstall the Netflix app and fix the problem just by doing this.

It’ll depend on which device you’re using, but by a simple process of elimination, you can work out what the problem is and get your Netflix back up and running perfectly in no time.

As a last resort, you could consider a factory reset on your device to take it back to factory settings. This will delete all of your saved films and TV shows though, so it’s the very last thing you should try if you’ve got no other option.