Fix: Netflix not working on Xbox One

Netflix is a very popular application present in Xbox One where you can stream movies and seasons on the console. Thousands of people use this application and more or less it is very stable.

However, there can be cases where you are unable to open or use Netflix on your console. This issue can be due to a number of reasons such as the application not installed correctly or there may be some settings which are conflicting with it. We have listed down a number of workarounds for this issue. Take a look.

Solution 1: Disabling Closed Captioning

Closed captions let you read words which are spoken in the audio part of a video or TV show. When they are turned on, you will see captions at the bottom of the screen. They are used by users to understand the program better and don’t miss any detail.

It seems that sometimes this feature doesn’t work well with Netflix. You can try disabling this option and check if this fixes the application.

1. Open your console and navigate to Settings to make the necessary changes.

2. Under the console settings, click on “Closed captioning” present at the bottom right side of the screen.

3. Now make sure that closed captioning is turned off. After making the necessary changes restart your console and check if this solves the problem. If it doesn’t, feel free to revert the changes using the same method.

Solution 2: Enabling Cortana on Xbox One

Another workaround which seemed to work for a lot of people was enabling Cortana on your Xbox One. Cortana is a virtual assistant developed by Microsoft and it helps you perform tasks using speech recognition. It is a very useful application but you still have to agree to the license terms before you get to use it.

We can try enabling Cortana on your Xbox One and check if this makes any difference. If it doesn’t, feel free to revert the changes.

1. Open Settings on your Xbox One and navigate to Systems tab using the navigation pane present at the left side of the screen.
2. Select “Cortana settings” present at the right side of the screen.

3. An agreement will come forward asking you to accept the terms of operation. Select “I agree” and enable Cortana accordingly. After making the necessary changes restart your console and check if the problem got fixed.

Solution 3: Unplugging Extra Devices

Another reason why the Netflix application might fail to launch is that you have external devices connected to your Xbox One console. These devices include recording devices, HDTV air etc. Close your Xbox and remove the power cord. After shutting it down, remove all these external devices and only connect the Xbox One to your monitor or TV. After removing all the devices, start the Xbox One again and check if this makes any difference.

Note: This is a very important solution as the majority of the people having problem related to Netflix reported that it was due to recording devices. As we all know, Netflix doesn’t allow you to record its broadcasted TV shows or seasons. Xbox automatically registers any recording device connected to it and in turn, the application doesn’t launch successfully.

Solution 4: Resetting Netflix

We can try quitting Netflix then opening it again. Sometimes the application can hang upon execution and it can cause a problem, in our case, the application wasn’t working as expected. If this doesn’t work, we can try reinstalling Netflix for good.

1. Use the arrow keys to highlight Netflix on your screen. When your cursor is on Netflix (Netflix is selected), proceed.

2. Now click on the menu button present on the controller to launch the options associated with the Netflix application.

3. Select “Quit” from the list of options available. After quitting the application, launch it again and check if the application performs its functions as expected.

Solution 5: Re-logging in

Before we proceed with the reinstallation, you can try re-logging into the Netflix application. First, log out of the application using the main interface and close Xbox One completely. After turning it back on, try logging in again and check if Netflix works as expected. There were many cases where users reported that simple re-logging solved their problem as whenever you do a new login, data from Netflix is fetched from its database and this might help in fixing problems which we are experiencing.

Solution 6: Reinstalling Netflix

If all the above solutions don’t work, we can try reinstalling the application. Doing so will log you out automatically and you would have to log in again. Make sure that you have all your credentials and account information at hand before proceeding with this solution.

1. Click on “My games and apps” present at the main interface of your console.

2. Select “Apps” using the left navigation bar to open all your applications. Browse through them until you are selecting Netflix.

3. Press the menu button present on your controller to bring forth the options. Now select “Manage app” from the list of options available.

4. Now uninstall the application using the option given on the next screen. After the uninstallation, reboot your Xbox One console and install the application again.
5. After logging into your account, check if the problem got solved.

Tip: Also reboot your Xbox One console completely after removing the power cable between solutions.