Fix: Widevine Content Decryption Module Missing Component

Widevine Content Decryption Module is a decryption module built into Chrome browsers that allow Chrome to play DRM-protected HTML5 video and audio as you’d find on Netflix.

Many users using Chrome or Netflix get an error where the Widevine Content Decryption Module (WidevineCdm) is mentioned. This is a plugin present in Google Chrome present in it the first time you install the software. It is nothing you have to install manually.

Using this plugin, you are able to watch/stream DRM-protected HTML5 audio and video in Chrome such as Netflix. If your browser finds this outdated or can’t locate it, you will be facing this problem.

First of all, we will try updating the plugin and check if the problem gets solved. If you get an error “Update Failed”, you can try resorting to other solutions.

Solution 1: Updating the Widevine Content Decryption Module

We use Chrome to itself to update the plugin. Follow the steps listed below. Also, make sure to launch Chrome in administrative mode. Right-click on Chrome and select “Run as administrator”.

1. Once Chrome is opened, type the following address in the address bar and press enter.

chrome://components/

2. Navigate to the end of the page until you find an entry named “Widevine Content Decryption Module”. Click the button “Check for update” present underneath.

3. Now refresh your page. If you see the status “Up-to-date” underneath the plugin, it means that the plugin was updated successfully.
4. Restart your computer and check if the problem is solved.

Solution 2: Check Antivirus Software

Many users observed that it was their security software that was causing the problem. The security software on your computer has complete privileges and can stop your computer from updating the plugin. You can try disabling these antivirus software/firewalls and then try updating again as explained in method 1. Just disable them temporarily and after the plugin is successfully updated, you can turn it back on.

Solution 3: Changing Permission of WidevineCdm

You can also try changing the permission of the folder present on your computer. If you don’t have sufficient privileges, Windows UAC will not allow you to update the plugin. We will head over to the plugin folder, make sure that your account has full control and then try updating again using method 1.

1. Press Windows + R to launch the Run application. Type “%userprofile%/appdata/local” in the dialogue box and press Enter. You will be redirected to the required folder.
2. Navigate to the following file path:

Google > Chrome > User Data

3. Locate “WidevineCdm” from the list of folders, right-click it and select “Properties”.

4. Navigate to the Security tab and make sure that your login user has full access to the folder. This can be seen if there is a ‘tick’ present in front of “Full control” in the properties.

If you don’t have full control, follow the steps mentioned below.

1. Select your profile and click “Edit”.
2. Now uncheck the ‘tick’ present underneath the column of “Deny” and make sure that your account has full access. Press Apply to save changes and exit.

3. Restart your computer and try updating the plugin again.

Solution 4: Deleting the plugin folder and then updating it

If all the above solutions don’t work, we can try deleting the plugin folder and reinstall it using Chrome. Do note that this method might require administrative privileges so make sure that you are logged in as an administrator.

1. Press Windows + R to launch the Run application. Type “%userprofile%/appdata/local” in the dialogue box and press Enter. You will be redirected to the required folder.
2. Navigate to the following file path:

Google > Chrome > User Data

3. Locate “WidevineCdm” from the list of folders, right-click it and select “Delete”.

4. Press Windows + S, type “task manager” in the dialogue box, right-click on the application and select “Run as administrator”.
5. End all Chrome tasks by right-clicking on Chrome entries and select “End task”.

6. Now head over to method one and update the plugin using the steps mentioned. The module should update correctly and your Chrome might restart.
7. Restart your computer and try playing any video. Hopefully, the problem will be solved.

Solution 5: Reinstalling Chrome

If all the above methods don’t work, you can try reinstalling Chrome. After we uninstall Chrome, all its modules will be deleted. This might solve the problem if some components we corrupt or not working as expected.

1. Press Windows + R to launch the Run application. Type “appwiz.cpl” in the dialogue box and press Enter. This should launch a window where all the applications installed on your computer should be listed.
2. Right-click on “Google Chrome” and select “Uninstall”.

3. After uninstalling the application, head over to the official Google website and download Chrome to an accessible location.
4. After downloading Chrome, run the executable to install it. Now check if installing the new browser helped solve your problem.

If none of the solutions shown above have helped you at all, we suggest you use another browser such as Mozilla Firefox or you can use any other browser that supports Widevine. Widevine is trusted by Mozilla Firefox thus recommended here.