What to Do if Netflix is Not Working on Your Amazon Fire TV Stick

Amazon’s Fire TV devices make up the best way to watch entertainment on your television at home. From the Fire TV Cube with built-in hands-free Alexa integration, to the new Nebula Soundbar that includes Fire OS right from the start, there’s no shortage of ways to buy into Amazon’s TV-friendly ecosystem of devices and apps.

Our favorite option, however, is the Fire TV Stick. Starting at just $40, it’s one of the easiest ways to buy into Fire TV, giving you access to thousands of apps and games, along with a huge library of streaming movies.

Of course, if you can only pick one streaming service, there’s no better combination than your Fire Stick and Netflix. With a solid internet connection, and a subscription to Netflix, you immediately have access to a wide selection of movies, TV shows, documentaries, stand-up comedy, and of course, a vast library of original content.

As with any streaming service, you can sometimes run into issues streaming movies online. One of the most common errors you’ll run into with Netflix is a simple message display that Netflix can’t be reached. Let’s take a look at what to do when Netflix isn’t working on your Fire Stick.

Is Netflix Down?

The first thing you should always do—even before checking your own internet connection—is to find out whether Netflix is down for everyone or just for you. There’s a couple of ways to do this, but the easiest and most reliable is to use a social network like Twitter. Search for “Netflix” or “Netflix down,” then select “latest” from the search box to see the most recent tweets as they roll in. If Netflix is down for even a single region in the world, you will undoubtedly know by the reactions of people online.

Of course, relying on Twitter isn’t the only way. Sites like Is It Down Right Now and Down For Everyone or Just Me also give you the opportunity to check out if a site is down for most users or if it’s just down for you.

Check Your Network Connection

Once you’ve confirmed that the outage is on your end and not on Netflix’s, the first thing to check is the WiFi network that your Amazon Fire TV Stick is connecting to. The easiest way to check this is to connect from another device, like a smartphone or a computer. For most households, there are usually multiple devices connecting to the WiFi and not solely the Amazon Fire TV Stick. See if they can connect and if they have Internet service.

If the Fire TV Stick is the only device on the network, then try logging in to another streaming channel, or look at the router. If the network is up and running for things other than Netflix, then the issue is not in the network (though it may be in the Fire TV Stick’s specific connection to the network).

Power Cycle Your Fire Stick

Turn it off, then turn it on again – is there any problem that can’t fix? Well, yes, lots of problems, but a simple power cycle does remain the quickest and most obvious way to try to fix a computer problem, and your Fire TV Stick is basically just a small Android computer. Unplug your Fire TV Stick from the wall outlet, wait 30 seconds, and then plug it back in. It will reacquire its network connection and (hopefully) resolve any connection issues.

Try a Different Program

If you get error 0013 after trying to select a specific program, it may be that that individual show or movie is corrupted or glitched in the system somehow. Try to watch a different show in Netflix. If it lets you, then report the problem with the show you couldn’t watch to Netflix from your Viewing Activity page.

Clear the Data

Still not working? OK, the next step is to clear your application data and your application cache data within the Fire TV Stick. Your Fire Stick is a capable little micro-computer, but it has limitations and it’s possible that the amount of data that it is storing for Netflix might have glitched something. By erasing both the data and the cache, you may be able to get things moving again. Here’s how to do that.

1. On your Fire TV Stick, press the Home button and then navigate to Settings. Select Applications, then choose Manage Installed Applications.
2. Navigate to the Netflix app and select the app.
3. Go to Clear data and select it. Once you’ve selected Clear data, you need to select it again. When you’re done clearing the data, move onto Clear cache and select that option as well.
4. After all the data and cache has been removed, unplug the Amazon Firestick from your TV and wait 30 seconds. Plug it back in and check if your problem has been solved.

Update Netflix

It’s possible that your Netflix app is out of date and that an incompatibility is making your older version of the app unable to talk to the Netflix servers. Luckily, updating the app is very simple. Here’s how:

1. Hit the Home button, then go to the App Section to find the Netflix app.
2. If the Netflix app needs updating, the Update option will appear as soon as you click on the app. Choose Update and wait until it’s completed, and restart Netflix to see if the fix worked.

Update Fire Stick Firmware

The Netflix app might not be the only thing that needs updating. It is also a good idea to update the Fire TV Stick firmware. Do the following to check for updates:

1. Select Settings on Home Screen and click System. Choose About under the System menu to take a look at the current Fire TV Stick firmware.
2. Go to Check for System Update and the new Fire TV Stick firmware will auto-download.
3. After the download, you can select install system update. Otherwise, the updates automatically install when you restart or leave the system idling for half an hour.

Uninstall then Reinstall Netflix

If the above fixes failed to resolve the issue, you might need to uninstall and reinstall Netflix on your Firestick. This method might be more time-consuming compared to others but it’s been known to work.

1. Select Settings and click on Managed Installed Applications.
2. Select the Netflix app and choose Uninstall. Wait for the process to complete.
3. After it’s uninstalled, go back to the main menu and select the search bar. Type Netflix and select the app from the results.
4. Select the Netflix app and tap on Install. When it’s done, open it and log on with your username and password to enjoy Netflix again.

Fire Stick Reset

The last thing to try is a factory reset of your Fire TV Stick. Note that doing reset is starting over everything on your Fire TV Stick. You will lose your sign-in information, your personal preferences, your apps – this will return your Fire TV Stick to its state when it came out of the factory.

1. Once inside the menu, navigate to Settings and select it. Scroll right to access the System menu which gives you the option to reset the Fire TV Stick.
2. Locate Reset to Factory Settings and select it. You might also need to enter your PIN if you have one.

If none of these suggestions have helped, then the problem is something that only Netflix or Amazon support can help you with. I suggest trying Netflix first by reaching out to the Netflix Live Chat service. If they are unable to help, then Amazon’s tech support is your final hope.