Hulu not working - Playback failure - Fire TV Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Is anyone else experiencing Hulu playback failures lately?
It started for *new* TV shows about a week back.
The Ads play fine but when the main show starts to load, it shows a black screen for about 20 seconds before displaying an error ¨Playback Failure. We're sorry, but there was an issue while playing this video. Please check your connection and try again. (203)¨
I am outside US but already have both a normal VPN and DNS VPN provider which works perfectly fine on my PC and Roku. Suddenly, only for new shows, my Hulu on Firetv has broken.
I have uninstalled and re-installed the hulu app to no avail as well.
Super upset...i expected better from a commercially supported hardware! Roku is the only device so far that has never had trouble with Hulu
If anyone has a fix, i will be forever grateful!!!

I assume you already tried this but just in case. I had the same problem with hulu and a reboot of the FTV fixed it. Good luck

Same issue here. Can't play videos and getting the same error as above. In addition, the queue is not updating. I see new shows in my queue in a web browser but they are not showing in the FireTV app. I've rebooted, cleared data/cache (and had to log back in) - no good.

skeptic_always said:
Same issue here. Can't play videos and getting the same error as above. In addition, the queue is not updating. I see new shows in my queue in a web browser but they are not showing in the FireTV app. I've rebooted, cleared data/cache (and had to log back in) - no good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Perhaps it has to do with an older version of Hulu in the firmware? Have you tried upgrading to the latest pre-rooted version of the firmware?

Nope, I'm one of the (apparent) few that would rather stay on current firmware and not get into the cat and mouse root game. I'm actually on the latest version.
However, today my queue is updating and Hulu is playing videos again. One thing I vaguely remember from months ago that I did and may have solved the playback issue - I went into manage apps -> amazon video -> clear data and clear cache. I still don't understand why amazon video and Hulu would be tied together, or even if that's what fixed my playback issues, but IIRC that was identified as a fix in the past and I'm watching videos again.
As for the queue, I think that was just a Hulu issue. After posting I pulled up Roku on another TV and while video played fine the queue was not updating there either.

Spoke too soon, Hulu+ is crap again. Tried clearing data/cache for Amazon Videos, cleared cache for Hulu+, rebooted... Getting Playback Failure (203). :crying:

Called Hulu to get the problem fixed
I have the same problem with my FireTV since yesterday. Ads play well, but when it's time for the show content, I see a black screen for ~30 seconds followed by a Playback Error message asking me to check the connection (error 203). My other devices can play Hulu shows just fine. Restarting the FireTV, clearing cache and data for Hulu+ App did not help.
Last night, the problem went away; don't know why. Today, it came back so I called Hulu tech support. The tech said that maybe I had too many devices on the network trying to access Hulu (is there a Hulu set limit?). He asked me to unplug the FireTV, and unplug the modem and router. While my devices were off, he also "resynched" my account (his word not mine; Don't know what that meant).
Once I rebooted all the devices and opened the Hulu+ App, the FireTV had been de-activated, so I had to select Log In to get to the screen with the activation code. I told the tech what the activation code was and he activated the box remotely. Playback worked after that.
I don't know whether it's what I did or what the tech did that fixed the issue. If the problem comes back, I will:
(1) turn off the FireTV,
(2) log into hulu.com and de-activate the device (hulu.com/account >> manage your devices)
(3) power cycle the modem & router,
(4) Restart the FireTV and Hulu+ app (select login to Are-activate the device)
I hope I've seen the last of this problem, but I'm not optimistic since it has come and gone before.
Please share any fix that works for you guys.
-Patrick

Before seeing your post I was headed down this path myself. Fortunately I got mine working before going through all that. What I did was unplug my FireTV, unplug my cable modem for 10 seconds, plug the cable modem back in, then plug the FireTV back in. That fixed it. What I don't know is if it was just the cable modem reboot or if there is a functional difference in this case between unplug/plug-in and rebooting the FireTV by holding pause+select buttons for 10 seconds.
Previously I had tried rebooting with the remote and clearing data/cache for Amazon Videos and Hulu.

unplugging Fire TV alone worked
Problem came back as expected. This time I unplugged the Fire TV for a minute and plugged it back in. That was enough. (rebooting via the remote did not work).
This is an annoying problem because it appears to be a software problem with the Fire TV (my other android tv box doesn't experience this). What's the best way to bring it to Amazon's attention?

Related

Amazon Prime Video / Netflix streaming issues recently

Today I started getting errors with the Amazon Prime Video player. I would watch an episode or two and then attempting to watch any other videos would pop up the error stating there was an error with the amazon video player and to try again later. I've rebooted the AFTV which didn't change anything. I tested Prime video on my pc and it works fine.
My AFTV is rooted with the latest update and with autoupdate turned off. Is anyone else with Prime experiencing this?
The same thing is happening with netflix on the AFTV.
Domunus said:
Today I started getting errors with the Amazon Prime Video player. I would watch an episode or two and then attempting to watch any other videos would pop up the error stating there was an error with the amazon video player and to try again later. I've rebooted the AFTV which didn't change anything. I tested Prime video on my pc and it works fine.
My AFTV is rooted with the latest update and with autoupdate turned off. Is anyone else with Prime experiencing this?
The same thing is happening with netflix on the AFTV.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you based in US? I had the same issue yesterday but only with Amazon Prime Instant Video. I'm in UK and have UK Amazon Prime account and using unotelly Smart DNS service. My friend from US registered US Amazon account and now everything working.
I solved the issue by going to settings and all installed applications. I cleared data / cache of Amazon Video and it fixed the issue for both Prime video and Netflix. No restart needed.
I have been having the same issues as described above. I cleared the data/cache as suggested but the problem still persists with Amazon Video and Netflix
i had the same issues netflix and amazon prime not working at all... i formatted everything and still nada
mines is rooted as well.. i called amazon and got a new box, xbmc is cool but i need prime and netflix to.
I tried the process again, and it indeed did fix the problem. I did not do it correctly previously. Here are the steps to properly clear app data
To clear app data:
1. From the Home Screen, select "Settings".
2. Select "Applications," then "Manage All Installed Applications"".
3. Select "Amazon Video".
4. Select "Force Stop" and then select "Clear Data".
5. When prompted to "Delete App Data", select "Clear Data" again.
Once you've cleared the data, restart your Fire TV by removing the power cord from the back of the device or from the power outlet, and then plugging it in back in again. (of hold down the center button + play button for 5 seconds)

Netflix Issue: We're having trouble playing this title right now. Please try again

Does anyone have this issue on their Fire TV?
My netflix is showing this message:
We're having trouble playing this title right now. Please try again later or select a different title.
I've tried all the "fixes" in this Amazon thread but none of them fixed it?
http://www.amazon.com/Netflix-Fire-...QN4FXWA96MT/Tx3GCVD1F9XOBBM/1?asin=B005ZXWMUS
THIS ISSUE HAS BEEN SOLVED!
Jump here to the relevant posts:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=58574346&postcount=42
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=58578070&postcount=43
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=58599514&postcount=46
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=58618646&postcount=48
BIG THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO CONTRIBUTED!!
For first time AFTV rooters:
DO NOT SKIP this ROM version and install it: 51.1.4.0_514006420-rooted+updated
Launch Netflix and make sure it works
Now, upgrade to 51.1.4.1_514013920-rooted+fixed
Launch Netflix and make sure it works
Again, first time AFTV roots, DO NOT go straight to the latest version of the custom ROM. Doing so may cause your Netflix to have this issue.
Rbox is aware of this issue and recommends this workaround. Thank you to Rbox for all your hard work!
Neo3D said:
Does anyone have this issue on their Fire TV?
My netflix is showing this message:
We're having trouble playing this title right now. Please try again later or select a different title.
I've tried all the "fixes" in this Amazon thread but none of them fixed it?
anything-/forum/Fx1PQN4FXWA96MT/Tx3GCVD1F9XOBBM/1?asin=B005ZXWMUS[/url]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ive found if I was watching Kodi or another app was running prior, I would have to force stop through the installed apps and then Netflix would resume video operation after.
possible fix
are you currently running Kodi (formally XBMC) on your Fire TV?
bigmtnripper said:
are you currently running Kodi (formally XBMC) on your Fire TV?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I'm running Kodi...why?
I've tried to use Netflix by launching thru Kodi and also by launching from the AF Launcher, and both of them have the same issue?
Neo3D said:
Yes, I'm running Kodi...why?
I've tried to use Amazon by launching thru Kodi and also by launching from the AF Launcher, and both of them have the same issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Neo3D said:
Does anyone have this issue on their Fire TV?
My netflix is showing this message:
We're having trouble playing this title right now. Please try again later or select a different title.
I've tried all the "fixes" in this Amazon thread but none of them fixed it?
http://www.amazon.com/Netflix-Fire-...QN4FXWA96MT/Tx3GCVD1F9XOBBM/1?asin=B005ZXWMUS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same issue on both my aftvs. It's really irritating. But for me a reboot fixes it every time. I can't pinpoint what triggers it. Doesn't occur every time but force quit xbmc then launching Netflix, force quit Netflix then try again--nothing stops the bug from occurring if it's gonna happen, but like I said, a reboot fixes it for me.
ive seen this type of error on prime videos after leaving kodi without stopping the video. If your kodi keymap for the remote is not stoping the video playback when pressed and you leave kodi, it will casue problems , probably because the audio/video "pipes" are still being used by the video in kodi that was not stopped . SPMC does this by default.
KLit75 said:
I have the same issue on both my aftvs. It's really irritating. But for me a reboot fixes it every time. I can't pinpoint what triggers it. Doesn't occur every time but force quit xbmc then launching Netflix, force quit Netflix then try again--nothing stops the bug from occurring if it's gonna happen, but like I said, a reboot fixes it for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've tried rebooting two ways:
1. Using remote control
2. Unplug, wait 10 secs, plug back in
But neither methods will fix Netflix for me
Neo3D said:
I've tried rebooting two ways:
1. Using remote control
2. Unplug, wait 10 secs, plug back in
But neither methods will fix Netflix for me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's too early to tell but I tried one of the fixes in your op.
1. Amazon video--clear data 3 times
2. Unplug, wait 10 secs, replug
*and I had to add 3rd step because after that Netflix would keep loading and Amazon prime gave "unknown error"
So...
3. Restart aftv by holding play and select.
Like I said, it's too early, but I will say both Amazon and Netflix videos are loading a lot faster. The Amazon video I selected seemed to start instantly (no spinning circle)
Try logging out of your Netflix account and re-entering your credentials. . .I sometimes get this from my smart tv and the only fix is to re-log in.
kutapio said:
Try logging out of your Netflix account and re-entering your credentials. . .I sometimes get this from my smart tv and the only fix is to re-log in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That didn't work for me. Netflix has been really buggy on fire os for me. For awhile it would log me out completely and I'd have to sign back in multiple times daily. BUT it's been over 24 hours since I applied the fix I mentioned in my last post and neither of my aftvs have had issues! Hopefully that did it...
KLit75 said:
It's too early to tell but I tried one of the fixes in your op.
1. Amazon video--clear data 3 times
2. Unplug, wait 10 secs, replug
*and I had to add 3rd step because after that Netflix would keep loading and Amazon prime gave "unknown error"
So...
3. Restart aftv by holding play and select.
Like I said, it's too early, but I will say both Amazon and Netflix videos are loading a lot faster. The Amazon video I selected seemed to start instantly (no spinning circle)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I tried that and it still doesn't work. Weird thing happened to me though, my XBMC / Kodi got reset to all of its default settings. Luckily, all of my add-ons were unaffected.
i had the same thing recently, turns out it was a dodgy hdmi cable. i found the cause by trying to play a prime video after trying to play a netflix video.
prime indicated that there was a problem with the hdmi cable, after replacing the cable netflix and prime both now work fine, i hope this helps..
Neo3D said:
Does anyone have this issue on their Fire TV?
My netflix is showing this message:
We're having trouble playing this title right now. Please try again later or select a different title.
I've tried all the "fixes" in this Amazon thread but none of them fixed it?
http://www.amazon.com/Netflix-Fire-...QN4FXWA96MT/Tx3GCVD1F9XOBBM/1?asin=B005ZXWMUS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have had this issue on Android TV also. I ended up clearing the cash and restarting along with a reboot of the network? But it has been happening on and off for awhile.
KLit75 said:
It's too early to tell but I tried one of the fixes in your op.
1. Amazon video--clear data 3 times
2. Unplug, wait 10 secs, replug
*and I had to add 3rd step because after that Netflix would keep loading and Amazon prime gave "unknown error"
So...
3. Restart aftv by holding play and select.
Like I said, it's too early, but I will say both Amazon and Netflix videos are loading a lot faster. The Amazon video I selected seemed to start instantly (no spinning circle)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well that fix lasted 2 full days but now it's back. Outside chance my tinkering (trying to get samba working properly) cause it but that's a little far fetched. It's not the hdmi cable. I'm actually using a brand new one that came with the Wii U.
The bedroom aftv also had trouble playing Netflix last night.
Specs-wise this is the best set top box I ever owned. When it's running well it's awesome. But overall it's easily the least stable streamer I've ever had...and that's a long list of devices. Got a old roku xd (maybe 15 bucks on eBay) I plug it in and can count on it to work all the time. It's not as fun as aftv but thinking about putting it on the side of bedroom aftv so my wife doesn't get angry when she wants prime or Netflix.
I am watching this thread hoping you guys would find a reason/solution for this issue. I am emphatic to the problems you are having but am also a little surprised at them because I am NOT running into any of this issues with any one of my 3 FTV's. Fingers crossed
All of my FTV's are rooted and they run XBMC, Netflix, Amazon Prime. I don't even bother shutting XBMC down or rebooting the AFTV. Netflix just works. O, btw, I am running pre-rooted 51.1.4.0_514006420 firmware on all of them. Once in a while (maybe once every 10 days) Netflix will have the error message saying "We're having trouble playing this title right now. Please try again", all I do to get it to work again is to exit the app then restart Netflix or sometime I may need to login again and that's it.
Good Luck and hope you find a solution. Have you try rebooting your router ?
lowbee said:
I am watching this thread hoping you guys would find a reason/solution for this issue. I am emphatic to the problems you are having but am also a little surprised at them because I am NOT running into any of this issues with any one of my 3 FTV's. Fingers crossed
All of my FTV's are rooted and they run XBMC, Netflix, Amazon Prime. I don't even bother shutting XBMC down or rebooting the AFTV. Netflix just works. O, btw, I am running pre-rooted 51.1.4.0_514006420 firmware on all of them. Once in a while (maybe once every 10 days) Netflix will have the error message saying "We're having trouble playing this title right now. Please try again", all I do to get it to work again is to exit the app then restart Netflix or sometime I may need to login again and that's it.
Good Luck and hope you find a solution. Have you try rebooting your router ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do not think it is Fire TV? The fact that I have had it on more than one device proves that. Somehow the authorization cache is getting corrupted? When I clear the data and reauthorize it seems to correct it until it corrupts again? My network reboot is just a extra step to be sure. The only other thing I can think of , It seems to be associated with devices that remain on(standby only?)
lowbee said:
I am watching this thread hoping you guys would find a reason/solution for this issue. I am emphatic to the problems you are having but am also a little surprised at them because I am NOT running into any of this issues with any one of my 3 FTV's. Fingers crossed
All of my FTV's are rooted and they run XBMC, Netflix, Amazon Prime. I don't even bother shutting XBMC down or rebooting the AFTV. Netflix just works. O, btw, I am running pre-rooted 51.1.4.0_514006420 firmware on all of them. Once in a while (maybe once every 10 days) Netflix will have the error message saying "We're having trouble playing this title right now. Please try again", all I do to get it to work again is to exit the app then restart Netflix or sometime I may need to login again and that's it.
Good Luck and hope you find a solution. Have you try rebooting your router ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't see how that would help but it's worth a try. We have Netflix running perfectly fine on these devices, which are on the same home network:
desktop HTPC
m17x R4
m14x R2
Samsung Note 4
Samsung Note 3
Samsung Note 10.1 2014
Inspiron 3147
PS3
Asus Chrome Box
The ONLY device we have EVER gotten this error on is the AFTV. So, I'm inclined to think it's an issue with the AFTV.
lowbee said:
I am watching this thread hoping you guys would find a reason/solution for this issue. I am emphatic to the problems you are having but am also a little surprised at them because I am NOT running into any of this issues with any one of my 3 FTV's. Fingers crossed
All of my FTV's are rooted and they run XBMC, Netflix, Amazon Prime. I don't even bother shutting XBMC down or rebooting the AFTV. Netflix just works. O, btw, I am running pre-rooted 51.1.4.0_514006420 firmware on all of them. Once in a while (maybe once every 10 days) Netflix will have the error message saying "We're having trouble playing this title right now. Please try again", all I do to get it to work again is to exit the app then restart Netflix or sometime I may need to login again and that's it.
Good Luck and hope you find a solution. Have you try rebooting your router ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bollucks! I tried rebooting my router and it still gives me the same error
This is very frustrating. Netflix works perfectly fine on all of our other devices except for this AFTV. Makes me wonder if Amazon has some deliberate bugs in it so you are forced to use Prime, which works perfectly.
So after seeing so may folks having issue with netflix, i decided to try and i did not have any issues.
However, this morning when i tried to watch a free episode on prime i get "Unknown error", i got the same error message when i tried to watch a movie trailer so few min later i tried again to watch the episode and it worked fine but now when i try to watch a movie trailer i get messages "Your internet connection is really slow, blah blah, blah" with the open watch later or keep watching, when i select keep watching i get cursor that keep going in circle but the preview never plays.
i did test my speed and i am getting at least 18mbps download and 11mbps upload speed, not the fastest but it is more than fast enough to watch full HD movies.
There is definitely something wrong, probably some firmware bugs, i am running pre-rooted 51.1.4.0_514006420 updated.
Thank you
ashsha7877 said:
So after seeing so may folks having issue with netflix, i decided to try and i did not have any issues.
However, this morning when i tried to watch a free episode on prime i get "Unknown error", i got the same error message when i tried to watch a movie trailer so few min later i tried again to watch the episode and it worked fine but now when i try to watch a movie trailer i get messages "Your internet connection is really slow, blah blah, blah" with the open watch later or keep watching, when i select keep watching i get cursor that keep going in circle but the preview never plays.
i did test my speed and i am getting at least 18mbps download and 11mbps upload speed, not the fastest but it is more than fast enough to watch full HD movies.
There is definitely something wrong, probably some firmware bugs, i am running pre-rooted 51.1.4.0_514006420 updated.
Thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for testing! Good to know I'm not the only one with problems.
I'm running 51.1.4.1_514013920fixed

AFTV (Gen1) and BBC IPlayer outside of UK

I have 2 Gen 1 AFTVs.. I use unotelly DNS service and for ages I was using IPlayer just fine. A few weeks ago that stopped (been travelling for a month so only now finding time to try to solve it).
Now I am getting the 'something went wrong with this stream' error on everything..
To help debug..
IPlayer works fine on a local PC.. So the unotelly DNS mask seems to work, at least in that player format.
If I dont have the Unotelly DNS set the AFTV app wont open.. Currently with it set the app does open, allows browsing of shows / menu system, which it doesnt do without unotelly DNS and hence is passing at least stage 1 of the geo lock, and attempted playback of shows.. but then fails to load the show.
Both boxes exactly the same.. Both with the 'standard' iPlayer app and the BETA option turned on.
Failing to understand why a PC can play it, but the AFTV with the same settings cant. Shame as I do like iPlayer.
Was working fine previously for many months. From memory this stopped around new year.
Anyone else similar issues ??
OK answering my own question..
Once its has been run in 'beta' mode (turned on from settings) it will not stream in either beta o after reverting to normal..
But once reverted to normal, power cycled, then it will work..
I messed up with it in beta, then not getting it back with a simple switch, needs a switch, and a reboot, once booted clean it does.

Netflix Error (-114) / (-115) OR UI-800-3

I cannot use Netflix anymore on my FireTV Pendant.
Running FireOS 6.2.1.2 released in Dec 2017.
Netflix 6.2.5 from Amazon AppStore
I used to run adguard to block all of Amazon telemetry/content/updates. I have been doing this since I owned the stick and it was never an issue.
To debug the netflix connectivuty issue, I disabled AdGuard and that didn't change anything.
Netflix still wouldn't work!
I uninstalled the Netflix APK and tried the sideloading the following AndroidTV versions.
-6.2.0
-6.1.0
-5.4.1
-5.2.0
Non of them worked, but the error message did change on the older versions.
I sideloaded the telephone version of Netflix and that one does work. Its not ideal to use that one as its hard to navigate and the streams are low quality.
If I restart the FireTV and start netflix immediately after boot, it WILL run.
To state the obvious, yes I reinstalled and cleared/data cache already.
What I observe happening:
On FireStick boot it opens a connection to netflix.
Netflix will run if this connection is open.
Shortly after the netflix app itself is opened, this connection will close.
Starting the netflix app and watching a show really quick, prior to the connection closing, the netflix app WILL work.
If I go to the next show, or back out of the app after the connection is closed, the netflix app WILL NOT work.
The **** is going on, and why does this connection not restart when Netflix is force closed and reopened.
Disconnecting/reconnecting Wifi will NOT restore the connection. The firestick has to be rebooted!!

Strange Firestick 4k issue, any ideas?

We have Firestick 4K hooked up to several TVs to use Netflix, HBO, Disney+, and some of those other movie apps, if you know what I mean.
We've been running them for years with zero issues, including IPTV during NFL season.
I thought our internet was acting up because of an issue that appeared about 3 weeks ago. I did all the usual, Cleared Caches, restart devices, hard reboot on devices, changed DNS, etc... Then I switched out our router (Verizon Fios 1 gig), issue still remained.
So the issue is very strange and I'm hoping someone can lead me to a solution.
Suddenly,
Some preview thumbnails will not load on Firestick home screen
A couple of Apps like Disney+ and HBO Max will not load(but Netflix works fine)
SmartTube Apk(no ads) will not load preview thumbnails or videos(but regular YouTube works fine)
My other Movie.TV apks will not load thumbnails or any streams
When I was using WiFi calling on my cell, I kept dropping calls
So we thought it might be a Fire device issue, maybe due to an update but....
My son and my wife both noticed around the same time that the same not loading Thumbnails and videos issues was happening on their Twitter app on their phone while using wi-fi. My son also noticed that a couple other apps like DoorDash wouldn't load either, but all work fine on mobile data.
Other than that internet functions as it should. Our Download and Upload speeds are fine. We can browse websites on our laptops fine. I even just bought tickets on a popular Ticketmaster on sale the other day without issue. My wife and son both work from home remotely, and neither of them have had any daily issues regarding their access for work.
A little more info, when we connect the Fire Devices to our unlimited mobile data via hot spot on our phone, all Firestick and video apps work as they should without issue.
I have been having the same issue. I also have Verizon internet and have also done every possible reset, update or change to the router, with no improvement. For us Paramount Plus, Amazon Music and BET+ are not working, but DirecTV Stream works perfectly. Up until a week or so ago all apps were functioning normally. I'm reaching out to Verizon today, but honestly don't think it has anything to do with the service because all other devices (and we have several) are working properly on the Wi-Fi. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
After some research, I found out the issue.
Verizon(my ISP) is blocking/throttling some streaming apps. We bought a trial for a VPN, used that, and everything worked fine. All issues were resolved.
Thanks for the update!
Just got off the phone with Verizon and they were finally able to fix the issue after I told the rep the Wi-Fi issue was only effected android (Google TV) and android adjacent devices (Amazon Fire TV). He immediately said it was an IPv6 issue, and proceeded to disable the feature. After rebooting the router, all of our devices worked as they had before the issue. He informed me that the feature can be disabled on your own if you log into your router's account via the internet. You can also call Verizon to have them do it.

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