Samsung TV - Netflix & Prime won't play

[clockworks]

Samsung smart TV, about 6 years old. I mostly watch Netflix, which has worked fine on this TV for a few years using a wired connection.

Last night, the app would load, I could select my profile, see my lists etc.

If I selected something to watch, it would do the usual percentage thing, show the timeline bar at the bottom, but not actually play. After a second, it would do the percentage thing again, then display a message saying sorry, unable to play this item at this time.

Exactly the same issue with Prime Video.

Tried switching to wireless connection, unplugging TV, etc.

I borrowed the Roku box from the dining room TV, and that is working fine using the same ethernet connection with the Samsung TV, so not an account or network issue.

Any ideas?

[zarlak]

That's very interesting. I was planning to watch the new Grand Tour last night but my Philips TV has stopped running Prime Video.Netflix is ok though.

I had a search on the 'net and it was suggested to uninstall the Prime app and reinstall but this is not possible on the TV. I tried forcing the app to stop, clearing the cache, de-registering the device on the Amazon app, signing out etc. All to no avail.

Plan on having another internet search for advice tonight and having another go.

[Howard-]

Disconnect the TV's ethernet cable, turn on the personal hotspot function on your phone, and connect the TV to it via wifi. See if it plays then. This would be an interesting test to rule out some strange conflict or something bizarre going on with your home network/router/internet connection.

[Simon_GH]

If all else fails, buy a £30 Roku stick

[Howard-]

Simon_GH said:

If all else fails, buy a £30 Roku stick

I expect this will ultimately be the correct solution. 6 years for a Smart TV interface to be useful is damn good going, in my opinion. Longevity has never been their forte. My 3 year LG OLED had an update recently which has completely changed the look of the UI and it feels considerably slower than it did before. I wonder if this is is the beginning of the end of me using its built-in interface.

[clockworks]

Mobile signal at home is very poor - 1 bar and only 3g.

I think using the Roku box is going to be the solution. TV is in the conservatory, which is currently the temporary lounge while the actual lounge is being gutted and redone. Got a new TV to use in the lounge when it's finished, along with a Shield box.

[smithyithy]

clockworks said:

Samsung smart TV, about 6 years old.

Sounds about right. My last two have done the same, in less time actually...

I opted for Chromecast, vastly better than the 'smart' TV stuff.

[clockworks]

smithyithy said:

Sounds about right. My last two have done the same, in less time actually...

I opted for Chromecast, vastly better than the 'smart' TV stuff.

I've heard of TV smart functions "dying" after a few years, just seems odd that I can sign into my Netflix and Amazon accounts, see the lists and programme guides, but playback fails almost instantly.

[zarlak]

Further searches suggest doing a total reset on the TV, however I haven't had a chance to test this yet. Probably will be the weekend before I can try this. Fingers crossed.

[smithyithy]

clockworks said:

I've heard of TV smart functions "dying" after a few years, just seems odd that I can sign into my Netflix and Amazon accounts, see the lists and programme guides, but playback fails almost instantly.

That's a bit strange yeah... On my current Samsung they kept adding more ads on the Smart TV 'bar', but it just became painfully slow over time despite resets and software updates etc.

I wish we had the option of buying a high-spec 'dumb' TV - OLED display with high refresh rate but none of the bloatware and clunky OS... I guess I'm basically describing a monitor but they always seem disproportionately more expensive for the size.

[zarlak]

I finally carried out a full reset to the TV and all now works fine. All a bit odd as to why this suddenly became a problem in the first place though.