Netflix Issues (Possibly VPN related)

Sky West

Hello, I’d be grateful if someone knowledgeable could have a look at the attached log re a Netflix issue I’ve had for at least the last week. The pattern is that I start a download which, after fairly slow analysis, downloads the first 7-15% quickly and then stops dead. Eventually it hangs, sometimes with a “connection closing” error but sometimes without.

I am able to download from Netflix sometimes but it seems random.

As per my title, I’m wondering it’s related to my VPN which has caused issues recently with other sites. I’ve tried uninstalling/reinstalling but this hasn’t really helped. I’m considering changing from NordVPN but I’d rather not have to as it’s fine with all the other modules and has been okay in general for a number of years.

In the attached log I was trying to download the first episode of season 3 of Love On The Spectrum but I’ve had issues with other files too, so I don’t think it’s content related.

260116-streamfab-love-on-the-spectrum-31.log

2MB

I’m currently using 7.0.0.7 but I’ve had the same issue on the last few versions I’ve tried.

Germania

OK, trying in US from UK or where ?
It’s not visible in log where you are connected

[CWV.Netflix] ParseManifest manifest error : {"id":1768585261,"version":2,"serverTime":1768585263362,"error":{"code":"FAIL","reportingCode":"PBCS-105","displayCode":"E100","detail":"licensedManifest/playapi-105: Viewable not available - validation error.

With “Connection closed” you should always: Try a different vpn server or provider

In the US, I am currently experiencing download restarts
Currently any live content in US in progress? ..
.. or has NF improved its VPN detection?

But it’s available in 131 countries - try somewhere else

Sky West

Thanks @Germania I’m in the UK trying to access the UK Netflix content. Each time I get the error, I try various NordVPN servers but it doesn’t help.

I’m guessing from your response that you can’t see a definitive VPN issue in the log, as I only have one VPN provider but I am considered trying SurfShark when my NordVPN subscription ends later in the year.

Germania

OK, I tried NordVPN Manchester ..

.. no “connection closed” or any other problem detected

Sky West

Thanks @Germania since my last post I have managed to get Love On The Spectrum to download but I then had the freezing issue with Sweetie (Turkish documentary) which has frozen at 77% and closed the connection.

I’ve not used Netflix for a few years but I used to be able to download long queues of files without any issues. I’ve been much more careful this time, only having queues of 15-20 files per day but don’t usually manage more than 7 or 8 files in a row before the connection closes and switching VPN servers doesn’t fix it.

It’s been like this for at least the last week and when it first started happening, it would “fix” itself for 7 or 8 downloads at the start of the following day but some days it won’t work at all, regardless of how many VPN server changes I try.

I suppose there were two questions in my original post:

1) Is it possible to pinpoint a VPN issue from a StreamFab log in general? (I think from your response it isn’t).
2) Is there anything showing in my log that shows another reason for the regular connection closes?

As I’ve mentioned above, I have been considering changing VPN providers for a while for other reasons and this Netflix issue has added to my frustration but it could be that the Netflix issue isn’t connected to NordVPN at all and either Netflix has got better at detecting VPN use in general in the last few years, or the issue is caused by something else entirely.

Germania

Sky West Is it possible to pinpoint a VPN issue from a StreamFab log in general?

“Connection closed” is a pretty reliable indicator.
This is always a connection problem - whether with or without a VPN.

You could try a different VPN protocol.
NordLynx is based on WireGuard, which often have Key Exchange ..
.. OpenVPN does this differently.

Sky West

Thank @Germania I did try all the different protocols, as I saw that suggested as a solution on a different thread but it didn’t make any difference. I’ll have another go with OpenVPN over the weekend though, as I just tried all the protocols one after another without really knowing which one to choose.