Netflix users across the United States were left frustrated on Thursday night after a sudden and widespread outage disrupted streaming services for thousands. Starting around 9:00 p.m. EDT, viewers attempting to play shows or movies were met with the error message: “This title is not available to watch instantly.”
According to Downdetector, a site that monitors service disruptions, reports began to spike just after 9 p.m., eventually climbing past 75,000 incidents within the hour. Users across various devices—including smart TVs, streaming sticks, mobile phones, and tablets—reported identical issues, suggesting that the problem was not limited to one platform or region.
Netflix’s official status page briefly acknowledged the issue around 9:52 p.m., noting that users “may have problems streaming some titles.” However, no detailed explanation or apology followed, leaving many subscribers wondering what caused the glitch and how long it would take to fix.
The error message shown during the outage, often referred to as Error Code E-100, typically points to a problem with locally stored data on a device. But with so many users affected across such a broad range of hardware and operating systems, speculation quickly shifted to a server-side issue on Netflix’s end.
Social media platforms lit up with users looking to confirm they weren’t alone. On Reddit, the r/Netflix community filled up with fresh threads documenting the outage in real time. “Thought something was wrong with my TV, then my phone… turns out it’s not just me,” one user posted. Another wrote, “Every time I try to watch anything, it just says not available. I tried four shows. What’s going on?”
Over on X (formerly Twitter), the reactions leaned more humorous. “I’m literally shaking. I sat down with snacks, a blanket, and a plan. I NEED content,” one user tweeted. Another posted a meme of someone staring blankly at a loading screen with the caption: “Me waiting for Netflix to come back like it’s oxygen.”
Some users outside the U.S. also reported issues, suggesting that the outage may have had global implications. One Reddit comment read: “Netflix down in the UK too. Guess it’s not just America. I was halfway through a documentary and boom—gone.”
By early Friday morning, streaming seemed to return to normal for most users. Still, Netflix has not released a formal statement explaining the disruption, nor has it responded to user concerns posted on support channels and social platforms. For now, subscribers are hoping the glitch was a one-off fluke—and not a sign of more technical hiccups to come.