Why is Netflix Lagging on Chrome & How to Fix

Netflix lagging on chrome while you are watching your favorite show is not an ideal scenario and you wonder what you can do about it.

There are many browsers out there to choose from but Chrome is one of the most popular.

That is precisely why it is frustrating when things don’t go as planned because a popular browser should get great support and should be almost perfect.

However, sometimes simple things need to be done from your side in order to fix these annoyances.

Nothing major to worry about, just a bit of effort and your browser will be up and running in no time. So, let’s get started.

Is Watching Netflix on Chrome Good Idea?

Yes of course! The Chrome browser from the Internet giant Google is one of the most used to surf the internet.

Also, due to its lightweight feature, it’s the most downloaded browsers.

So, whether its streaming Netflix or playing online games, Chrome can be a great option.

That said, sometimes many users complain about lagging issues while streaming Netflix. So, how to deal with this issue?

Let’s dive in!

How to Fix Netflix Lagging on Chrome

The reasons for this lagging issue can be many. Follow these steps one by one and you will be able to fix the issue soon.

Connection Speed

Before you blame the browser, try and check the Internet speed first.

If speed really is your issue, you can reboot your network. Simply unplug the modem for about 60 seconds and plug it back in.

If your broadband plan does not provide you with the required speed, you can opt for a high-speed plan to enjoy uninterrupted streaming.

Hardware Acceleration Disabled

You can start resolving your issue of Netflix lagging on the computer by trying out the advice in this section.

• Go to the Settings of your chrome browser
• Select Appearance
• Scroll down and hit Advanced
• Find hardware acceleration and disable it

Clear Cache

Clearing the cache is always a good idea if you have any kind of lagging problem.

• Press the icon next to your name and choose History
• Press Clear browsing data
• Tick the box next to Cached images and files and press Clear data

Command Prompt

Now it gets more technical, but we will guide you through the program and there should be no problems.

Simply follow these steps.

• Type Command prompt in your search box in Windows
• Enter the following commands one after another
• 1.command is: ipconfig/flushdns
• Press Enter
• 2.command is: netsh winsock reset
• Press Enter

When you finish with your commands you need to restart your computer. Hopefully, some of these steps have helped you solve your problem with Netflix lagging on Chrome.

Apps that Hog Bandwidth on Your Network

This term may be completely unknown to you, so we will explain what it is and why it is important.

Sometimes you will experience Netflix lagging on the computer due to the various applications that suck a lot of bandwidth.

YouTube, Facebook, Dropbox are just a few of them. You can check how much bandwidth each application consumes by following these steps.

• Go to Task manager
• You will see plenty of applications and on the right,  you can see how much of bandwidth they use
• Simply right-click on applications and press End task

Try again to watch Netflix and see if it is still lagging. So far, you should have been successful in resolving the issue with lagging, but if that is not the case, read on!

DNS Server Change

DNS is crucial for the internet; it matches the names of the web pages with numbers that represent web page addresses.

Try to change the settings and see what is going to happen.

• Open Control panel and Sort the view by category
• Select View network status and tasks
• Press Change adapter setting
• Find your network and right-click on it
• Choose Properties
• Double click on Internet protocol version 4 (TCP/IPv4)
• In the next window, you will select two items Obtain an IP address automatically and second one further down Use the following DNS server addresses:
• Look for Preferred DNS server and enter 8.8.8.8 which is Google public DNS address
• For the Alternative DNS server and enter 8.8.4.4
• Press OK

After this long but hopefully productive step, you should restart your computer and try Netflix again.

If none of this has been successful, there is only one more step to do and that is to update the drivers.

Drivers Update

Sometimes as you may already know outdated software and drivers can cause a lot of problems. The thing with troubleshooting is that you need to eliminate one step at a time, there is no other cure.

Just sometimes it happens that the last solution turns out to be the right one. We are sorry for the time wasted, but that is the nature of the game, plus you may have learned some new tricks that can come handy in the future, for sure.  

I must stress that your driver update is usually an automated process and drivers are updated through Windows Update, but if you want to check or re-install your drivers, follow these steps.

• Go to Device manager
• Find your device, right-click on it and press Uninstall
• Restart your computer

And that is all the magic. If you need more info on how to update your drivers, check this page.

Update Chrome Browser

When you use an outdated Chrome browser, you can experience lagging issues. So, it is always a better idea to keep your browser updated.

Chrome is set to auto-update its version. However, sometimes there can an issue and it may not update.

To update it manually, head over to Help followed by About Google Chrome and see its version. This will then automatically check for any new updates and will install.

Reinstall Chrome Browser

If nothing works for you, just uninstall the browser and reinstall it. Reinstalling will fix most of the issues and you can stream without any issues.

Conclusion

We have tried to give you all sorts of solutions for Netflix lagging on Chrome issue and truthfully, you should have been successful in solving your problem.

All the issues with browsers can be solved the same way. As I always say technology can be capricious sometimes, or your computer is simply tired of all this hard work and just needs a little rest. 

Give it a little rest and then start browsing again. Happy browsing!

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