Update #2: The Netflix website is back online.
The Netflix website is down unexpectedly tonight, and Netflix customer support has a recorded message stating that they are "currently experiencing issues with our website."
The Netflix website notes that the shipping centers will be processing movies and that Netflix Streaming is still working.
Update #1: Some readers are reporting problems with Netflix Streaming (other than the fact that you can't watch it on a PC or Mac since you can't log in).
Thanks to Phil & Paul for sending this in.
Netflix started to get crappy for me by 8pm CST... maybe a little earlier... when all other websites worked fine, i had a feeling it was limited to them...
several refreshes for each page and i was eventually able to stream a movie...
I find it funny that streaming is available... yea, to anyone who is not using a computer and does not have to sign in to access streaming video...
Wonder how long it will take to fix this time and if we will get another credit... i really hope they don't tell me that because streaming works... no credit... (yes i didn't get the credit last time and I should have!)
i guess i don't have an excuse to stay awake now... good night...
Posted by: Josh | July 12, 2009 at 11:21 PM
Streaming is not working for me. So I agree, it's not quite fair to say that it's "working".
Posted by: BKITO | July 12, 2009 at 11:25 PM
This this is the site getting hit with a DDOS attack. Typically I never have seen the site have problems before.
Posted by: Jim | July 12, 2009 at 11:34 PM
Releasing this week page is down as well as my queue. Hope I can get my faves lined up by shipping time. BTW - they show a movie shipping this past Sat.to arrive on Mon.! Don't know if it's an error or a change in schedule.
Posted by: BG | July 12, 2009 at 11:35 PM
I am sure streaming works, if I could only log in i am sure it would be okay. I dunno what I wanna watch anyway. Will they hook me up with something free If I call and bitch?
Posted by: doug | July 12, 2009 at 11:36 PM
I am growing very tired of all these netflix streaming outages.
Posted by: Spineless | July 12, 2009 at 11:47 PM
They're back up!
Posted by: Peter | July 12, 2009 at 11:48 PM
Correction: Still flaky. Got to my queue, tried to watch a movie that never started. Now I can't get to anything again.
Posted by: Peter | July 12, 2009 at 11:51 PM
When I visited a few minutes ago I was confronted with a series of questions about how often I watch movies of a certain type with a button that says "See Your New Homepage." "(You can change your taste preferences whenever you want)" it also says. But the buttons don't work to answer the questions and the "See..." button remains greyed out.
The newly standard categories appear below i.e. "Witty TV Shows," "Mind-bending Thrillers," etc
Could an update be what is taking the site down?
Posted by: Brian | July 13, 2009 at 12:00 AM
Netflix sucks! More and more since changing the streaming format to this Silverlight crap!
Posted by: John | July 13, 2009 at 12:02 AM
So had it really been since the 12th that we can watch streaming videos?! Is this going to turn out like another Walmart saga? The big corporate drives out the smaller independents then screws the consumer?! The longer I am with Netflix the more I feel I am geting bent over.
Posted by: John | July 13, 2009 at 12:05 AM
wow, some really irrational people here.
if you are tired of 'bending over', it's really easy to opt out of your subscription.
i, personally, look at the streaming video as a benefit to my existing subscription (which, is actually a luxury). it's not included in the price i pay so i don't feel particularly screwed over if it doesn't work right. mildly inconvenienced, sure.
'free' doesn't fix everything. whining about being 'bent over' is just ridiculous.
Posted by: matt | July 13, 2009 at 12:17 AM
Now they say it is due to "scheduled maintenance."
Posted by: Mike Honesty | July 13, 2009 at 12:41 AM
While I agree with Matt that some of the whining is a *little* over the top...the streaming *IS* most assuredly PART OF the service for which we pay. However he personally chooses to look at his subscription, whatever...that doesn't change the fact of what the subscription includes.
That said, every online company experiences issues with technology now and then.
My beef is...this is the second time this weekend this has happened. A company as big as Netflix (and as dependent on having their website functional) should have a failsafe/backup plan.
Posted by: Biscuit | July 13, 2009 at 12:43 AM
But, but, but, but, I feel I should be compensated for the few hours of down time! I estimate the website will be down for about 4 hours tonight. 4 hours of a month equates to roughly 10 cents of my $16.99 subscription fee. If I don't see a 10 cent credit on my next bill, I QUIT!
Posted by: frank jones alma | July 13, 2009 at 12:43 AM
If you go over the contract then you will see that people who pay more for their subscription get UNLIMITED streaming vs people who stick to cheaper plans. If you mailed your videos out on Friday then you kinda sorta rely on streaming video to get you through the weekend. If you do not have access to streaming then your 7pm-12pm evening is ruined because there is usually nothing to watch on tv unless you have hbo cinemax etc and those movies never update.. so here we are complaining about it because we darn right have the right to complain. If you sir are paying 4.99 vs my 31.00 then you see where I am coming from.
Posted by: Yuri | July 13, 2009 at 12:47 AM
It went down for me at about 10:45PM CST. I was in the middle of watching an episode of Heroes and they said something quiet that i couldn't really hear, so i rewound it a little bit and hit play. it played, but i still couldn't quite hear it, so i rewound it again and turned up the volume and hit play. it said connection with the netflix server cannot be established. please try again later.
that happens to me quite a bit when i rewind a streaming movie/show. usually i click back to browsing, then play the movie/show again, and it continues to the point that i rewound it to. anyone else have that problem by the way?
this time however, it came up with a "site error" and suggested to try the netflix home page, i did and i got the same site error. frantically, i tried clearing cookies, logging out then logging back in, rebooting the computer, and using a different browser (default is firefox, alternative is MS IE8), nothing worked.
then i found this site, and realized it was happening all over, and realized it even happened once before. i hope they fix it soon, i'm really anxious to hear what the cop-who-can-read-peoples-minds' wife said in her head. she said "i thought i was being careful" then she said something else that i couldn't hear!! it's killing me...
Posted by: Tony | July 13, 2009 at 12:50 AM
Frank Jones Alma. This is the same thing as world of warcraft downtime. People do not watch netflix 24/7 so it is reasonable to assume that they use streaming media no more than 8 hours per week or 32 hours per month due to dvd/blu ray coming in on other days. 4 hours out of 32 is 1/8th the service or 12.5% of time. 12.5 percent of time is like you having power outage one evening every days. Pretty annoying huh?!
More importantly what if you use netflix streaming 24 hours per month then downtime turns into 17 percent of time or roughly power outage once every 5 days. Great odds mate.
Posted by: Yuri | July 13, 2009 at 12:55 AM
Yuri's math equating a four hour Netflix problem with a power outage every 5 days is wonderfully creative but can't be taken seriously.
If you actually want to believe his line of reasoning, you at least need to do the calculations more honestly. Include the fact that you have only a 1 in 180 chance of being affected by a four hour interruption of service, and suddenly his calculated power outage every 5 days becomes one every 2 1/2 years instead.
Posted by: Mark | July 13, 2009 at 04:39 AM
Yuri, how you turned 12.5% into 1/5 (20%) is beyond me....
Posted by: frank jones alma | July 13, 2009 at 09:32 AM
Netflix Site Error
We were unable to process your request.
Please go to the Netflix home page by clicking the button below.
..That message was given trying to get to netflix.com
"Clicking below" leads to timeout, or the exact same message. So no, the site is not working. :(
On the bright side, we're still getting video streamed thru our Roku box. Just wish we could go add different stuff.
Posted by: Michele | July 13, 2009 at 12:59 PM