If Netflix streaming does not play on your iPad it could be a simple fix for an incompatibility with your wireless router.
iPads are quite notorious for having wireless issues, maybe this will be resolved with a future software upgrade for the iPad.
The symptoms I experienced are as follows. After clicking on play the Netflix app would say “Preparing to view….” and the bottom half of the screen was blank cutting off part of the movie cover graphic. Then the app would return to the movie browsing page without starting the movie.
Will Apple allow Tethering to the iPad?
To fix this issue go into the iPad settings menu for your WiFi network and change the DNS entry to 208.67.222.222
Return to Netflix and the problem should be resolved.
The reason for the problem is that if your router utilizes DNSMasq the iPad/Netflix app misbehaves. By entering a manual DNS server address for OpenDNS service the iPad bypasses your routers DNS Cache which it is incompatible with.
In my case I use DD-WRT software in my router which by default utilizes DNSMasq to speed up your DNS queries. The problem could also be resolved by disabling DNSMasq on the router. Alternatively one could enter 8.8.8.8 into the DNS entry on the iPad wirelsss settings which would use Googles DNS service. Personally I prefer OpenDNS due to its richer feature set.
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[…] solution found at: https://jpwhitehome.wordpress.com/2011/02/09/netflix-stalls-on-ipad-problem-resolved/ Tagged: dd-wrt, geek, google, ipad, netflix, opendns Filed under: Computer Fixes « […]
This was driving me crazy! Netflix streaming on my iPad suddenly stopped working a few days ago…. I never would have thought it was my recent DD-WRT upgrade!
Thanks! I too just upgraded routers and was befuddled by my inability to playback Netflix streaming on iOS devices! Rough timing too.. As I was assuming it was 4.3 iOS the culprit.. But alas, thanks to this post I am streaming again!
Thanks for the tip! I also recently moved to DD-WRT and on the same night downloaded iOS 4.3. I figured it was the update, but now I know it’s the router.
Thank You, happy to get this resolved!!
You are da man..it was driving me nuts for last couple of weeks now it is resolved didn’t realize this DNS Masq can do this kind of damage.
Thx for the tip !!! It worked by just disabling the option “No DNS Rebind” in the DNSMasq service. Save and apply changes. Pouf !! Works again with iPad 4.3.1
Fix worked perfect, was driving me nuts to find the problem and then I remember I just got a new router based on the same build. Made the DNS change and all was right, even faster.
Thank you
Thank you! This has plagued me for 6 months! Neither Netflix or Comcast could help.
I used to use Google DNS because I believed it was faster as well. I learned from other sources that Google DNS has a high error rate and is actually slower. There is a third-party program to test DNS speed that might make this process even faster. You might want to read this post and try the suggested program to test DNS performance. You might be surprised that Google DNS may not be the best choice for you.
http://chimac.net/2009/12/09/is-google-dns-servers-a-good-choice-for-your-computer/
Go under the iPad’s general setting, a d select ‘reset’ for the Netflix app – my problem only started this week right after a Netflix app update was downloaded, the reset bit worked for me.
Hope this helps.
Thanks a bunch, recent upgrade of routers caused this, you saved me countless hours of troubleshooting!
you are the fu&ckin Boss! thanks again! this was the fix…
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Thanks, i just got my ipad a few months ago and have never been able to enjoy netflix. Thumbs up.
This just totally fixed my choppy streaming issue on my ipad. Been suffering for months!!! Thanks!
can’t find place on ipad to change DNS – just bought it!!