Netflix only won't connect via Netgear RAX20

Forums › LAN (ethernet/Wifi/routers/Bluetooth) › Netflix only won't connect via Netgear RAX20

BenTM

22 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 7

#295628 11-Apr-2022 09:33

Good morning all,

I have spent approximately 8 hours in the last three days on this problem and cannot for the life of me figure it out.

My Netgear RAX20 will no longer allow connection to Netflix. Just Netflix. Everything else can stream at max speeds, no issues. Netflix works fine on the ISP provided NetComm router but the wifi range on it is terrible – which is why I use the RAX20.

Is there a setting somewhere that could be blocking Netflix for some reason?

Any advice or help would be fantastic.

This is my first post, so let me know what other info you might need and apologies if there are any community norms I'm not adhering to!

prat33k

182 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 31

#2899764 11-Apr-2022 11:16

Not sure helpful or not but can you actually get to Fast.com and do a speedtest?

For what I have read, they do the speedtest on the CDN caching servers where they offload the video stream to you. If it is maybe something with dns, we'll probably know something? Also maybe can you do a traceroute to Netflix when connected to Netgear router?

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
80646 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 41030

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#2899768 11-Apr-2022 11:21

And what's the ISP?

Referral links: Quic Broadband (free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE) | Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies

Support Geekzone by subscribing (browse ads-free), or making a one-off or recurring donation through PressPatron.

BenTM

22 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 7

#2899779 11-Apr-2022 11:40

As is always the case, it was in the settings. Hours of my life lost and I finally found buried in the menus the Timezone settings – and it was set incorrectly. After changing it to NZT and waiting for a while, it appears to have solved the problem.

Either that, or the router saw me posting on forums for help and decided to fix the problem just to mess with me.

Thank you for the help.

raytaylor

4076 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1296

Trusted

#2899854 11-Apr-2022 14:45

Did you change the router timezone or the TV timezone?

I wonder if the router is running some sort of NTP relay or issuing the wrong NTP info to the TV via DHCP causing the https to break.

Ray Taylor

There is no place like localhost

Spreadsheet for Comparing Electricity Plans Here

BenTM

22 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 7

#2899898 11-Apr-2022 15:49

raytaylor:

Did you change the router timezone or the TV timezone?

I wonder if the router is running some sort of NTP relay or issuing the wrong NTP info to the TV via DHCP causing the https to break.

The router's time zone. It was an absolute nightmare of troubleshooting to narrow it down, let me tell you.

I noticed it after I installed a new TV, but it impacted every wirelessly connected device. I tried bridge mode-ing the modem, factory resetting the router, updating all the firmware. So many hours. My PC was plugged in via ethernet to the modem. When I moved the ethernet cable to the router it blocked Netflix again. That was when I knew it had to be something in the settings on the RAX20.

All of the forums and troubleshooting just gave the same tired 'turn it off and on again' nonsense that the phone reps for Netflix gave me. Netgear wanted to charge me $130 for a year-long services contract to even talk about the problem, the crooks.

A complete guess, but it may be something to do with Netflix's anti-VPN efforts that caused the breakdown.

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
80646 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 41030

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#2899902 11-Apr-2022 15:52

The problem here is that if the router was forcing a time sync then it should affect all SSL connections, not only Netflix. They all need accurate date/time and timezone.

Referral links: Quic Broadband (free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE) | Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies

Support Geekzone by subscribing (browse ads-free), or making a one-off or recurring donation through PressPatron.

Apple TV

Stream your favourite shows now on Apple TV (affiliate link).

BenTM

22 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 7

#2899917 11-Apr-2022 16:09

freitasm:

The problem here is that if the router was forcing a time sync then it should affect all SSL connections, not only Netflix. They all need accurate date/time and timezone.

Yeah but it only impacted Netflix. Even other streaming services were fine. It is certainly one of the wilder home networking issues I've ever had, I will say that.