Netflix app becomes slow on Apple TV

I started to have same issues just about the same time. This weekend I connected my Apple TV 4K to a guest network where it is the only device (using router rt-ac87u). Suddenly I’m not having any issues.

I have the exact same issue. Netflix is really really slow on our Apple TV. Sometimes it's better than others, but quite often we'll just turn off Netflix and watch Hulu or Prime instead. We've been having this issue for 4 or 5 months now. Once a show or movie is playing it's fine for us. Our issue is slow response when browsing for something to watch. Not a great experience.

Yes. Since updating to TVOS 13, I have had major issues with the performance of the Netflix app - but only on my 4K Apple TV and only that has caused me an issue, the rest of the device works fine and it’s all I really use it for!

Netflix has been unbearably slow on my Apple TV since this summer. Lately it’s gotten worse. The app barely functions. I have to restart my device 2-3 times now before each watching session or it won’t scroll, show episodes, or play content.

I've had exactly this same problem with Netflix through Apple TV. Off and on for months since this past summer. It's particularly bad at the moment. When I called Netflix, they had me delete, then re-install the Netflix app. That seemed to help for a couple of days, but the slow-as-molasses interface returned today. It could be fine later tonight, or not. Other apps (Hulu, HBO) are fine. Just now I was cueing up a show on Netflix and the Netflix red circle of death started spinning. I waited a minute, nothing. Came back 5 minutes later and show had loaded. What a mess!

I wonder if the issue most of us are dealing with - slow response time when navigating Netflix menus - has to do with their fancy menu design. Anytime you hover over a thumbnail in Netflix the preview video automatically starts playing. Hulu and Prime just display a static image. Loading up all the preview videos in Netflix has got to be a heavy load on the servers or on our Apple TVs.

AaronSF, for sure the complex UI is not an help, and the issue existed, due to this, also in previous release.

But now I happen very earlier and after more time also in Prime.

There is something in the OS code the has a bad management of connections and/or pictures (and moreover the entire system is far slower)

Hmmm. So part of it might be Netflix's interface with the videos going all the time (a really annoying interface, BTW), or now a suggestion that there's something (missing?) in Apple TV's OS that can't handle Netflix code. Somebody's got to get their act together. Does Apple actually pay attention to comments on this forum? Apple and Netflix should be working on this problem together instead of tossing the ball back and forth.

What they both like to do is divert the blame onto internet speed, which is really annoying. My Comcast/Xfinity connection running through a UniFi router and UniFi AP signal extender provides more than enough speed.

At any rate, Netflix loads fine through the Netflix app built into my TV (Vizio P65-E1), but it's a clunky UI and I much prefer the Apple Box's UI. But I guess that's what I'll be using until this is resolved.

This slowdown in the Netflix app didn't always exist; it used to be fine. So it's either Netflix's more complicated new UI with all the moving images, or something amiss with the Apple Box's OS...or both. Ugh.

Just wanted to chime in with the same problem. For the last few weeks, the Netflix UI on my Apple TV (4th gen) is so painfully slow to navigate that it is barely usable. Restarting the device buys me maybe a few minutes of reasonable scrolling before it starts to crawl again. I've been happily using Netflix on this device for years without problem, but lately... ugh. Not sure if it's the new OS or an update from Netflix, but it sounds like this is a common enough problem that Netflix should be able to reproduce it and either fix it, or follow up with Apple.

I have been experiencing the same on an earlier generation Apple TV. There must have been an app update or something that made the Netflix go wonky. It's struggling to get scrolling and the show thumbnails take extra long to show up. If they don't fix it would definitely have to consider cancelling.

Reposting here:

Like any browser with too many tabs open, Apple TV uses memory keeping unused apps open. Netflix is affected more than others for some reason. The solution that works for me is to close all apps you currently are not watching. On your Apple remote, double click on the Home button (looks like a TV) and you will see all of the open apps displayed (similar to an iPad). Swipe left/right to select the apps, then swipe up to close the app. Netflix should run normally.

Thanks for this suggestion. I wasn't aware that the Apple TV box was keeping apps open like my iPhone does and that I could close apps using the Apple TV remote. What you say makes sense. I'll give it a try and see if Netflix behaves better.

Slow Netflix on Apple TV - fixed.

My Netflix took over 1 minute to start playing a selected item. My "My List" had 4 rows of items in it. After removing all but 5 from the list, the "play" response went down to a few seconds. On 18 Nov 2019, I notified Netflix of the problem and the fix at my end, so they should fix it at their end now instead of blaming Apple TV.

Following some of the suggestions on this thread. I closed all apps on my Apple TV, and removed everything from my Netflix Watchlist. Took a long time to delete everything from my Watchlist. Now I will say Netflix does seem to be operating normally even 1 day later. I'll continue to monitor and let everyone know the status in a few days.