When one of my friends asked me if he can play Netflix and YouTube on my Amazon echo show, I was also surprised. I hadn’t tried playing Netflix on Amazon echo show. Ever the detective, I decided it was time to learn more about Netflix and the Amazon echo show to see if I could help him solve his problem.
Can you watch Netflix on amazon echo show? Technically you cannot watch Netflix on Amazon echo show. Some people claim that there is a way but I’ve tried many different solutions and found it isn’t worth your time. Google Home devices also don’t support playing Netflix. Netflix has to enable the support to play on smart home devices. If you have a regular Echo show or Echo show 5, it is impossible to stream Netflix.
So why isn’t Netflix interested in the Echo show and how to watch Netflix on the Echo Show. We have investigated and we feel it is something that we should share with you.
I would love to have Netflix on the Amazon Echo Show, popcorn in my hands and a great show to enjoy my free time.
Why doesn’t the Amazon Echo show support Netflix streaming?
You can play Amazon Prime video content on all Echo show devices. Amazon recently added a Hulu app that works bigger on the Echo show. Not only Netflix but also Amazon has to take a step to solve the issue and to enable Netflix streaming on Echo devices. Neither of these companies are Interested to make this happen.
However, Netflix is so good on the web but not good on mobile and tablets. Have you ever watched Netflix on smartphones? It seems that Netflix is good at broadband services and the minimum speed Netflix needs to play smoothly is 10Mbps for video streaming.
We have a workaround that can play Netflix on the ‘Echo show 8’ and Echo show the 2nd generation. As we already said, it is highly impossible to play Netflix on other Echo devices. YouTube was also restricted from playing on the Echo show but more recently they have release an update that allows it.
Netflix would not allow you to watch on Google home hub either. There could be some reason from Netflix not to play on these smart displays.
Can you watch YouTube on the Echo show?
Yes, you can. You can watch YouTube on Amazon echo show and the way to do is simple. You have to just wake up the Alexa and can command to play YouTube on the Echo show’s screen.
If you say ‘Alexa, Play (Some random music) on YouTube’, it will open the video and play it on the screen. The only minor problem is, the screen space will be smaller. You have to enter into full-screen mode manually.
The thing which annoys me is when the next video starts playing, it will exit full screen and enter into the smaller screen again.
YouTube vs Google on Echo Show
As you know, you can play YouTube directly on your Alexa. But when it comes to Google, it’s something different. You have to open Google before you can use alexa commands to search.
Unlike YouTube, you cannot start the search engine from the home screen. If you do, it will show search results that are not from Google.
Netflix on Amazon Echo show
If the Amazon Echo Show can do a lot of things like a tablet and smartphone, then why can’t it play Netflix on the device?
Amazon Echo Show supports the Silk browser and Firefox. Silk is Amazon’s own browser. Once you Navigate to Netflix, the homepage will load like on normal, and then it will tell you to download the app. When you click on that, it will take you to the Play Store.
Google play store fails to detect the device and as a result, you cannot download the Netflix app and you cannot watch it on the tablet.
Even on the new Amazon Echo show 8, watching YouTube is painful and streaming Netflix is impossible.
If you have the Amazon show 8 and you try to load Netflix, you may be prompted to enter into portrait mode if you are lucky enough. The other Echo show devices don’t have portrait mode. Frankly, watching YouTube on the Echo show devices is an annoying experience and Netflix streaming in portrait mode is horrible.
You can choose a browser on the Echo show and can say ‘Alexa, open Silk’. Go to Netflix.com and if you’re lucky, you’ll be able to log in and use the website version of Netflix. If not, it will ask you to download the Netflix app from Google play store and the Echo show doesn’t support Google Play store.
If you type Netflix.com in the browser, it goes to the official site but it will ask you to enter into portrait mode to continue. most of the Echo show devices don’t support Portrait mode, so you have to exit the site and cannot stream the shows you want to watch.
A lot of Netflix fans say that it’s Amazon who doesn’t want to play other video streaming platforms other than Amazon prime video.
How to stream Netflix on Echo show
Here is how you can watch Netflix on the Echo show. This isn’t tested on all Amazon echo show devices. This also only works sometimes, so if you’re lucky enough this trick may work for you.
Go to settings on the Echo show ad click on Legal compliance. You can find this option at the bottom of your settings page. Under Legal and compliance, navigate to Amazon privacy notice. After clicking on ‘Your Account’, it will redirect you to the Amazon store where you then enter Google in the Amazon search box.
Search for Google and look for the product by search.google.com and open it. Now scroll down and click on the Privacy policy link where you have to click on YouTube Icon from the My account section. This is the same method to use Netflix as well.
However, this method might violate Amazon’s official policies so we do not recommend it. If Netflix and Amazon agreed to stream Netflix shows on the Echo show then it would be a better option for everyone.
All these methods are pretty confusing and users may be disappointed if they they fail to work which is highly likely. As we said already, it all depends on your luck to stream Netflix on the Echo show.
Here is a video from YouTube that might help you with streaming YouTube and Netflix on Amazon Echo show:
Is this a Hack?
This isn’t a hack or breach. It is just a way of taking advantage of personal settings. If you are worried about security and privacy issues, make sure you read everything on legal compliance before doing anything in this guide. This method won’t work on all Echo show devices, only those that supports portrait mode.
Can you use Bluetooth for Audio and PC for Netflix video?
Yes, You can play Netflix on your computer and can listen to audio from a speaker. You just have to connect Echo with your PC. Connect your Echo with PC using Bluetooth and it will work.
The Echo Show Alternatives
If you are a Netflix lover and want to integrate it with an Amazon device, then you should check out the Amazon Fire tablet that can play Netflix. If not, you will need to switch platforms. On the Echo Show, Hulu (added recently), and Prime video are the best options.
We do not know why Netflix isn’t streaming on Amazon Echo shows but watching Netflix with family or friends is a great experience that people don’t want to miss.
Regardless of this limitation we do recommend the Amazon Echo show as a product. It is like a Limited tablet with a great viewing experience that plays music and prime videos. Even though it doesn’t support Netflix, you can expect to stream Netflix in the Echo show in the future.
