Are you bending over backwards trying to figure out why Disney Plus is stuck on “Who’s Watching”?
Get in line! You would not believe how many people encounter this same issue daily and are left scratching their heads.
I can only imagine how frustrating this must be for you. After all, the least you’d expect for the money you pay every month is to be able to enjoy your favorite content seamlessly.
But don’t worry, you’ve come to the right place for answers. I’m here to help you figure everything out.
Below, you’ll find a list of 7 simple fixes you can try to get things back to normal as soon as possible. I’m sure one of them will hit the nail on the head.
These are:
Read on to discover how to leave this inconvenience in the past!
First, I want us to make sure that there’s nothing wrong with the platform’s servers.
As you may know, these are responsible for storing important information and providing millions of Disney Plus subscribers with the service they expect for the price they pay.
Given how crucial they are to the company’s everyday operations, the people in charge of designing them have put a lot of elbow grease into making them as resistant as possible.
And while I’m not saying that you should expect server failure every 10 minutes, I’d be lying if I told you that they’ve managed to make them failproof.
In fact, things that seem unimportant, such as a coding bug, a bad hard drive, or even minor hacking, can greatly impact the platform’s performance and affect its features greatly.
The telltale signs of these events are subscription verification issues, slow loading times, login difficulties, out-of-sync audio/video/subtitles, and… you guessed it; being stuck on the “Who’s Watching?” screen.
Solution: To either rule out or confirm this as a possible culprit, we need to check the real-time status of the platform’s servers.
Luckily, doing this is extremely simple, and should only take a couple of seconds. Here’s what you need to do:
The taller the spikes, the more likely you are to be experiencing issues
Unfortunately, if the platform’s servers are, in fact, down, your hands are pretty much tied.
That being said, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. The people in charge of the IT department over at Disney Plus are highly efficient, and to my knowledge, there’s never been an instance where the service wasn’t fully restored within a day or so.
Next, I want us to check the quality of your connection.
Granted, Internet service drops have decreased dramatically over the last decade, but we’re still to see the day when they no longer happen.
The tricky part about diagnosing a bad connection is that sometimes, even when you have one, you won’t be completely cut off from the Internet. In some cases, you might still be able to do some light browsing or chatting while also having Disney Plus be stuck on the “Who’s Watching?” screen.
And there’s a very good reason for that.
You see, texting your friends and family about your day is not as network-demanding as streaming your favorite content online.
As a general rule, Disney Plus needs a minimum Internet speed of 5 Mbps to stream in Full HD resolution (1080p) and a whopping 25 Mbps for 4K (2160p).
Solution: For larger families, I normally recommend having a plan that’s at least 5-6 times faster than your favorite platform’s minimum requirements. For example, if you want to seamlessly stream Disney Plus in 4K, you’ll need a connection with a minimum speed of 125-150 Mbps.
If you live alone, you might be able to get away with something slower.
Assuming that your current plan is already fast enough to meet your needs, try giving your provider a call and ask them if they’re having coverage issues in your area. If they tell you everything’s fine on their end, you should try resetting your modem and see if that works.
Provided that you’ve never done it before, there’s nothing to worry about! It’s all really simple:
Sometimes the simplest answer is the right one.
Believe it or not, there’s a very good chance that all you need to do stop being stuck on the “Who’s Watching?” screen is close and relaunch the app (or close and relaunch your browser if you’re on a PC).
Why is this necessary? Great question!
You see, whenever we use our favorite apps, there are thousands of background processes being run simultaneously. Most of the time, they work normally and provide us with the functions we value on them.
However, on certain occasions, a corrupted file or a bug can start acting up and affect a platform’s features.
By closing and relaunching Disney Plus, you’re giving the software a chance to delete said bugs or corrupted files, restarting them from scratch. And the best part is that this fix works for about 90% of technical difficulties out there, so don’t be afraid to try it out!
If you have absolutely no idea what these are, that’s perfectly fine. Most people don’t. But now that you’re here, I’d love to shed some light on the concepts, starting with the cache.
This is where your favorite apps store important information.
In it, you’re likely to find audio, video, preset configurations, user preferences, and sometimes even login credentials. By keeping this data handy, Disney Plus can load much quicker on startup and provide you with an enjoyable experience.
Cookies, on the other hand, are developer tools used to make your browsing more efficient and increase the accuracy of targeted ads.
They’re basically the reason why you’re suddenly bombarded on social media with ads for cupcake molds right after looking up the recipe for the perfect Strawberry Shortcake.
And while most of the time leaving them both untouched will do more good than harm, sometimes it could also be the reason why Disney Plus is stuck on the “Who’s Watching?” screen.
In that scenario, you’ll have to clear them.
Solution: You should be able to easily delete your cookies and cache in every major browser and operating system out there. For this example, I’ll use Google Chrome and an Android OS.
On Google Chrome:
On Android devices:
This is completely optional, but you might want to write these steps down, as knowing how frequently clear your cache and cookies is a good practice that will save you a lot of headaches down the line.
I know how keeping your favorite apps outdated might not sound like a big deal. And sure, it’s not a federal crime, but it can certainly be the source of several technical difficulties as time passes.
With every new release, app developers try to keep as much backward compatibility as they can, but it’s not always entirely possible. Using an older version of the platform’s software on a fully updated streaming system could explain why Disney Plus is stuck on the “Who’s Watching?” screen.
Now, normally automatic updating should make this no concern of yours. However, sometimes network interruptions, background process crashes, or even strict device privacy settings can get in the way and leave the pending downloads stuck in Limbo.
In that scenario, you’ll have to manually install the latest software version of the app.
Solution: If I were to walk you through the process of updating Disney Plus within every streaming device compatible out there, we’d be here all day.
And while I don’t mind it, I’m sure you’ve got a lot on your plate already!
Instead, I’d advise going to Google and searching for “How to update apps on <Your Device’s Name Goes Here>”. You should find several resources online with detailed instructions for your specific case.
That being said, since I don’t want you to leave this section empty-handed, here’s how you can do it on iOS and Android devices, as well as on Roku.
For iOS devices:
For Android devices:
You may be prompted with a notification asking for your permission to proceed with the updates. If so, simply accept and sit tight.
While keeping your Disney Plus app fully updated will greatly improve your situation, what will truly drive this whole thing home will be to also keep your streaming system in the same condition.
Not unlike with the app, this should normally be done automatically, but if it isn’t, you’ll have to interfere once again.
Solution: As I said before, I want us to make the most out of your time. So please go to Google and search for “How to update my <Your Device’s Make And Model Go Here>” and follow the instructions you find.
Here’s how you can manually update your Roku to paint you a picture of the process:
Last but certainly not least, let’s talk about your VPN.
If you have no idea what this is, you’re probably in the clear, so relax! But if like me, you love private, secure browsing, read on, as this definitely concerns you.
I think we can both agree on the fact that these virtual private networks are great at providing us with a world of opportunities to explore.
…which makes it a crying shame that streaming companies don’t share the thought.
In fact, several of them, like Disney Plus, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, HBO Max, and many more, have been outspoken about their dislike for these, even getting to the point of blocking subscribers who use them.
And while I don’t applaud these actions, I understand them.
You see, a lot of the content on these platforms is only licensed to be streamed in certain countries and regions. Since VPNs allow people from outside these areas of the world to access said content, streaming companies have to either take action or face dire legal consequences with their partners.
If you absolutely must use a VPN while streaming, I’d recommend paying for a premium subscription from a company that offers obfuscated servers.
These will make it much harder for Disney Plus to detect your VPN traffic, thus decreasing your chances of being blocked or targeted with reduced performance.
Moreover, this should also hopefully result in you no longer being stuck on the “Who’s Watching?” screen.
Solution: The best way to tell whether your current VPN provider is to blame for this situation is by disabling it and streaming without it for a couple of days.
If you no longer encounter any issues, there’s your answer
Having Disney Plus stuck on the “Who’s Watching?” screen can be a modern-day nightmare. Especially considering that you’re paying for a monthly subscription you’re definitely not getting the most out of.
What a mess!
Luckily, as I hope you’ve learned in this piece, addressing most of the causes behind this inconvenience is fairly simple and rarely ever time-consuming. More often than not, simple actions, like using the right VPN, and making sure that your Internet connection is not failing, should do the trick.
Thank you so much for sticking with me all the way to the end. If you found this article helpful, you’ll be glad to know that we upload new content every week. Please be sure to check out all our other incredible resources below to become a Tech Detective yourself!
I wish you nothing but the best.
Detective Anderson is a grizzled veteran of policing the internet’s cyber-streets. After decades of experience busting illegal floppy disk rings and underground dial-up connections, Anderson has now been placed in charge of the more modern Tech Detective team.
