Downloads Not Working In Disney Plus? Fix It In 8 Steps

Researched & Written by
Couple stuck with Disney Plus issue on TV

Are you stuck trying to figure out why downloads are not working in Disney Plus?

You’re not alone! You would not believe how many people go through this situation every day and are left nothing short of confused.

I can only imagine how frustrated you must be. After all, offline downloads are one of the features you should be getting for your money.

But don’t worry, you’ve come to the right place. I’m here to help you figure things out.

Below, you’ll find a list of 8 simple steps you can follow to get things back to normal. I’m sure one of them will do the trick.

These are:

  1. Clear some storage space
  2. Clear cache & cookies
  3. Update your app
  4. Update your system
  5. Check your payment method
  6. Check the platform’s servers
  7. Check your connection
  8. Disable your VPN

Read on to leave this nightmare behind!

#1 Clear Some Storage Space

Let’s start off with the basics.

There’s a very good chance that the reason why downloads are not working in Disney Plus is that you don’t have enough available storage space on your devices.

A common misconception is that you can fill up your gadgets’ memory without facing any consequences.

But, as it turns out, this can be problematic for many reasons.

Not only are you likely to experience poor device performance from this, but also your Disney Plus downloads won’t have anywhere to be stored.

Solution: To clear your device’s storage, there are 2 ways you can go about it. You can either indiscriminately delete any apps you no longer use, or you can check how much space each one takes up and make an informed decision.

Let’s start with the first option:

  1. Locate an unwanted apps
Youtube App Remove Process

For Android devices:

  1. Go to Play Store

Assuming you want to be a little more conscious about what you’re deleting. Here’s what to do:

  1. Identify the apps you no longer want
Steps To IOS operative system
Whatsapp Delete Process

Unless your devices are completely saturated, getting rid of 2-3 apps should do the trick.

#2 Clear Cache & Cookies

If you have no idea what these are, that’s perfectly fine. A lot of people are not familiar with them.

But now that you’re here, I’d love to shed some light on the concepts. Let’s start with the cache.

This is where your favorite apps store important information. In it, you’re likely to find audio, video, preset configurations, 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 tools used to make your browsing more efficient and increase the accuracy of targeted ads.

The latter are much more likely to be found on computers.

They’re the reason why you’re suddenly bombarded on social media with ads for convection ovens right after looking up the recipe for the perfect Strawberry Shortcake.

In most cases, leaving them both untouched will do more good than harm. However, sometimes this could also be the reason why downloads are not working in Disney Plus.

In that scenario, your best bet will be to clear them.

Solution: You should be able to delete your cookies and clear your cache in any major browser and operating system out there. For this example, I’ll use Google Chrome and an Android OS.

On Google Chrome:

  1. Open the browser
Google Chrome More Tools Access Keys
Clean Browse Data Tool

On Android devices:

  1. On your device, go to “Settings”

#3 Update Your App

You might think that keeping your favorite apps outdated is not a big deal. And while it won’t bring the end of days upon us, it can certainly be the source of several technical difficulties down the line.

With every new release, app developers try to keep as much backward compatibility as they can, but it’s not always possible. Using an older version of the platform’s software on a fully updated streaming device could explain why downloads are not working in Disney Plus.

Now, automatic updating should make this no concern of yours. However, sometimes network interruptions, background process crashes, or even strict device privacy settings could get in the way and leave the pending downloads stuck in Limbo.

In this scenario, you’ll have to interfere.

Solution: There are hundreds of streaming devices out there, so if I were to guide you through the process of updating Disney Plus within each one, we’d be here for hours.

And while I don’t mind it, I’m sure you’ve got a very busy day!

Instead, I’d advise going to Google and searching for “How to update apps on <Your Device’s Name Goes Here>”. You should be able to find several resources with useful instructions for your specific case.

That being said, since I don’t want you to leave this section empty-handed, here’s how to do this on iOS and Android systems.

For iOS devices:

  1. Open “App Store”
Cellphone Updating First Step
Cellphone Example Step two Update

For Android devices:

  1. Go to Play Store and click on your profile, located in the upper-right corner of your screen

#4 Update Your System

While keeping your apps updated will greatly improve your situation, what will truly drive this whole thing home will be to also keep your streaming systems in the same condition.

Not unlike with the app, this should be done automatically, but if it isn’t, you’ll have to go in and take care of things manually again.

Solution: As I said before, with so many options out there, the best way to make the most out of your time will be to Google search for “How to update my <Your Device’s Make And Model Go Here>”.

Here’s how to update an Amazon Fire Stick to give you a general idea of the process:

  1. Go to your “Home Screen”

#5 Check Your Payment Method

If, like several other people, you don’t feel safe keeping your Credit & Debit cards on a streaming platform’s record, this could be why downloads are not working in Disney Plus.

Let me elaborate.

Just like every other streaming platform out there, Disney Plus has specified billing cycles and times during the day. If you usually pay with redeemable gift cards, there’s a good chance you’ve made your payment after the day’s billing time.

This often results in service interruptions, as well as unavailable features.

And while everything should be back to normal the day after you redeemed your card, an incident like this might trick you into thinking your downloads are simply not working.

Moreover, this can also be a problem if your payment method is close to the plastic’s expiry date, as the platform might stop charging it altogether.

Solution: I know how having your banking information online can be intimidating, but relax! Disney Plus is one of the safest platforms out there.

By keeping a Credit or Debit card on record, you’ll be gaining more than you’ll be losing.

#6 Check the Platform’s Servers

As you probably know, servers are responsible for storing important information and providing millions of Disney Plus subscribers with the service they expect for the price they pay month after month.

Given how crucial they are to their everyday operations, streaming companies 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 bad hard drive, a coding bug, or even minor hacking can greatly impact the platform’s performance and affect its features.

The most obvious signs of these events are login difficulties, subscription verification issues, slow loading times, out-of-sync audio/video/subtitles, and… you guessed it; downloads not working.

Solution: A lot of people don’t know this, but you can check the real-time status of your favorite platforms’ servers in a matter of seconds.

Don’t believe me? Try this!

  1. Open Google, and type “Is Disney Plus Down?”, then hit Enter to search your query
Searching Disney Plus Down On Google
Google Search Results Of Disney Plus Down
Example Of Downdetector Spikes With Disney Plus

The taller the spikes, the more likely you are to be experiencing issues

If you see the equivalent of Mount Everest forming in the graph above, it’s an almost absolute certainty that the platform’s currently having trouble.

I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it, though. The people over at Disney Plus are highly capable, and to my knowledge, there’s never been an instance where the service wasn’t fully restored within a day.

#7 Check Your Connection

Granted, Internet service drops have decreased dramatically over the last few years, but they still happen now and then.

A fact I’m sure you’re already aware of.

The tricky part about diagnosing a bad connection is that sometimes you might not be completely cut off from the Internet when you have one. In some cases, you might still be able to do some light browsing or chatting while also having downloads not working in Disney Plus.

Why? Because each activity has different requirements.

Texting your friends and family about your day will never be 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: I normally recommend our readers to have a plan that’s at least 5-6 faster than their minimum platform’s requirements. For example, if you want to seamlessly stream Disney Plus in 4K, you’ll need to have a connection that offers at least 150 Mbps.

If you live alone, you might be able to get away with something significantly slower. But if you share your home network with several people, you might even need to go higher.

Provided that your current plan is already fast enough for your needs, you might want to try giving your provider a call and asking if they’re having coverage issues in your area.

If they tell you everything’s fine on their side of the fence, you could try resetting your modem and see what happens.

Never done it before or can’t remember how to do it? Fret not! It’s really simple:

  1. Without unplugging the modem, turn it around, so you can see the back of the unit

#8 Disable Your VPN

Finally, let’s talk about your VPN.

I think we can both agree on the fact that these virtual private networks are great at providing us with secure browsing and opening up a world of possibilities.

… which makes it a crying shame that streaming companies hate them.

Believe it or not, several of them, like Disney Plus, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, 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 their actions,  I can understand them.

You see, a lot of the content available 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.

If you absolutely must use a VPN while streaming, I would advise paying for a premium subscription from a provider 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 unavailable features and slow platform performance.

Solution: The best way to tell whether your current VPN provider’s to blame for this situation is by disabling it and streaming without it for a couple of days.

If your downloads start working again in Disney Plus, there’s your answer.

Conclusion

Having downloads not working in Disney Plus can quickly become annoying, especially if you just got on a plane or left your home.

I can think of very few things that are as frustrating as being excited for a streaming session, only to be greeted by endless buffering while offline.

What a disaster!

Luckily, as I hope you have learned in this piece, addressing most of the causes behind this inconvenience is fairly simple and rarely ever time-consuming.

In most cases, simple actions, like using the right VPN, and keeping a Credit or Debit card on the platform’s record, 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 weekly. Make sure to check out all our other incredible resources below to become a Tech Detective yourself!