Is your Amazon Prime Video stuck on a black screen?
You’ve come to the right place! Prime Video is one of the best streaming services out there, but its performance issues can be really frustrating, especially when you’re paying a monthly subscription.
If Prime Video is stuck on a black screen, chances are you have a bad Internet connection, you’re connected to a VPN, your HDMI cable is damaged, or the app needs to be updated.
Luckily, in this article, you’ll find numerous fixes for every device to get rid of this problem.
The 8 fixes to get rid of a black screen on Prime Video are:
Read on to forget all about this issue!
If you’re using an HDMI cable to connect your device (phone, tablet, computer, game console, etc.) to your TV, you might want to check if it’s damaged.
A cable that’s not properly connected or damaged can cause a black screen while trying to stream your favorite Prime Video shows.
Don’t worry, though. You can easily check if that’s the issue by unplugging your device’s cables and plugging in them again. I also recommend using another HDMI cable to see if the problem goes away.
If it persists, don’t worry! Keep reading to learn more about other ways to get rid of Prime Video’s black screen.
The next thing you might want to try is checking your Internet connection.
If your Wi-Fi signal is weak, you may experience different issues while trying to watch your favorite movie or TV show.
Luckily, you can easily check if your Internet connection is to blame by entering www.speedtest.net and pressing “Go”.
If the results show that your Internet connection is running slow, try restarting your modem and router. To do it:
Once you’ve done that, launch Prime Video again to see if it’s still stuck on a black screen.
If the issue persists, please make sure your Internet plan is fast enough to meet the demand of your devices.
You see, the more devices and streaming services you have, the faster your Internet plan will have to be.
But, how can you tell if your Internet plan is fast enough? Simple!
I always like to tell our readers to multiply the number of people living in their home by 25 Mbps. This way, if you have a family of four, you’ll need an Internet plan of at least 100 Mbps.
Tip: If your Internet plan is not fast enough, try giving your provider a quick call to learn more about other plans.
If you’re using a browser to stream Prime Video, you might want to keep reading!
If you’re like me, you probably like using browser extensions to enjoy new features and functions.
Although these are great, they can interfere with some websites and cause performance issues, like a black screen.
You can easily check if your browser extensions are to blame by disabling them and launching Prime Video again.
Follow these quick steps to disable a browser extension:
Google Chrome:
Microsoft Edge:
Safari:
Mozilla Firefox:
Once you’ve disabled your browser extensions, try launching Prime Video again to see if the issue was solved.
Tip: make sure your browser is compatible with Prime Video.
Streaming platforms put a lot of effort into blocking VPNs because of their licensing agreements.
Amazon Prime Video has to negotiate licensing and distribution terms to offer certain titles on its platform. So, if you’re living in Spain, but are watching a TV show that is only offered in Canada, the platform might have legal issues.
If you’re using a VPN, Prime Video may be restricting some features in your account, which can lead to experiencing performance issues while trying to stream a movie or TV show.
Try disabling your VPN to see if the black screen goes away. Follow these quick steps to do it:
iPhone and iPad:
Android:
Please note that this process may vary depending on your device’s model.
Windows PC:
Mac:
Fire TV:
Prime Video often releases new updates to fix bugs, glitches, coding errors, or other elements that may be causing performance problems, such as a black screen, flickering, login issues, etc.
Normally, apps will be automatically updated on your device; however, this process can be interrupted by network issues, crashed background processes, or other unexpected circumstances.
Don’t worry, though! You can manually update Prime Video, you’ll just need to:
For iPhone and iPad:
Android:
Amazon Fire TV:
LG Smart TV:
Xbox One:
Tip: If you’re using another device, go to Google and search for “How to manually update apps on <Your Device’s Name Goes Here>”.
If your Prime Video is still stuck on a black screen, your cache might be to blame!
If you’re wondering what “cache” means, keep reading!
The easiest way to understand your app’s cache is to think of it as a memory scrapbook. This is where temporary data is stored, such as videos, login credentials, fonts, and much more.
Your cache eliminates the need to re-download this information every time you relaunch an app. This can reduce loading times and improve your streaming experience.
But, if there’s a problem with a file stored in your cache, Prime Video may be stuck on a black screen, glitch, and display data incorrectly. This is why I recommend clearing your cache every once in a while.
Follow this quick guide to clear Prime Video’s cached data:
For Android devices:
Google Chrome:
Safari:
Fire TV:
Tip: If you can’t find the “Clear Cache” option on your device, I recommend reinstalling the app. Please read fix #7 to do it.
Hundreds of users have found that reinstalling the app solved the annoying black screen, so if none of the fixes above did the trick, this just might!
Please note that reinstalling an app is another way to clear cached data.
Follow these simple instructions to do it:
Android:
iPhone and iPad:
For Windows PC:
Fire TV:
LG Smart TV:
Once you’ve completed the steps above, try launching Prime Video again to see if the issue went away.
If your device is not running on its latest software version, you won’t be able to enjoy all of Prime Video’s features and you may experience numerous technical issues, like a black screen.
Normally, software updates are automatically installed on your device. However, if you have network issues, this process will be impossible.
Don’t worry, though! Follow these simple steps to manually update your device:
Android:
Please note that the process of updating the software will vary depending on your device’s model. But most devices can be updated in this way:
iPhone and iPad:
Windows PC:
Fire TV:
LG Smart TV:
If none of the solutions above have worked, it’s time for us to check Prime Video’s servers.
Although it’s unusual, the platform’s servers may be down due to coding errors, overload of traffic, and even minor hacking.
These situations can lead to performance issues such as a black or green screen, flickering, buffering, etc.
To check if Prime Video’s servers are to blame, you’ll just need to:
If the platform’s servers are down, its IT department is the only one who can solve this.
Don’t worry, though! Server downtime hardly ever lasts long.
Not being able to binge-watch your favorite TV show after a long day because Prime Video is stuck on a black screen can be really frustrating, especially when you’re paying a monthly subscription!
Hopefully, with the help of this article, you’ll be able to get rid of this annoying issue in no time.
More often than not, simple actions like checking your cable connections, updating Prime Video and your device, disabling your browser extensions, and clearing the app’s cache, can solve the issue.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this article. If you found it helpful, please make sure to check our other related content below.
Here at Tech Detective, we’re passionate about bringing quick and easy solutions to everyday problems.
Enjoy your movie!