From personal experience, Netflix is a lot more stable (and reliable) on mobile devices, TVs, game consoles, and streaming devices. Using Netflix on a computer — through an app or web browser — is a whole different ball game. Usually, random and occasional error messages ruin the web streaming experience.
The Netflix error has many variations, each with a unique code, cause, and solution. When you get an error message while watching content on Netflix, your video streaming service provider is letting you know that something is wrong somewhere. Perhaps with your internet connection, your Netflix account, your subscription status, etc.
In this article, we will show you seven ways to fix Netflix error code F7701-1003. But first, a brief explanation of what the error means and its causes.
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The cause of the Netflix error F7701-1003
In the case of Netflix error F7701-1003, it is an indication of a problem with your browser’s Widevine Content Decoding Module (CDM).
Widevince CDM is a browser component that allows you to play copyrighted content protected by a Digital rights management (DRM) system. Movies and shows you watch on Netflix are DRM protected. Therefore, if Netflix is having trouble communicating with your browser’s Widevince decoder module, error code F7701-1003 will pop up.
Essentially, Netflix wants to make sure you can’t copy or reproduce the content you’re watching through your browser. Move on to the next section to learn how to get rid of this error.
How to fix Netflix error code f7701-100
From our investigations, we’ve discovered that error code f7701-1003 is unique to Netflix users who stream content through Mozilla Firefox — both on Windows and Mac computers. We hardly found any Chrome or Microsoft Edge users experiencing this issue.
The solutions below are applicable to both Windows and Mac users.
1. Refresh Netflix tab
If you haven’t refreshed the Netflix tab yet, you should. Click the refresh button next to the address bar or just press F5 on your keyboard. Proceed to the next solution if Netflix continues to show the error code despite refreshing multiple tabs.
2. Force Quit Firefox
You may experience this problem if Firefox is temporarily unstable or malfunctioning. Force stopping the browser and restarting the browser can help fix the problem. Before doing so, however, make sure that you save any work-in-progress that you have open in other tabs so you don’t lose anything important.
To force quit Firefox on Windows, launch Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc), right click Firefoxand click End of quest. Restart Firefox and check if you can watch Netflix without error.
On Mac, open Firefox and use Shift + Option + Command + Escape shortcut to force quit browser immediately. Relaunch Firefox and check if you have error-free Netflix access.
3. Enable Firefox Cookies
To watch content on Netflix via a web browser, you need to enable cookies. Netflix uses cookies to store information needed to stream content on your browser. This is not limited to Firefox, but also other supported browsers — Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Opera, and Safari.
If the Netflix error F7701-1003 persists, check to see if Firefox is blocking cookies from websites (especially Netflix’s).
Open Firefox’s menu and go to Option (for Windows) or Interests (for Mac) > Privacy & Security. Under ‘Advanced Tracking Protection’, select Tradition.
Unchecked Cookies and click Reload all tabs button.
Go back to the Netflix tab and check if you can now stream the movie.
4. Close or disable private browsing
We mentioned earlier that Netflix requires cookies to provide you with a smooth streaming experience. You may not be able to view the content if you are accessing Netflix on Firefox through the Private or Incognito window. This is because Firefox deletes cookies in incognito mode.
If there is a purple mask in the upper right corner of Firefox, you’re accessing Netflix through a private window.
Just close Firefox and reopen it normally. That will fix the problem.
5. Turn Digital Rights Management (DRM) back on in Firefox
Although Firefox supports the Digital Rights Management (DRM) content protection standard, you may encounter error F7701-1003 on Netflix if the feature is disabled. Open Firefox, click hamburger menu iconand choose Interests (for Mac) or Option (for windows).
Scroll through Shared section and make sure that ‘Play DRM-controlled content‘ is checked. You can uncheck the option and tick it again.
Reopen or reload the Netflix tab and check if you can now watch the content without interruption.
6. Update Firefox’s Widevine Content Decryption Module
In addition to the above, you should also make sure Firefox’s content protection module is up to date. Here’s how to do it on a Windows PC:
- Launch Firefox and go to the Plugins page using Command + Shift + A keyboard shortcut (for Mac) or Control + Shift + A (for windows).
Alternatively, click the menu icon and select Add-ons.
- Go to Plugins section and click The Widevine Content Decoding Module is provided by Google Inc.
- Click gear icon in the upper right corner and select Check for updates.
Firefox will download and install updates for the plugin, if available. Otherwise, the browser will display ‘No updates found’ message.
7. Update Firefox
It’s common for Firefox (or some of its features) to malfunction if it’s not updated or if you don’t have the latest version of the browser installed on your device. If you’re on a Mac, launch a browser, select Firefox in the menu bar and select About Firefox.
Firefox will check for available updates and download them. Wait for Firefox to download the update and click Restart to update Firefox to continue.
For Windows users, click the menu icon and go to Preferences > General > Firefox Updates and click Restart to update Firefox.
Try Netflix again when Firefox is back up and check if that fixes the error f7701-1003.
Last resort: Refresh Firefox
If the Netflix error code f7701-1003 persists after trying all of the solutions suggested above, you may have to restore Firefox to its default settings. That will remove problematic components, malicious add-ons and restore browser performance. To reset Firefox, select the menu icon and go to Help > Troubleshooting Information > Firefox Refresh.
