Rooted your Android phone? The Netflix app may not work anymore

Why it matters to you

Netflix is worried about piracy, and its related actions may stop the app from working on your smartphone entirely.

The latest version of the Netflix app may not work if you have rooted or otherwise altered the Android operating system on your smartphone. Netflix has adopted Google’s Widevine Digital Rights Management protocol in version 5.0 of its app, which trips when it encounters non-Google certified devices, or those which have been rooted, therefore stopping the app from operating normally or even being available to download from the Play Store.

Why? Just like all DRM, it’s in the name of avoiding piracy. Android phones which have been rooted — a term that means you have modified the operating system to gain complete and unrestricted access to the file structure and inner workings — may make it easier for people to pirate shows and movies downloaded from Netflix. The company has recently introduced mobile downloads through its app, making this more of a concern.

However, rooting an Android phone is popular among those who like to change the look of the software, change the ROM itself, uninstall pesky apps forced on you by carriers, and play around with the device’s performance. Developers also often have phones with root access to test apps. It takes some effort to root a phone, so if you’re not sure if your phone is rooted, then it probably isn’t.

There are exceptions. Some phones, particularly imported models, often have custom ROMs installed by the importers, and are therefore rooted when you buy them. If you own a Xiaomi, Meizu, Oppo, or any number of other popular import-only Chinese phones, this may include your device. For example, the official Netflix app doesn’t show up at all in the Google Play Store on our imported Xiaomi Redmi Note 4X, although we haven’t changed the software ourselves.

What’s the solution? We’ve contacted Netflix for confirmation of the situation, and asked if it has any advice for subscribers who may be affected by the app update. In the meantime, if this has you worried that you’ll miss the impending return of House of Cards, it’s possible to unroot a mobile device, a process we explain here, and that should get the app working again. This won’t be applicable to everyone, though, ensuring that despite advances, DRM has lost none of its ability to frustrate.