We're getting a ton of tips about Netflix being broken in
Safari 5, and while we're pretty sure Reed Hastings and crew will have things patched up in the morning, we thought we'd share the quick fix with you now, since it's so simple. The problem isn't actually Safari 5, it's the browser agent string -- Netflix doesn't recognize it as a supported browser, so all you have to do is turn on the developer menu and change Safari's user agent back to 4.1. Ready? It's just a couple steps:
- Open Preferences > Advanced and click "Show Develop menu in menu bar".
- In the Develop menu, select User Agent and hit "Safari 4.1".
- Watch some Netflix!
Of course, you'll have to switch it back to use any Safari 5-optimized sites that check for the latest version of Apple's browser, but that's not too hard -- and like we said, we're guessing the Netflix crew will have this sorted in no time, so you shouldn't need to worry about this in the future.
Update: Told you they'd get it fixed soon enough -- reader Colin tells us things are working fine with Safari 5 as of this morning.
posted June 7th 2010 11:22PM
ha! you didn't think "compatibility view" in IE is so helpful huh?
@mikmik111 Hmm, trolls, very dangerous... you go first.
@mikmik111 I WANT FIREBUG! On a totally different note, does anyone else think using the iPhone 4 as a controller for an iPad game would be sick. Im thinking $700 HD Wii type sick. Granted the lack of buttons would be something to overcome. I'd say a pretty damn near perfect version of a bowling game could be implemented, WHY NO HDMI on the damn iPad. Actually you could potentially use it with a mac osx game and connect via HDMI there...oh wait.
@ttringle sorry I didn't intended to troll, as I am just stating that it should just be easier if the Safari had a "compatibility view" button, as this problem is a compatibility issue.
@RLBurkes That is a really good idea! Kind of like what was suppose to happen with the PS3 and PSP and possibly the WM7 and XBOX
Isn't downloading Firefox an easier method?
@mikmik111 No harm no foul, just that line from Raiders popped in my head so I had to use it. I have never found much use for the compatibility browsing in IE 7 or 8, mainly because most sites make sure that they work with a browser that has 75% of the market. :) So strange being over in the Mac camp now after being such an avid Windows user for nigh on 20 years.
@ddicted Actualy no, it would take longer
@fillintheblank I have all 3 browsers on my iMac and I use Safari probably the most. I'm constantly re-evaluating that and as long as logmein works properly in safari I'll probably stick to that. Especially if it's truly 30% faster as they claim. I don't subscribe to the "I need add ons for my browser". In fact I feel the less add ons the better. If I could get a way with not needing Flash I think I would like it. But I don't want to start a religious war in this forum.
@ddicted No. No, it's not.
@mikmik111
Uh... guys. Compatibility View does more than just change the User Agent string sent by the browser. It uses an older rendering engine.
This is just a simple check on Netflix's end. There's no indication of an actual technical incompatibility.
@ttringle "All 3 browsers"? Um, there are more than 3. Personally, I think Chrome is the best browser on the market, by leaps and bounds. Only problem? Netflix doesn't recognize Chrome, for the exact same reason it didn't recognize Safari 5.
Not sure why Netflix haven't bothered to include Chrome in their user agent string check, since it uses the same engine as Safari, and works great with Netflix if you hack it to pretend that it IS Safari. Annoying.
@KidDynamic
(PS my Chrome incompatibility comment is for Chrome on OSX. Works fine in Chrome for Windows.)
@mikmik111
The difference is obvious. Macs. They. Just. Work.
District 9, yay!
Oh netflix you, up to your shenanigans.
@impulse462 Lolz
If you have to change your Browser header.... they blew it!
@ChazClout
These (Insert not needed statement here) you blew it comments are getting annoying....
@Hell Angel Really, people who can't let go of an internet meme fast are destined to be rickrolling people beyond the year 3000.
District 9 in standard Def, BOOOOOO!, Not to sound unappreciative of Netflix but they really need to get on these studios for giving them crappy standard def versions, I mean it seems like they would have to actually create lower def versions for this explicit purpose since everything comes from HD Masters these days, right? I can understand standard def versions of Mystery Science Theater but District 9, the damned movie was shot with a RED Camera.
@ttringle They generally just take the DVD cut, as that is standard-def.
Why not use a proven method.
DONT USE SAFARI 5 TRY A REAL BROWSER LIKE CHROME & FIREFOX.
That will solve alot of your problems.
@FrankDTank
I dare you to compare the speed of safari 5 to both of those...I've had all 3 and like all 3, but safari is noticeably faster...
@FrankDTank Wow, how does that contribute to this conversation? Do you run into sushi restaurants and scream at the top of your lungs "YOU SHOULD ALL EAT REAL FOOD LIKE STEAK OR CHICKEN!!!!". In normal society people don't do that because they look stupid and get mocked. Oh wait, never mind I guess it's not so different after all.
Aww man... now my comment won't make any sense unless people click on his downranked comment. /Cry
@FrankDTank
FF sucks, and Chrome is based on safari... 4
Why the hell wouldn't they check if the version was greater than or equal to 4 instead of breaking compatibility when a new version was released…
@Micmoo The same reason new versions of windows keep some apps from running, because the programmer didn't think ahead and limited it to "known" versions when they wrote it. Seems rather shortsighted for Netflix though, but I'm sure as was stated that it will be fixed by tomorrow afternoon.
@Micmoo
Because you stick with what works.Netflix works without a doubt in Safari 4.x but its likely that it hasn't been thoroughly tested with Safari 5. Netflix will fix everything now that Safari 5 is official, but the standard practice (for everyone) is to not support beta or unreleased products.
... Why would there be any Safari 5 optimized sites yet? For that matter, why would there be any Safari optimized sites period?
@Dafrety Pretty sure Apple would optimize their sites for Safari, so there is at least one example of a site optimized for that browser. Then there are the upteen million iphone, ipod touch and ipad safari browsers. Granted I know that's not what you meant but there are at least two examples of note that fall under your query. But at least if Safari supports proper standards then optimizing it for Safari would probably mean making it more standards compliant, so that would just make those sites work on any browser that sticks to HTML4 and 5 properly.
Useragent: imakeyoumybiotch
It Just Works
[=
@abedinthehouse When was the last time your applied your RDF?
@Ellianth
Sarcasm at its finest, wouldn't you agree?
thanks.
Off topic question - Is it possible to automatically delete history, cookies, etc. upon exit in Safari 5? Firefox has this option, and it is too tedious to enter private browsing in Safari every time I surf the web.
@steve77 You can enable Private Browsing mode, then you won't have to worry about clearing anything. Here is a link on how to make it even better too. http://www.switchingtomac.com/tutorials/how-to-make-safaris-private-browsing-feature-actually-private/
@ttringle Is it possible to have Safari automatically launch in private browsing mode so that I do not have to enable it every time?
who the hell uses Safari?
@pinktacoyummm People with Macs, people who like good browsers, and anyone who uses an iPhone/Pod touch/Pad.
But, let that dose of truth go right over your head as you needlessly trash Safari.
@pinktacoyummm what the hell is a pinktaco... ahh... yeah never mind.
@Booksmart Devil /golfclap :)
@pinktacoyummm i kinda aggree, but only for PC
@pinktacoyummm Thats my point. Who actually uses safari as their main browser lol
aPPLE IS WORKING ON EXTENSIONS WATCH THEM CLAIM innovation LOL....
@Booksmart Devil people who like good browsers?
I can name you 4 better browsers than safari.
Firefox
Chrome
ie 9
opera
@pinktacoyummm
but safari is 30% fast than the competitor.
tips: naive/stupid/fanboys people trust blindly in the word of the vendor.
@pinktacoyummm i can list my subjective opinion on a lot of things.
@Booksmart Devil
Well... using an iThing you're pretty much forced to use Safari. OTOH, if you are merely a MacOS user then you are free to use anything else. So the whole MacOS -> Safari thing is just a lot of nonsense.
MacOS will let you install Picasa and VLC too.
Perhaps this is why iThing is so locked down... '-p