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Netflix On Linux (No WINE Or Silverlight)

Opcode
By Opcode
in Guides and Tutorials
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Here, I am going to make a in depth guide of how to run Netflix on Linux without WINE or Silverlight. This means no Netflix Desktop or Pipelight.

 

First off we need to establish that you are running a Ubuntu 12.04 LTS or 14.04 LTS based distribution (or newer) with the understanding that you will have to use Chrome in order for this to work.

 

The first thing we need to do is to ensure that the Network Security Services packages are up to date (skip for Ubuntu 14.10).

dpkg -l libnss3

If you have a version above 3.16.2 then you're ready to install Chrome.

 

Capture1.png

 

Otherwise if your version is below 3.16.2 then you need to run the software updater and install the latest updates (should give you version 3.17.1).

 

2323.png

 

Ubuntu 14.04 LTS x86

Ubuntu 14.04 LTS x64

 

Next we need to install a few dependencies in order for the current version of Chrome to work.

sudo apt-get updatesudo apt-get install libindicator7 libappindicator1

Now we can download and install the latest version of Chrome.

After all is done all that's left to do is fire up Chrome and watch Netflix!

 

Other Useful Information

 

CTRL + SHIFT + ALT + S = Streaming bit-rate panel.

CTRL + SHIFT + ALT + D = A/V on-screen stats. 

cd /tmpwget http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/main/n/nss/libnss3-nssdb_3.17.1-0ubuntu0.14.04.1_all.debwget http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/main/n/nss/libnss3_3.17.1-0ubuntu0.14.04.1_i386.debsudo dpkg -i libnss3*
cd /tmpwget http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/main/n/nss/libnss3-nssdb_3.17.1-0ubuntu0.14.04.1_all.debwget http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/main/n/nss/libnss3_3.17.1-0ubuntu0.14.04.1_amd64.debsudo dpkg -i libnss3*
cd /tmpwget https://dl.google.com/linux/direct/google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.debsudo dpkg -i google-chrome-stable*
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holy crap thanks

I was tired of all the crappy plugins and programs I had to use for netflix on my eOS install

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I was wondering, is there any way through linux to use netflix in a region where it theoretically isn't available...?

Don't ask to ask, just ask... please 🤨

sudo chmod -R 000 /*

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holy crap thanks

I was tired of all the crappy plugins and programs I had to use for netflix on my eOS install

This really has been one of the only things that has limited me from switching to Linux as my daily driver. Now I just need to quit playing BF3 and I'll be kissing Windows goodbye.  :)

 

I was wondering, is there any way through linux to use netflix in a region where it theoretically isn't available...?

You can do the same as above to first get it to work on Linux. Then you can setup Chrome to use a proxy located within the states, that might be enough to get Netflix to stream. Tho without a high speed 'paid' proxy, I wouldn't expect decent video quality.

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You can do the same as above to first get it to work on Linux. Then you can setup Chrome to use a proxy located within the states, that might be enough to get Netflix to stream. Tho without a high speed 'paid' proxy, I wouldn't expect decent video quality.

 

Hm I see so it's pretty much the same sauce as with windows... thanks anyway :D

Don't ask to ask, just ask... please 🤨

sudo chmod -R 000 /*

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  • 2 weeks later...
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Chrome beta just hit the stable channel. I updated the guide to reflect that and to alter a few things.

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This is great for people with Linux-based HTPCs. Really great.

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Unfortunately it looks like Netflix has done something to patch this work around.

 

Looks like it's working again.

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Here, I am going to make a in depth guide of how to run Netflix on Linux without WINE or Silverlight. This means no Netflix Desktop or Pipelight.

 

First off we need to establish that you are running a Ubuntu 14.04 LTS based distribution (amd64) and that you will have to use Chrome in order for this to work.

 

The first thing we need to do is update the Network Security Services packages.

cd /tmpwget http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/main/n/nss/libnss3_3.16.3-1ubuntu1_amd64.debwget http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/main/n/nss/libnss3-nssdb_3.16.3-1ubuntu1_all.debsudo dpkg -i libnss3*

Next we need to install a few dependencies in order for the current version of Chrome to work.

sudo apt-get updatesudo apt-get install libindicator7 libappindicator1

Now we can download and install the latest version of Chrome.

wget https://dl.google.com/linux/direct/google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.debsudo dpkg -i google-chrome-stable*

After all that is done we need to fire up Chrome and install the User-Agent Switcher extension. Once that is installed, we right click the User-Agent Switcher icon and select 'Options'.

 

Capture.png

 

Once on the options page, I personally like to remove all of the custom user-agents from the list. You can do this by clicking the trash can icon next to each and every one of them.

 

Capture1.png

 

Now paste in the information provided below into the new user-agent fields at the top and click 'Add'.

Name: Netflix LinuxString: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.3; WOW64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/38.0.2125.24 Safari/537.36Group: ChromeAppend?: ReplaceFlag: IE

After you've done this you should have two user agents in the list like shown below.

 

Capture3.png

 

Now navigate to 'Permanent Spoof list' on the left.

 

Capture4.png

 

Key in 'netflix.com' into the domain box and select 'Netflix Linux' from the drop down menu and click 'Add'.

 

Capture5.png

 

Now you should have it added in the permanent spoof list like below.

 

Capture6.png

 

Lastly, right click on the User-Agent Switcher icon and click 'Hide button'.

 

Capture7.png

 

And there you have it. Every time you navigate to Netflix's website the extension will spoof the fake user-agent and Netflix will run purely on HTML5. The default user-agent for Chrome will remain intact, the fake one will only be used when you're on Netflix. I have tested this time and time again without a single hiccup, so feel free to try it out if you're still trying to run Silverlight through WINE. It should also help resolve any performance issues with Netflix running on Linux through WINE.

 

Hopefully that wasn't too confusing for newbies to understand. Have fun!

Where was this when I had my core 2 duo toshiba darn it >3< but thank you so much. May be using ubuntu soon tho

Eric S. Raymond used an E6600 from 2005 until 12/30/14 or open source software creation. Raw data computations in excess of 18GB each. Core 2 Duos still have tons of life left, my friend.

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  • 4 weeks later...
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Didn't know Netflix saw regular Linux running a mainstream browser (Like Firefox or Chrome) that can run HTML5 as not a valid option for viewing netflix...

Grr stupid mainstream OSes. 

Un jour de Windows ne sera rien, Vive Ubuntu.

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  • 3 weeks later...
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I was wondering, is there any way through linux to use netflix in a region where it theoretically isn't available...?

Use a VPN. Private Internet Access is what I use. Even though where I live Netflix is available I use it to get the American version. You can also install it on your router though I haven't tried that. 

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Use a VPN. Private Internet Access is what I use. Even though where I live Netflix is available I use it to get the American version. You can also install it on your router though I haven't tried that. 

 

do you know any decent free vpn services or is sub-based the way to go?

Don't ask to ask, just ask... please 🤨

sudo chmod -R 000 /*

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This is precisely why I don't use Linux.

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This is precisely why I don't use Linux.

It's really not all that complicated and it allows for native playback. Soon you will be able to install 14.04.2 LTS and install Chrome and watch Netflix without the use of a user-agent switcher.

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It's really not all that complicated and it allows for native playback. Soon you will be able to install 14.04.2 LTS and install Chrome and watch Netflix without the use of a user-agent switcher.

No I mean 50 steps to do something you could do in 1 on a more standard OS. I could do it, it's just so much easier the other way.

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No I mean 50 steps to do something you could do in 1 on a more standard OS. I could do it, it's just so much easier the other way.

It takes about a whole 1 minute to do this tutorial and once you're done it's done. It won't be long and the user-agent filtering will be lifted and this guide will be pretty much useless since you can just install Chrome and go.

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Guide updated, Netflix now runs on Linux without user-agent spoofing.

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Are you telling me I have no other option than to use chrome? that's just as bad as not having any other option than silverlight.

 

 

Edit: almost forgot, thanks for the post even though I won't be using chrome.

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Hasn't Netflix had an option to use Flash instead of Silverlight for a while, or was that Amazon?  Can't remember since I only watch them on Roku and my tablet.

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do you know any decent free vpn services or is sub-based the way to go?

 

do you know any decent free vpn services or is sub-based the way to go

 

You can try Hola which is a chrome extension. But I still recommend PIA.

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Thank you for this :)

 

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