Trying to watch Netflix on Linux is a real pain in the ass. It’s a double pain the ass if you need to use a VPN plugin such as Hola Better Internet. Below are the reasons why its a real pain the ass:
- To stream movies on Netflix, you will require Microsoft’s Silverlight. This means if you do not have a Windows machine, you are shit out of luck.
- If you need to use a VPN plugin, it will either not install properly or a huge “X” will be in the plugins way. See example image below.
How to Watch Netflix on Ubuntu Linux – Method One
If you do not need to use any sort of VPN plugins to watch Netflix, then you could use this method. Personally, we prefer method two. Basically what this method does is, it packages FireFox and Silverlight under Wine to create an unofficial Netflix app.
Step 1: Open a terminal and type the following
sudo apt-add-repository ppa:ehoover/compholio
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install netflix-desktop
Step 2: Once done installing, search for Netflix by using Ubuntu Dash.
Step 3: Grab some popcorn and enjoy.
How to Watch Netflix on Ubuntu Linux – Method Two
This method allows you to run Silverlight directly from your Linux browser. We will be using Pipelight which is made up of a Linux library which is loaded into the browser and pluginloader.exe, a Windows program, which will be started in Wine. We did not notice any change in performance. On with the steps.
Step 1: Close your browser.
Step 2: Open a terminal and type the following commands:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:pipelight/stable
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install pipelight
Once the installation is complete, you should have the Silverlight plugin in your browser. It’s said to work in Chrome and FireFox but we only tested it on Chrome and it worked flawlessly.
Netflix Browser User Agent
If you thought that was all, you’re dead wrong. Netflix checks the browser user agent and you won’t be able to play any videos since Linux is not supported. To overcome the Netflix browser user agent issue, use this plugin for chrome called User Agent Switcher. We selected Windows Firefox 15 as the browser user agent and didn’t notice any issues.
So there you have it. Two methods that you can use to watch Netflix on Ubuntu Linux. If you’re in a country that is not currently supported by Netflix, you can check out how to bypass Netflix block.
