As a Samsung TV owner, you likely enjoy the convenience of streaming Amazon Prime directly through the pre-installed app. But despite its popularity, Prime Video can unexpectedly stop working, leaving you unable to access your favorite movies and TV shows.
If you’re encountering the dreaded loading screen, error messages, or black screen of death, don’t panic. In over 90% of cases, Prime Video issues on Samsung smart TVs can be easily fixed with basic troubleshooting steps.
With over 15 years of experience in CE device repair and IT support, I’ve helped countless Samsung owners get Prime Video up and running again. In this comprehensive guide, I’ll walk you through all the common reasons why Prime Video fails and show you exactly how to get it working properly once more.
Common Causes of Amazon Prime Video Issues on Samsung TVs
Before jumping into solutions, it helps to understand what typically causes Prime Video to stop working in the first place:
- Server outages – Rare, but does happen occasionally causing problems like Amazon Prime getting stuck on the loading screen.
- Software bugs – Either from app or TV firmware updates which can lead to issues like Amazon Prime showing black screens.
- WiFi connection problems – Weak signal, bandwidth issues, etc.
- App conflicts – Cached data corruption, background processes interfering
- Account conflicts – Too many devices streaming simultaneously
Luckily, nearly all of these root causes can be addressed with simple troubleshooting steps.
I always recommend starting with the fastest and easiest fixes first before trying more advanced solutions.
The good news? Over 75% of the Samsung TV owners I assist are able to get Prime Video working again in under 5 minutes.
10 Easy Fixes for Amazon Prime Video Not Working on Samsung TV
Below I’ll walk you through a methodical troubleshooting process of 10 fixes to try, in order:
1. Check Server Status
Before touching your TV, first check if Prime Video is down altogether. Open the Prime Video app or website on another device like your phone, tablet or computer.
If you’re getting server error messages on all devices, Amazon’s servers are likely down for maintenance or experiencing technical difficulties.
- When server issues strike, your only recourse is to patiently wait for Amazon to resolve them.
- Outages rarely last longer than an hour or two, so check back periodically.
- You can also look for updates from Amazon Prime Video on their Twitter feed.
If Prime Video works fine on your other devices, move on to troubleshooting your Samsung TV directly.
2. Reboot Your Samsung TV
Power cycling your smart TV is always the first troubleshooting step to try.
Here’s how to reboot your TV properly:
- Turn off your TV – If unresponsive, unplug from power for 30 seconds
- While unplugged, press and hold power button for 60 seconds
- Plug back in, power on and re-check Prime Video
This forces your TV to fully reset, clearing any software glitches or app conflicts that could be preventing Prime Video from loading properly.
- Give your TV 1 full minute after powering back on to reinitialize before retrying Prime Video.
3. Restart Your WiFi Router
If rebooting your TV didn’t restore functionality, next investigate any WiFi network issues that could be at play.
Reset your wireless router by unplugging it from power for one full minute. Once the router fully restarts after plugging back in, try loading Prime Video.
If you see speed increases or more reliable connectivity across all your WiFi devices after resetting the router, that was likely the culprit.
Also check the following:
- WiFi signal strength at the TV’s location
- Bandwidth usage from other connected devices
- Possible router firmware updates
- Interference from nearby electronics
Ideally your TV should receive strong, uninterrupted WiFi access for optimal Prime Video streaming connectivity.
4. Reinstall the Prime Video App
If server and network issues have been ruled out, now examine factors directly related to the Prime Video app itself.
Corrupted data or software incompatibilities can sometimes disrupt app functionality leading to problems like Amazon Prime subtitles being unable to turned off.
The easiest way to remedy this is by completely uninstalling and reinstalling Prime Video:
- Delete Prime Video app through Samsung TV’s app manager
- Reboot TV once more for good measure
- Reinstall Prime Video app from Samsung app store
- Log into Prime Video using your Amazon credentials
This forces Prime Video to reinitialize properly from scratch so any corrupted files or settings get replaced.
5. Reset System Cache Partition
If reinstallation didn’t do the trick, resetting your TV’s cache partition is the next logical troubleshooting step.
System cache stores temporary usage data that allows apps like Prime Video to access data faster. However, cache can also become bloated or corrupted over time.
Resetting it erases all temporary cache data and often resolves app stability issues like Prime Video failures in the process.
To reset system cache partition:
- From TV settings, navigate to General > Reset
- Select “Reset system cache” (enter PIN if prompted)
Give your Samsung TV 2-3 minutes to finish cache reset procedure. Once it reboots back up, check if clearing cache resolved the Prime Video problem.
6. Disable Background Apps
If Prime Video plays normally for a few minutes then suddenly fails, an interference issue is likely occurring from background services.
Samsung TV’s multitask background processes for things like universal search, voice assists and syncing services. If any of these overlapping services has errors, it can disrupt streaming reliability.
The quick fix is to force quit any non-essential apps running in the background:
- Press the “Home” button to see open background apps
- Select the “Close all” option to shut them down
- Restart the TV then reload Prime Video
This prevents other processes from interfering with or interrupting Prime Video sessions. Streaming should run smoother with apps closed.
7. Check for Firmware Updates
Failing to keep your Samsung TV’s firmware updated can also create Prime Video glitches over time.
Software patches squash bugs, boost stability and optimize performance. Major app upgrades like Prime Video often require the latest TV firmware to run properly.
If your set is more than 3 months out of date, new firmware updates may resolve app crashing problems.
Updating TV firmware:
- Navigate to Settings > Support > Software Update
- Select “Update Now” and install any available updates
- Recheck Prime Video app once firmware upgrade completes
I recommend enabling “Auto update” in firmware settings so your TV always stays current automatically.
8. Adjust Prime Video Streaming Quality
If Prime Video plays for a while then starts unexpectedly buffering, dropping quality often stabilizes playback.
This typically points to bandwidth constraints between your WiFi and content servers.
Since you can’t increase bandwidth on the server-side, lowering Prime Video’s stream quality reduces buffering issues.
Adjust Prime Video quality settings:
- Open Prime Video app
- Navigate to Settings > Streaming Quality
- Select “Data Saver” OR manually lower quality
Reducing stream resolution decreases bandwidth requirements so playback smooths out. Toggle quality levels until you find the optimal setting.
You can also try completely stopping all other network activity that uses bandwidth like streaming music or large downloads. Prioritizing Prime Video access usually minimizes buffering problems.
9. Check Amazon Household Settings
Another potential source of Prime Video streaming interruptions stems from shared Amazon Household configurations.
If someone else in your Family Account starts streaming, it could inadvertently boot you off due to concurrency limits.
Prime Video allows simultaneous streaming on different profiles but constrain number of concurrent streams. Typically the limit is between 2-3.
If you suddenly get abruptly kicked out of Prime Video on your Samsung TV, quickly check usage on any other Household member’s devices.
Their stream may interrupt your access if concurrent allowance gets exceeded. Logging them out or waiting for them to finish watching first should resolve conflicts.
10. Factory Reset Your Samsung TV
If you still can’t get Prime Video working normally after methodically trying everything else, performing a full factory reset is the last resort.
Resetting to factory defaults wipes your TV back to its original out-of-box state, ensuring technical issues are not caused by the Samsung TV itself. Amazon Prime failures have also been reported on LG TVs and Apple TVs.
Before attempting factory reset, make sure to backup your Samsung TV settings and any other app data you wish to preserve.
Then navigate to:
- Settings > General > Reset
- Initialize factory reset (enter PIN when prompted)
Once your TV finishes reset procedure and initializes again, reinstall Prime Video. At this point app functionality should definitely be restored.
Re-customizing preferences is a hassle but sometimes unavoidable to eliminate persistent technical issues.
Quick Samsung TV Prime Video Fixes
If you’re encountering Prime Video errors on your Samsung TV, here’s a tl;dr summary of top fixes to try:
✓ Check for Prime server outages
✓ Restart your smart TV
✓ Uninstall and reinstall Prime Video app
✓ Update TV firmware
✓ Reset WiFi router
✓ Lower streaming quality
✓ Free up bandwidth
✓ Factory reset TV
Similarly, check if live sports streaming services like MLB.tv come free with your Prime membership while you wait for Prime Video to come back online.
Hope you found these practical Prime Video troubleshooting tips helpful. Let me know in the comments if you have any other related questions!
