The finale season of the much-awaited science fiction show, Stranger Things 5, premiered this morning globally on Netflix. Amid much buzz, fans of the show around the world tuned on to the streaming platform to binge-watch the episodes as soon as it premiered. However, several users were faced with disappointment as the streaming platform reported a massive outage.
Netflix crashes as Stranger Things 5 releases
Netflix services for users in the United States were down for almost an hour, according to reports. Users, who were trying to stream the show, took to social media to report frozen screens and the app crashing midway. Downdetector reportedly registered over 8,000 reports in the USA. The disruptions also affected the users in India. Downdetector confirmed that there was a Netflix outage in India in the early hours of Thursday morning.
According to reports, co-creator of Stranger Things, Ross Duffer, had shared earlier in the day that Netflix had increased bandwidth by 30 per cent, anticipating the massive traffic surge. However, it seems like the makers had underestimated the frenzy surrounding the show.
Interestingly, Netflix skipped its usual 12:30 pm IST release for Stranger Things Season 5. The show premiered at 6.30 AM IST on November 27 to align with the global release of the show. The timinig coincided with the US prime-time launch.
Netizens react
Soon after the site crashed, a user tweeted: "Netflix briefly crashed for about 3 minutes as Stranger Things Season 5 premiered today, overwhelmed by hordes of fans diving back into the Upside Down! Service was restored quickly, but the hype is real. Ready for the final ride?" Another user added, "Netflix still hasn`t learned how to handle big events... I was only able to watch ONE episode of Stranger Things, and now it`s down."
Netflix, in an email response to Reuters, said, “Some members briefly experienced an issue streaming on TV devices, but service recovered for all accounts within five minutes.” The screens froze mid-play for some users, and the app crashed after playing the show, while others were prompted with a ‘NSES-500 error’. The message along with the error, read, `Something went wrong. Sorry, we`re having trouble with your request`.
Notably, the platform has previously faced outages during major events, such as the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul boxing bout as well as the live-streamed reality show Love is Blind.
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