Secret Netflix menu puts an end to slow loading and buffering – how to find it and what’s on it
Here's a cheeky way to immediately improve your Netflix viewing experience
WE'VE all had Netflix troubles where the stream keeps pausing to load – but there's a simple fix.
Netflix has a secret menu that you can unlock, giving you special controls over the playback of your TV show or movie.
Netflix secret menu – how does it work?
Netflix always tries to give you the best possible video and audio quality for your connection.
But if you're having WiFi issues and your connection is changing very quickly, this causes problems for Netflix.
You get situations where Netflix is trying to load high-quality video and simply can't respond fast enough to your failing connection.
This can sometimes cause video to "buffer" – pausing, and then loading up content so that you can get uninterrupted playback.
There's a better way, of course.
A secret Netflix menu lets you control the bitrate of the audio and video.
Bitrate is the rate at which video and audio data is transferred – so a higher bitrate effectively means better quality.
So you could set audio and video to very low bitrates, and the quality will drop but your stream should be uninterrupted.
This also means that if Netflix is serving you rubbish quality video, you can choose a higher bitrate setting – and wait for the video to load up your gorgeous visuals.
To return to Netflix's normal operation, simply hit "reset".
Netflix secret menu – how to find it on your device
First, you'll need to load up some content and start watching – and then it depends on your device.
For Windows users, simply hit CTRL-ALT-SHIFT-S on your keyboard.
On Mac, you'll need to press CTRL-SHIFT-OPTION-S instead.
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If you're using a smart TV app, it's tricky. Some users report that connecting a Bluetooth keyboard to the telly and using one of the above combinations works, but there's no guarantee.
It's impossible to bring up this menu on gaming consoles, but you can check your network speed by entering the following combination on your controller's directional pad: up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, up, up, up, up.
Do you know any secret Netflix tips, tricks, cheats or hacks? Let us know in the comments!
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