How to Fix Netflix Watch Instantly 'Individualization Failed' or Error 8152 on legitimate Apple hardware.

I’m posting this because I could not find the solution to this problem anywhere online, and I hate having to call into customer support to get a step-by-step answer.

I purchased a Mac Mini for use in my home theatre around the same time that my Boxee (www.boxee.tv) beta invitation came in, so naturally, the first thing I did was install it. I never bothered to test Watch Instantly functionality in the browser before I tried it in Boxee. Upon attempting a Watch Instantly session in Boxee I was greeted with the famous ‘Individualization Failed/Error: 8152′ message. This error seems to be primarily affecting Hackintosh users, but a few of us with legitimate Apple hardware are getting it too.

It has to do with how Silverlight verifies your network interfaces. If your wired interface, regardless of whether you are using it to receive Watch Instantly traffic, is not interface ‘en0′, Silverlight fails to authenticate with the Netflix DRM server correctly.

  • To verify which network interface is assigned ‘en0′ do a Spotlight search for and open: ‘Network Utility’. On the first page/tab (Info) you will see a drop down box with an entry for each of your network interfaces. The ‘en0′ interface should show drivers for a wired NIC. If you are having trouble identifying which interface is the wired NIC, check the ‘Vendor’ information. The Airport (which should be assigned to ‘en1′) has Apple listed as the vendor, the wired NIC in my Mac Mini has a chipset made by Marvell.
  • To correct this issue you need to delete two .plist files, they are both located in ‘/Library/Preferences/’
  • Delete: NetworkInterfaces.plist, and preferences.plist
  • Reboot your machine. These two files will automatically be generated with their default (and correct) settings upon rebooting.
  • Now try and log into Netflix Watch Instantly.

FWIW: I had to click to reconnect to my wireless network, this will deleted your preferred list, but it should not delete your login info from the Keychain.

Please let me know if you have anything to add, or if I have forgotten anything.

Posted by on Jul 25, 2009 in Technology | 23 comments
  • shaun

    great tip… my issue is with bootcamp. I’ve installed Windows 7 on a partition. Netflix plays fine when I’m in 10.5 but when I boot into Windows 7 I get the individualization error. Any idea how to resolve it within W7?

  • Ezra

    You might try right-clicking on the video window after you’ve told one to play (ie the silverlight player itself) and selecting ‘Silverlight Preferences’ selecting the ‘Application Storage’ tab and selecting ‘Delete All’. At this point I would suggest a reboot, after which you should try to play another WI movie. Let me know if this helps, I’ve got a couple other tricks up my sleeve if it doesn’t.

  • kaushik

    I tried doing the Silverlight change and reboot for my situation (Error Code : 8152) but it didn’t work. For some reason IE will not let me add Netflix to the “Trusted sites” list too because of my corporate restrictions (Box is grayed out). Any other suggestions?

  • Ezra

    I’m assuming you tried the instructions I left for Shaun in the comments, for Windows solutions. Did you try the ‘delete all’ button on the ‘Application Storage’ tab in the Silverlight Properties menu? Your trusted sites may be dictated by your group policy if you are on a corporate network, which would mean that the administrator sets everyones ‘trusted sites.’ Check out this link http://www.tinyurl.com/netflixsl and report back what you get. Are you getting the ‘individualization failed’ message?

  • Mark

    This is great! It worked! Thanks for posting!

  • Rachel

    Thanks so much for this. It solved the problem for me, along with another network issue I’d been having since upgrading to Leopard.

  • Madeline

    I also get the “Error 8152″ on legitimate Apple hardware. It claims to be DRM error. Netflix phone help was NOT. They told me to call Microsoft. I tried the fix outline above but lo and behold I do not even have NetworkInterfaces.plist, and preferences.plist I even ran a spotlight check for them. They do not exist on my machine. Did many uninstall and reinstalls.

    Booted, re-booted.

    Even followed advice below:
    Uninstalling Silverlight (always a good idea before installing new bits) requires these steps performed in a terminal window:

    rm -rf /Library/Internet\ Plug-Ins/Silverlight.plugin

    rm -rf /Library/Receipts/Silverlight*.pkg

    rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/Microsoft/Silverlight

    Still have the problem. I’m on a MacBook Air OS X 10.5.6
    What to do now?
    Thank you.

  • Ezra

    Alright. Removing Silverlight should NOT help. I would suggest creating a new administrator user account from the Users preference pane in System Preferences. Once you have created that use, test Netflix WI functionality. If you’ve still got nothing, reply here and we will try some new stuff.

    Thanks for reading!

  • mh

    I did what you suggested (deleting the two preferences files, rebooting) but I still get the error. I’m on a mac running 10.6.1, using firefox 3.0.14, also checked in Safari 4.0.3

    I guess I will try the admin account thing.

  • mh

    I tried the admin account, still got error. Any thoughts would help! This is driving me crazy.

  • Claire Anderson

    Help! I’m a non-techie Apple user and I’ve upgraded to 10.5.8—and now my capability to watch Instant Netflix movies is gone. Worked fine before, now it does NOTHING but sit at the Netflix loading page.
    I tried to follow the instructions above, and like Madeline, I don’t have the two .plist files you refer to.
    How do you “test Netflix WI functionality”?
    Thanks,
    Claire

  • Jay

    I have a MacMini with a defunct Ethernet port. As such en0 is the only NIC and it shows as en0, an Airport a/b/g card. However, this combination doesn’t seem to be seen as valid by Silverlight either. Apparently it’s looking at more than just the interface name and for a valid IP address/MAC address.

  • mh

    Hm–my Airport is assigned to (en0), it lists Apple as the vendor and Wireless Network Adapter (802.11 a/b/g/n) as the model.

    I don’t have either of the files you suggested deleting. Maybe bec I am on 10.6.2? One of the main reasons I upgraded was to play frigging Netflix. I have been getting that 8152 error for years now. Well, a year. So frustrating.

  • Emily Hell

    Thank you so much. I’ve tried other fixes from other sites and this was the only thing that worked. Yay!

  • http://www.support.microsoft.com Jags

    If you get error N8153 or N8152 while watching Netflix Videos,Create New User Account – Issue will be Fixed

  • Ezra

    Not necessarily. These files are system library files, they do not get re-generated when a new user is created.

  • Ezra Moore

    Great, Emily! I’m happy that I was able to help. The error was very frustrating to me as well, and Netflix/Microsoft/Apple phone support were of no help.

  • Ian Holt

    That DRM N8152 error code happened to me too when I was about to watch Netflix Instant Play just recently (June,2010). I found out that the Silverlight Apps in my PC updated or upgraded automatically into Silverlight 4.0.5 just a few weeks ago. And this version of Silverlight was the one causing the problem. Remove the Silverlight program from your PC by going to Control Panel; then clicking the Add/Remove Programs. Wait for the window to be populated by your PC’s programs. Look for that Microsoft Silverlight program. Highlight it and click “Remove”. This may take awhile (a few minutes).
    After this; its advisable to restart your PC (just to be on the safe side). Open your browser (IE or Mozzila Firefox). Log in on your Netflix account. Then choose any film you like available for Instant Play. Click the “Play” button. Netflix will prompt you to download first the Silverlight Apps from their website. Click “Download” and Install it by opening the downloaded file. For some reason Netflix is offering the Silverlight Version 3.0 which doesn’t present any problems in Instant Play playback.
    The DRM N8152 error arises once your Silverlight 3.0 updates (automatically) to Silverlight 4.0.5. So right-click Microsoft Silverlight in your programs; go to properties; look for the Update Tab and click it. Then disable its Automatic updates.
    I hope this works for you guys.

  • Ezra Moore

    Ian,

    Thanks for the comment, but your advice is geared towards Windows users while the article is strictly applicable to Macs. Thanks for your input on the Windows side of things.

    Ezra

  • Christy

    We have the exact same situation as Jay above – lightning zapped our ethernet and wireless now lands on en0. Posting in the hopes that I get emailed replies to this thread. Cheers!

  • Ezra Moore

    Christy,

    Here is what I would suggest to you. I presume that the software (Silverlight) is correctly identifying your Mac, and is looking for both NICs. I would go and buy a cheap USB ethernet card and install it on your Mac. Something like this would be ideal: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/540673-REG/Apple_MB442Z_A_USB_Ethernet_Adapter.html. See if you can trick it into accepting that. Don’t forget to try the original advice I posted and delete those two plist files. What kind of Mac is it?

    Hope this helps!

  • Symon Michael

    FOR WINDOWS USERS running Windows XP -> Yes, the fix is to remove Silverlight 4.x and replace it with Silverlight 3.x. Then, as another user has suggested, you need to check two critical configurations in side the Silverlight control panel: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Silverlight\ Silverligh.tConfiguration.exe On the Updates tab, check “Never check for updates”, then on the Playback tab, make sure the box is checked for “Enable downloads and updates to components required for protected content playb ack”. That should do it! The first time you try to stream a movie from NetFllix, it will prompt you to update something, and it will patch the existing Silverlight 3 install. It WILL NOT upgrade you to the (problematic) v 4.x of Silverlight. OK, so where do I get the bona-fide v3.x of Silverlight? If yo ugo to the MicroSoft site, they are only pimping the newer (problematic) version. So I found the older version here: http://www.filehippo.com/download_silverlight/6901/

  • Ezra Moore

    Symon,

    Thanks for the help for Windows users! I hope they get SilverLight 4.x figured out for you guys.

    Ezra