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Credit: DisneyIt’s been a rocky few years for Disney+. The streaming service is bleeding subscribers after raising prices and losing exclusive cricket streaming rights on Hotstar, facing a one billion dollar lawsuit over a deal with ESPN, and removing hours of content in a last-ditch effort to save some cash. Amid these public controversies, some customers are finding there isn’t a plus to paying for Disney+.
When Disney+ launched in 2019, many of the biggest Disney fans signed three-year contracts. They eagerly watched their favorite movies and television series, from formerly-vaulted Walt Disney Studios classics to Indiana Jones. Then came the Disney+ exclusive shows, ranging from Marvel Cinematic Universe spinoffs to National Geographic documentaries. Subscribers got used to a vast content library at a low price, without advertisements.
As soon as the three-year period ended, Disney CEO Bob Chapek and his mentor-turned-successor Bog Iger promised major changes for Disney+. The Walt Disney Company heavily invested in the streaming service and needed to make returns for shareholders. Since 2022, they’ve introduced an ad-supported tier called Disney Basic, hiked monthly and annual ad-free prices, and began cracking down on password-sharing.
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After adjusting to change after change, the last straw for one Disney+ subscriber came when representatives for the streaming service refused to help with a technical issue. An anonymous viewer contacted Inside the Magic after “months” of struggling to communicate with a service they pay a premium price for.
The anonymous Disney+ subscriber hasn’t been able to stream any of the service’s content for over a month. When they first contacted customer support, a representative suggested they test a different device. It worked–but this isn’t a consistently viable option.
A Disney+ employee allegedly told the user that this was a known issue for many subscribers and would take “15-30 days” to fix. It’s been much longer than that, and there’s still no estimated fix date. The device in question is listed as supported by Disney+.
“They refuse to offer compensation or credit,” the frustrated user said.
Whenever they contact Disney+, a support employee redirects the user to this playback troubleshooting page. They’ve tried every suggestion multiple times, including restarting their device and Disney+ app, checking their internet connection, reinstalling Disney+, updating their device, and clearing all saved caches. The last suggestion says “contact us,” something they’ve tried repeatedly.
“It’s ridiculous that there’s been an error happening to my account for months, and I’m told there’s ‘no update on when it will be resolved’ and that the only solution is to use a different device, and there’s no compensation,” they recently wrote to Disney+ on social media.
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The official Disney+ help account replied… once again suggesting the subscriber contact the customer support team. At least four agents have told the user that “it’s an issue the team is still trying to resolve.”
It’s impossible for Disney Plus subscribers with an annual plan to cancel their subscription and stop paying immediately. Yearly subscriptions are paid upfront, offering a discount in exchange for locking in subscribers for 12 months. The numerous annual subscribers with these technical issues are at the mercy of the Disney+ tech and customer service teams.
A representative for Disney+ didn’t provide comment on this ongoing problem.
Have you noticed technical issues with Disney Plus recently? Share your experience with Inside the Magic in the comments.