Hulu Live Not Working? Here’s The Fix

Are you trying to figure out why Hulu live is not working on your device? 

Hulu offers premium add-ons to its service, including live TV channels such as HBO Max, SHOWTIME, Cinemax, and more. This can be an excellent alternative for your local cable service provider. 

However, it can be a problem if Hulu live is not working on your device and a new episode of your favorite show is about to air. 

Most of the time, this problem is caused by a technical issue on Hulu’s side. However, you should also consider other factors like corrupted installation files, outdated versions of the app, or third-party applications. 

Given the number of angles to look into, troubleshooting can take some time, especially if you are not pointed in the right direction. 

To help you out, we’ve decided to make a guide on how to fix Hulu live if it is not working on your device. 

Let’s jump right in!

1. Check Hulu Servers. 

If Hulu or any of its services are not working, the first thing you should do is check its servers’ status. To do this, you can use third-party sites like Downdetector to check if there are any issues with the platform. 

Hulu live not working

If the servers are down, we recommend that you just wait for Hulu’s team to address the problem. 

On the other hand, proceed to the following method below to fix the issue on your end if Hulu’s servers are working properly.

2. Test By Watching Another Show. 

Some shows on Hulu may encounter temporary issues and become unavailable for some time. If Hulu live is not working, we suggest that you go back to your media library and try playing other shows. 

This way, you can identify if the problem is with the whole platform or isolated with a specific title. If you can play other shows with no issue, proceed to the last method below to report the matter to Hulu. 

3. Check If Your Device Is Supported. 

Hulu is available on many systems, but this doesn’t mean that every device available on the market is compatible with the platform. If Hulu live is not working, visit the Help Center and check if your current system is supported. 

If not, you can always use a web browser to access Hulu or consider getting a compatible device. 

4. Re-Login to Your Device. 

Random bugs and glitches occur on Hulu and could cause your user data to be corrupted. If this happens, you may experience errors in your current session unless you sign out of your Hulu account. 

On Android and iOS, you can log out of your account by doing the following: 

  1. First, open the Hulu app from your home screen.
  2. Next, tap on your Profile from the bottom navigation bar. 
  3. Lastly, tap the Log Out button to stop your current session. 
Hulu live not working

For browsers, see the steps below to sign out your Hulu account: 

  1. On your device, open any browser and access Hulu’s website. 
  2. After that, point the mouse cursor to your Profile icon to access the drop-down menu. 
  3. Finally, click on Log Out to sign out your account. 
Hulu live not working

Once done, wait for 2-3 minutes before logging back into your Hulu account. Try playing another ongoing show in the media library to check if the problem is solved. 

5. Check and Reset Your Internet. 

Hulu requires a minimum internet speed of 3 Mbps to enjoy its features without issues. For live streams, 8 Mbps is needed to watch your favorite shows continuously and without buffers. If Hulu live is not working, your network connection could be running slow. 

To confirm this, perform a speed test using Fast.com to check the quality of your network connection. 

Speed Test

If the result shows that your network is running slow, restart your router to refresh the link with your internet service provider.

Restart Router

Run another speed test to your internet connection to confirm if restarting your router helped. If not, contact your ISP and ask them to fix their service. You can also consider upgrading your current plan if it is below 3 Mbps. 

6. Turn Off VPN. 

Virtual private networks can also be the reason why Hulu live is not working on your device. VPNs make changes to your IP address to protect your online data, which can cause instability and delays to your network connection. 

If this happens, your device may have a hard time connecting with Hulu’s servers, explaining the problem. 

To fix this, make sure that your VPN is turned off before accessing Hulu. 

Turn Off VPN

You can also try other VPNs such as PureVPN if your current service keeps giving you problems and headaches. Compared to other VPNs, PureVPN keeps your network stable while protecting you from hackers and other entities. 

If you live outside the US, please visit our dedicated guide on how to access Hulu on regions currently not supported by the service. 

7. Clear Browser Cache and Cookies. 

Caches and cookies are temporary data used by your browser to speed up the loading times of websites and enhance their overall performance. However, this temporary data can get corrupted without any warnings and cause numerous problems to your browser. 

If Hulu live is not working on your device, follow the steps below to address the issue: 

  1. On your device, access your preferred browser and click on the Options tab. 
  2. After that, select Settings and scroll down to Privacy and Security
  3. Now, click on Clear Browsing Data and change the Time Range to All Time
  4. Lastly, include caches and cookies in the process and hit the Clear Data button to start. 
Clear Browsing Data

Go back to Hulu afterwards to check if the problem is solved. 

8. Run Malwarebytes. 

Malware and other viruses may have infected your system and caused applications like Hulu to malfunction on your device. Viruses eat up your system’s resources, which negatively affects the performance of your device and other programs, which causes them to fail. 

To fix this, download Malwarebytes on your device and use the ‘Full System Scan’ feature to search your entire storage for infected files. Malwarebytes will then automatically remove the viruses from your system with a press of a single button. 

9. Clear Hulu App Data (Android). 

Android users have the option to clear an application’s data when they encounter errors. Application data are like browser caches that boost the app’s performance to improve your overall experience. 

However, app data accumulates over time and becomes more challenging for your device to load, which can cause errors and other performance issues. 

To fix this, follow the steps below to clear Hulu’s app data: 

  1. First, access the Settings page of your device and scroll down to the Apps tab. 
  2. After that, tap on the Apps tab and open Hulu from the list. 
  3. Lastly, open the Storage tab and tap on Clear Data to delete Hulu’s temporary files. 
Hulu live not working

Once done, log back into your Hulu account and check if the live streaming feature works correctly. 

10. Update the Hulu App. 

An outdated version of the app could also be the reason why Hulu live is not working. Timely updates on any application are vital to keep it running on most devices and ensure that any errors are being patched. 

On Android, follow the steps below to update the Hulu app on your device: 

  1. First, open the Google Play Store from your app drawer and go to the side menu. 
  2. After that, tap on My Apps & Games to see the applications with available updates. 
  3. Lastly, find Hulu from the list and tap the Update button to download the latest version of the app. 
Hulu live not working

For iOS users, you can update Hulu by doing the following: 

  1. On your main screen, tap on the App Store to open it. 
  2. Next, go to your Profile to prompt your device to check for available updates on all the apps installed on your device. 
  3. Finally, locate Hulu and tap the Update button next to it to install the patch. 
Hulu live not working

If you are using other systems, check out the guides below to help you out: 

11. Update Your Device. 

The problem with the Hulu app may be related to an underlying issue with your device’s operating system. To rule this out, try updating your system to the latest version to ensure that errors are patched. 

On Android devices, you can update its OS by doing the steps below: 

  1. Access the Settings app on your device and scroll down to the bottom. 
  2. Next, tap on About or About Phone and select Software Update
  3. Finally, follow the on-screen prompts to install the latest software on your device.
Update Android

For iOS users, see the steps below to update your device’s operating system: 

  1. First, open the Settings app from your home screen and go to the General tab. 
  2. After that, tap on Software Updates
  3. Lastly, hit the Download and Install button and follow the on-screen prompts to update your iOS device. 
Update iOS

If you are on a different device, refer to the guides below to update your system: 

12. Reinstall the Hulu App. 

If updating your system and Hulu did not work, it is possible that some of Hulu’s installation files got corrupted and are no longer fixable by the update or the app was not installed properly on your device. 

Whichever the case is, we strongly suggest that you just reinstall the app to ensure that you have a working copy. 

For Android devices, check out the steps below to reinstall Hulu: 

  1. On your app drawer, locate Hulu and press its app icon until the selection menu shows up. 
  2. After that, tap the Uninstall button to delete Hulu
  3. Finally, access the Google Play Store on your device and reinstall the app from there. 
Hulu live not working

On iOS, you can reinstall Hulu by doing the following: 

  1. First, locate Hulu from your home screen and hold its app icon until the options screen appears. 
  2. Next, tap the Remove App button to uninstall Hulu
  3. Lastly, launch the App Store on your device and reinstall the Hulu app. 
Hulu live not working

If you are on a different system, please check the other guides below to reinstall Hulu: 

After reinstalling the app, go back to the media library to check if Hulu live is working on your device. 

13. Report the Problem to Hulu. 

For your last resort, we suggest that you step aside and let the professionals handle the situation. 

Visit the Hulu Help Center and get in touch with their team to report the issue. Elaborate on the problem that you’ve been experiencing with their live stream feature and provide a screenshot if possible. This will help Hulu understand your situation to offer you the best solution available. 

You can also browse the posts on Hulu’s Community page and see if you can find any answers from other users. 

Hulu live not working

This sums up our guide on what you should do if Hulu live is not working on your device. If you have any questions, please let us know in the comment section below, and we’ll do our best to answer them whenever we can. 

If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂

Author

  • John Sixto

    John is a staff writer at Saint and comes from a SAP ABAP development background. He has a Bachelors in IT and has been writing since 2018, with over 500 posts published. He loves to build PCs and has a deep curiosity in understanding how different components and configurations work. John spends hundreds of hours at a time, researching and testing the software and apps, before he proceeds to write about it. LinkedIn X (Twitter)

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