Widespread Netflix Profile-Switching Glitch Disrupts Viewing on August 27, 2025

Los Angeles, August 27, 2025 - Netflix users across the United States experienced a profile-switching error throughout the day on Wednesday, as many subscribers encountered the message “Profile operation failed | We’re unable to switch profile. (-1016)” when attempting to change profiles on their devices.

According to reports on social media and troubleshooting forums, the issue first emerged early in the morning. Affected devices ranged from smart TVs and streaming sticks to mobile apps, with intermittent reports of the error persisting into the afternoon. The error code -1016, typically indicating corrupted app data or a network-sync problem, prevented subscribers from accessing secondary profiles, forcing many to watch from a single profile or restart the app repeatedly without success.

Netflix’s support pages recommended standard remedies-restarting devices, clearing app caches, and signing out on all devices-yet these fixes provided only temporary relief for some users. By late afternoon, however, the platform’s technical team had implemented a backend adjustment that restored profile-switching functionality for the vast majority of customers.

Despite the disruption, Netflix confirmed via its help center that no user data or viewing history was lost, and the service issued no compensation. Users were encouraged to update their apps and reboot their devices to ensure the error would not recur.

Subscribers hoping to avoid similar interruptions in the future may consider regularly clearing app caches and ensuring their devices run the latest software versions.