Im using the newest version of brave I have the same problem on Windows.
help me…
While the template wasn’t followed and I don’t know what Brave version or distro you are using, this error can honestly popup if Widevine itself hasn’t updated, or is just missing (despite being enabled).
Head to brave://components and look for this and click Check for update.
and my brave version is Brave 1.89.143 (Official Build) (64-bit)
Chromium: 147.0.7727.117
Ok, it’s up to date and the same version as mine.
Since you have the same issue on Windows, is the monitor not HDCP compliant perhaps? Basically the error appears to be a DRM failure, and there’s a breakdown of “trust” with the computer. (Netflix’s trust with your computer, even though we of course trust our own computers, lol).
I have no idea, but it must be a Brave bug because it works on Chrome and other browsers, except for Brave.
If you had led with this, I could have tried troubleshooting differently, including testing here.
So I did:
…and I couldn’t reproduce. Netflix worked just fine.
Let’s break this down then:
- What extensions are installed?
- What troubleshooting steps have you already perfomed?
- Are the two browsers syncing with each other?
Since I cannot reproduce this, but you claim it works on these other browsers but not Brave, then it must be something installed into your Brave that happens to be syncing to the both of them on Windows and Linux.
This doesn’t answer my points 1 and 2. Completely ignored the extensions question, and regarding what you’ve actually done.
I’ll leave this for someone else.
Re your report:
Netflix problem with error code: M7701-1003.
Linux (Ubuntu). Widevine is enabled and up-to-date; at
brave://componentsWidevine Content Decryption Module - Version 4.10.2934.0 is up-to-date.Brave Browser v1.89.143 (Official Build) (64-bit)
Chromium: 147.0.7727.117
What ChatGPT has to say:
That specific Netflix error — M7701-1003 — almost always points to a DRM / Widevine compatibility issue, even when everything looks up to date.
Here’s the catch: the problem usually isn’t that Widevine is missing, but that Netflix doesn’t accept the combination of browser + DRM environment it’s seeing.
What’s likely going on
- Netflix relies on Widevine DRM, which Brave inherits from Chromium
- On Linux, Netflix often enforces stricter checks than on Windows/macOS
- Brave (even though Chromium-based) is sometimes treated as an unsupported browser by Netflix DRM checks
So even with:
- Widevine installed
- Latest version
- Shields adjusted
…it can still fail.
Things that actually fix this (in practice)
1. Try a different user agent (most effective workaround)
Netflix may be rejecting Brave outright.
Use a UA switcher extension and spoof:
- Chrome on Windows (recommended)
Example UA:
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64)
AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko)
Chrome/147.0.0.0 Safari/537.36
2. Disable Brave Shields for Netflix
On netflix.com:
-
Turn Shields off
-
Especially disable:
- Fingerprinting protection
- Script blocking
Brave’s privacy features can interfere with DRM playback.
3. Check Widevine actually loads
Go to:
brave://components
Then:
- Update Widevine
- Restart browser
Then verify at:
brave://gpu
Look for DRM / video decode status.
4. Try a clean profile
Sometimes profile corruption causes DRM failures:
- Create a new Brave profile
- Don’t install extensions
- Test Netflix
5. Compare with Chrome
Install Google Chrome on the same system:
- If Netflix works there → confirms a Brave-specific issue
- If it fails → system-level DRM problem
6. Linux reality check (important)
Netflix support on Linux is unofficial-ish and brittle:
-
Works best on Chrome
-
Can break on:
- Browser updates
- DRM version mismatches
- User-agent detection
Bottom line
This error is not a simple “update Widevine” issue — it’s usually Netflix rejecting Brave’s environment.
The fastest fix:
Spoof Chrome on Windows via user agent
Or just use Chrome for Netflix