How to Fix Prime Video Error 7031: "Video Unavailable" Playback Error
What Prime Video error 7031 means
You press play on the show you have been waiting to watch, and instead of the opening scene you get a flat gray message: “Video Unavailable. We’re experiencing a problem playing this video. For assistance, please go to www.amazon.com/dv/error/7031.” It looks like the kind of error that needs a support ticket, but the story behind it is ordinary: Prime Video’s video player sent a request to start streaming your title, and that request failed before a single frame could load.
The frustrating part is that the same code covers a whole family of different failures. On one person’s phone it is a VPN that Prime Video refuses to stream to; on another’s TV it is an HDMI cable that fails the copy-protection handshake; on a third’s laptop it is nothing more than a stale login session that needs refreshing. The error page treats them all identically, which is why randomly trying fixes wastes so much time. The efficient approach is to work from the most common causes inward: session, subscription, cache, VPN, then the hardware and DRM layer.
One more thing worth knowing before you start: error 7031 can strike in a web browser while the mobile or TV app streams perfectly fine, or the other way around. Browser playback depends on the browser’s own DRM component and its saved cookies, which break independently of the app. So if the failing device is your laptop, do not assume the whole account is broken — clear the browser data and try a different browser before you touch your subscription.
Common causes
- Payment or membership problem: an expired or declined card on file, a lapsed Prime membership, or a failed subscription charge can block playback and surface as the generic 7031 instead of a clear billing message. Always worth checking, since it takes two minutes.
- VPN, proxy, or smart-DNS service: Prime Video detects and blocks many VPN IP addresses. On some devices that block shows up as the standard location message; on others it just throws the generic playback error 7031.
- Corrupted app cache or browser cookies: stale session data, expired authentication cookies, or a cache that conflicts with a recent server-side update will kill the stream before it starts.
- DRM or HDCP handshake failure: playback on a desktop runs through the browser’s Widevine DRM module, and playback on an external display runs through HDMI copy protection. A broken or outdated Widevine component, or a cable or screen that is not HDCP compliant (1.4 for HD, 2.2 for UHD/HDR), can fail the handshake and produce 7031.
- Unstable network or outdated app: a connection that drops mid-request, an old Prime Video app that no longer matches Amazon’s current player, or a genuine outage on Prime Video’s side can all produce the same screen.
How to fix Prime Video error 7031 — step by step
Work through these fixes in order. Most 7031 cases are fixed by step 1, 2, or 3.
- Restart the Prime Video app or browser — properly. Don’t just navigate away from the error screen. On Android, go to Settings > Apps > Prime Video and tap Force stop; on iPhone, swipe the Prime Video card away from the app switcher; on a smart TV or Fire TV stick, quit the app from the app switcher and reopen it. In a browser, close the Prime Video tab completely and open a fresh one. Before changing anything else, press play on a different title: if other movies and shows play fine, the problem was a one-off glitch with that one video file.
- Sign out and back in to refresh your session token. Authentication tokens expire or get corrupted, and a stale session is one of the fastest things to rule out. In the Prime Video app, open your profile or settings and choose Sign Out, then sign back in with your Amazon account. On the web, sign out from the account menu on primevideo.com and sign back in. This forces Amazon to issue fresh credentials, which clears the error in a surprising number of cases.
- Check your subscription and payment method on Amazon. A billing problem can block playback and show up as the generic error 7031. On amazon.com, go to Account, then Memberships and Subscriptions, and confirm your Prime membership or standalone Prime Video subscription is active. Check that your payment method has not expired and that there is no failed or declined charge on the account. If anything looks off, update the card and wait a few minutes before trying playback again.
- Clear the Prime Video app cache or browser data. Corrupted cached data conflicts with Prime Video’s servers and is a classic cause of 7031. On Android: Settings > Apps > Prime Video > Storage > Clear cache (do not tap Clear data unless you’re ready to sign in again). In Chrome or Firefox: open settings, clear browsing data including cookies and cached images and files for amazon.com and primevideo.com, then sign in again. On iPhone and Apple TV, Apple doesn’t allow manual cache clearing — delete the Prime Video app entirely and reinstall it from the App Store.
- Turn off your VPN, proxy, or location workaround. Prime Video detects and blocks many VPN IP addresses, and on some devices that block shows up as the generic error 7031 instead of a location message. Turn the VPN off completely — not just paused — quit the VPN app, disable any proxy in your network settings, and turn off DNS-level ad blockers or smart-DNS services. Then relaunch Prime Video and press play. If the error vanishes, the VPN was the entire cause.
- Update the app or browser, check HDCP and DRM, then reset the network. Install any Prime Video update from your device’s app store, or update your browser to the latest version — old players stop working after Amazon changes things on its end. On desktop, Chrome or Edge are the most reliable choices for Prime Video playback. If you watch through an external display, make sure the HDMI cable and screen are HDCP compliant (HDCP 1.4 for HD, HDCP 2.2 for UHD and HDR) — a failed copy-protection handshake can throw 7031. Finally, power-cycle your network: unplug the router and modem for a full 60 seconds, plug them back in, and retry. If nothing works, check DownDetector for a Prime Video outage, because a server-side failure can’t be fixed from your device.
Did this fix it? Quick checklist
- The title starts playing without the “Video Unavailable” message coming back
- Other titles — movies, shows, and rentals — play normally too
- Prime Video stays signed in after fully closing and reopening the app or browser
- 4K and HDR titles play if your plan and screen support them (this rules out an HDCP problem)
If 7031 only appears on one device — say your laptop’s Chrome browser while the phone app streams fine — that device is the suspect, not your account. Try the same title in a different browser on the same machine, because the Widevine DRM component differs per browser and a broken component in one browser does not affect the others. And if the failing setup routes through an HDMI switcher, splitter, or an older monitor, try connecting directly to the TV with a known-good cable: cheap adapters are a classic HDCP failure point.
Frequently asked questions
What is Prime Video error 7031?
Prime Video error 7031 is a playback failure that shows the message “Video Unavailable — We’re experiencing a problem playing this video” with a link to amazon.com/dv/error/7031. It means the Prime Video player tried to start your video and the request failed before playback could begin. Common causes include an expired session, a payment or subscription problem, a VPN or proxy being blocked, corrupted cache or cookies, or a DRM or HDCP handshake failure on an external display.
Does Prime Video error 7031 mean my Amazon account is banned?
No. Error 7031 is a technical playback problem, not an account action. Your Prime membership, watchlist, rentals, and purchases are untouched. It almost always comes down to the session, the app, the network, or a payment hiccup, and it is fixed with the steps above rather than any account appeal.
Why does error 7031 only happen in my browser and not the app?
Browser playback depends on the browser’s DRM component (Widevine) and its cookies, both of which go stale or break independently of the mobile or TV app. Clear the browser’s data for amazon.com and primevideo.com, update the browser, and try a different browser — Chrome or Edge on Windows are the most reliable for Prime Video. If the app plays fine, the browser’s cache or DRM was the culprit.
Will turning off my VPN fix Prime Video error 7031?
Very often, yes. Prime Video actively detects and blocks VPN IP addresses, and on some devices the block appears as the generic error 7031 instead of a location message. Turn the VPN off completely — not just paused — along with any proxy or smart-DNS service, then relaunch Prime Video. If playback starts immediately, the VPN was the entire cause.
My Prime membership is active — why do I still get error 7031?
An active membership does not rule out a failed or expired payment method on file, a corrupted session token, or a device-side problem like stale cache, a VPN, or an HDCP handshake failure with your TV or monitor. Work through the fixes in order: sign out and back in, verify the payment method under Memberships and Subscriptions, clear the cache, and disable any VPN. Most active-member cases are fixed by one of those steps.