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Why apps disappeared from your Sony TV

If Netflix, YouTube or another app has vanished from an older Sony BRAVIA, your TV probably is not broken. The service was switched off for that set, usually by the company behind the app, and Sony then removed it. Sony publishes a notice when this happens. We collected every one we could find on Sony's support site in one list, with the date and the TVs each one hit.

Updated 15 October 2026

Every app Sony has switched off, newest first

Each app name links to Sony's own notice, which lists every affected model. "Some" means exactly that: Sony switched the app off on certain models of that year, not on all of them.

DateWhat stoppedWhich TVs
Late May 2026Parts of the TV guide and TV menu2023 to 2025 BRAVIA TVs
23 July 2025NetflixSome 2015 BRAVIA TVs
19 December 2024Living Decor αClockSome 2018 to 2023 BRAVIA TVs
24 July 2024NetflixSome 2014 BRAVIA TVs
End of February 2024NetflixSome 2012 and 2013 TVs
1 December 2019NetflixSome 2009 to 2011 TVs
26 October 2019Amazon Prime VideoSome 2009 to 2013 TVs
October 2019Video and TV SideView, the phone companion appEvery set that used it
March 2018Twitter, also called TV TweetTVs without Android, released 2010 to 2016
30 June 2017SkypeSome 2011 and 2012 TVs
1 May 2017Artist names in TrackID, the song finderSome older BRAVIA TVs
30 September 2016YouTube for TVSome older BRAVIA TVs
27 April 2015FacebookSome older BRAVIA TVs
20 April 2015YouTubeSome older Sony TVs

These dates come from Sony's support site for the United States. In other countries the date can differ. Netflix alone has now dropped older Sony sets in four rounds, and each round reached newer sets than the one before.

Is your TV on the list?

First find your model number. It is on the sticker on the back of the TV, and our Sony model number guide shows where to find it in the menu too. The same guide tells you the year your set came out.

Then open the Sony notice for the app that disappeared, using the link in the table, and look for your model in its list. If it is there, the app was switched off on purpose and is not coming back on that TV. If it is not there, jump to what to do when your TV is not on the list.

Can you get the app back?

Not on that television. Once an app is switched off for a model, no update, reset or reinstall brings it back. Sony's own advice in its recent Netflix notices is to watch through a supported streaming device instead.

In practice that means a streaming stick, such as a Fire TV Stick, a Roku, a Chromecast or an Apple TV, plugged into a spare HDMI socket. It comes with current apps and keeps getting them, whatever age your TV is. Your TV's picture and sound stay as they are; the TV simply shows what the stick sends it.

One exception: if your Sony runs Android TV or Google TV and the app is not in one of Sony's lists, you can usually reinstall it yourself from the app store on the TV. The Sony guide explains how to tell which kind of Sony you have.

If your app is not on the list

Then the cause is probably something else. Sony's support article for exactly this problem suggests these steps. Try them one at a time, and check after each one whether the app is back:

  1. Check the TV is online. If the internet connection has a problem, app icons can disappear.
  2. On a Sony with Android TV or Google TV, look in the app store. If the app is still offered, install it again. If it is not offered any more, support for your model has probably ended.
  3. On any other Sony, refresh the app list. Press HOME, then Settings, then System Settings, then Set-up, then Network, then Refresh Internet Content. On sets from 2014 and earlier, skip System Settings and Set-up.
  4. Restart your internet router. Switch it off and unplug it for at least 30 seconds, plug it back in, and wait until it is fully back online. Then refresh the app list again.
  5. Restart the TV properly. Switch it off, unplug it from the wall, leave it without power for 60 seconds, then plug it back in.
  6. Update the TV's software. Turn on automatic software updates in the TV's menu and let it check for one.

One more cause to rule out: the apps on older Sony sets depend on the country. A set used outside the country it was built for can lose apps, and may show the message "Service has not started in this region".

Sony also notes that since 22 May 2018 a small number of sets may lose access to apps that used to work, because of changes on the servers behind them. The same steps are what Sony recommends for that.

If it is YouTube that stopped, our YouTube not working on TV guide goes through the fixes in more detail.

Why apps get switched off

It is almost never your TV failing. In Sony's notices the reasons come down to a handful:

  • The service ends support for older devices. Netflix has given "technical limitations" as the reason. Google did the same for YouTube in 2015, Facebook for its app, and Amazon for Prime Video.
  • Something behind the app changed. TrackID lost its artist names when the company supplying them changed how it delivers the data. Twitter stopped working when Twitter changed how you sign in.
  • Sony ends a service of its own. αClock and SideView were Sony's own, and Sony closed them.

Older sets usually cannot be updated to keep up, because the services move on to newer technology that the hardware in an old TV was never built for. That is why the fix is a small box on the HDMI socket rather than anything inside the TV.

Questions people ask

Why did Netflix disappear from my Sony TV?

Netflix has stopped supporting older Sony TVs in four rounds so far: some 2009 to 2011 models after 1 December 2019, some 2012 and 2013 models after the end of February 2024, some 2014 models from 24 July 2024, and some 2015 models from 23 July 2025. If your model is in Sony's list for one of those dates, the app is gone for good on that TV. A streaming stick brings Netflix back.

Why is YouTube not working on my old Sony TV?

Google stopped supporting the YouTube app on certain older devices, including some Sony TVs, after 20 April 2015. Sony then removed the separate YouTube for TV app from affected BRAVIA sets after 30 September 2016, because it showed a black screen or an error. On those sets YouTube cannot be restored, but a streaming stick plugged into HDMI runs a current YouTube app.

Can I reinstall an app that Sony removed?

Not on a TV that was in Sony's list for that app. The app is switched off for that model, so no update, reset or reinstall brings it back. If your Sony runs Android TV or Google TV and the app is not in one of Sony's lists, you can usually reinstall it from the app store on the TV. Otherwise, a streaming stick is the way to get current apps.

Does this also happen to newer Sony TVs?

Yes, though more rarely. Sony closed its αClock app on some 2018 to 2023 BRAVIA TVs on 19 December 2024, and parts of the TV guide and TV menu on 2023 to 2025 BRAVIA TVs from late May 2026. The big streaming apps have so far only been switched off on sets from 2015 and earlier.

My TV is not in any of Sony's lists, but the app stopped. What now?

Check the TV is online, then refresh the app list with Refresh Internet Content in the network settings, then restart your router and refresh again, then unplug the TV for 60 seconds, then update its software. On a Sony with Android TV or Google TV, look for the app in the app store instead of refreshing. Also check that the TV is being used in the country it was built for, because the apps on older Sony sets depend on the country.

Are these dates the same in every country?

Not always. The dates on this page come from Sony's support site for the United States. Sony publishes the same kind of notice in other countries, and the date there can differ.

To find your model number and year, use the Sony TV model number guide. To see what your TV's browser can still play, run the TV Capability Test on the TV itself, and for help choosing a streaming stick, see which Smart TV platform is best.