How to Download Movies from Netflix for Offline Viewing

October 3, 2020
Posted by Samson

So you get on a plane or jump in the car to take the longest journey in the world. You already know that WiFi is not available. How can you watch your favorite movies and TV shows on Netflix?

As it turns out, Netflix lets you download a lot of content for offline viewing. In other words, you can take your must-see TV shows and movies with you even on long trips and air travel. Huzzah! Read on for more information on how to download content from Netflix to all of your devices. The instructions below should work for iOS, Android, and Windows 10 devices, although they are specific to Windows. Note: While Windows PC users can download episodes for offline viewing, they must use the version of the Netflix app from the Windows Store.

Get your download on

Step 1: stay up to date

First, make sure your Netflix app is up to date. If you haven't set your device to update automatically, just click on the application in the App Store for iOS devices (you'll need version 9.0 or higher) or do the same in the Google Play Store for Android devices. To use Netflix for Windows 10, select Save from the system tray or the Start menu, click your user icon, and choose Downloads or Updates. When finished, select Check for Updates and the Netflix application will begin updating.

Step 2: Choose your download quality

Netflix offers two download quality levels: Standard and High. The latter appears to be high definition – anywhere between 720p and 1080p resolution – though Netflix doesn't specify it. Standard takes up less space on your device and allows content to be downloaded faster, while High requires a little more space and patience. Which one you want depends on how much free space you have and what type of device you are using. For example, the appearance of Standard Mode looks great on your new phone, while a higher resolution is preferable for your tablet or laptop.

To select it, select the menu icon on the left (or bottom right on Android) and scroll down to the app settings. From there, under the Downloads heading, click or tap Download video quality and select your preferred quality. We'll go into more detail about how much storage space Netflix downloads take up later in this article.

Step 3: choose your poison

Daniel Martin / screenshot

Not everything on Netflix is available for download, but the company has made it easier to find downloadable titles by placing them in a special section appropriately named "Available for Download". To find this category, click or tap the menu button, which resembles three horizontal lines. On Windows 10 devices, this is the penultimate option under the Home page. If you're using the Netflix app on iOS or Android, tap Downloads and choose What To Download or Find To Download to see the available songs.

If you are looking for a specific title, you know that it can be downloaded from the download icon. This is a down arrow with a horizontal line below it.

Step 4: start the download

To start downloading a title, select the download icon attached to the show or movie you want to watch. Here's a quick tip for Android users: the Netflix app lets you specify which location you want to download. Previously, Netflix used the storage device on which the app is available by default. However, a recent update means you can insert a microSD card into your smartphone and set it as the default download location in the settings menu.

Step 5: Check out your downloaded titles

Once downloaded, all Netflix content will appear in the Downloads section. Tap the menu button in the upper left corner of the application (or the navigation bar in the lower right corner on mobile devices). The “My Downloads” folder is located just above the “Home” section. The duration of the title and the storage space used are listed next to it. To play an episode, just click or tap the video's thumbnail.

Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

How much space do i need?

How much storage space a download requires depends on the length of the title and the quality of the resolution. To give you an idea of the numbers, we downloaded the first episode of Stranger Things and Netflix & # 39; The Ritual in both standard and high quality.

The ritual has a duration of 94 minutes. The standard version of the film required 542 MB of storage space, while the high-resolution version took up 1.8 GB. The first episode of Stranger Things is 48 minutes long and uses 197.1 MB of storage in standard quality and 310.1 MB in high. It's always a good idea to check how much space is available on your device before choosing between standard and high quality.

What is available

Not all shows and movies on Netflix are available for download, usually because the networks that own them have requested that they be removed from the list. However, there is one network that has offered all of the content for offline viewing – Netflix. Any Netflix original we come across is downloadable, including Stranger Things, Norsemen, The Witcher, Cobra Kai, Lucifer, The Umbrella Academy, and Orange Is the New Black.

Non-Netflix original titles available at the time of writing included TV shows like Criminal Minds, Better Call Saul, Breaking Bad, The Good Place, Jane the Virgin, Schitt & # 39; s Creek, and The Office. Movies available for download included Uncut Gems, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Vers, Triple Frontier, Dr. Seuss & # 39; The Lorax, The Bounty Hunter, Angel Has Fallen, Pineapple Express, The Croods, Sin City and The Hateful Eight.

However, there are some restrictions on how often you can download some titles and how long you have to watch them. For example, you cannot download the same episode of The Office more than three times in a single billing cycle. (Odd, we know.) You also need to view each one within a month of downloading it before it expires for offline viewing.

Not every property is that generous when it comes to downloading content. Occasionally, you come across a movie or show that can only be downloaded once due to the licensing agreement Netflix has with the network that owns it. Such titles will also expire after a week if you don't pay any attention to them and will disappear 48 hours after you first play them.

How do I delete titles?

Whether you have already viewed downloaded titles or just want to make room for other things, you may want to remove them, especially if you can only download 100 things at a time. There are two ways to do this depending on how much content you want to delete at one time.

Step 1: Delete a single track

If you want to delete a single track, you can do so from the My Downloads section. For example, in Windows 10, just open the title, click the Downloaded button, and choose Delete Download. You can also click the pencil edit icon and select the files to delete.