How to Download Netflix Movies & TV to Watch Offline

This guide explains how to download movies from Netflix for offline playback. Being able to binge-watch everything is great and we all love to Netflix and chill, but if you have a long plane ride or no WiFi how will you watch your shows? Well, you can download Netflix movies and TV shows to your Android, iPhone, Windows device and more, and play them back later without the internet.

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Keep in mind that Netflix doesn’t give us access to its entire catalog for offline playback, but there is more than enough to keep you entertained no matter the situation. So, fire up the app, choose the download quality and get started by following our quick video guide or step-by-step instructions below.

How to Download Netflix Movies & TV Shows for Offline Playback

To get started simply watch our video or hit the “Downloads” column near the bottom of the Netflix app and you’re all set. From there you can start browsing the entire catalog of downloadable movies and TV shows.

However, before you do that we recommend choosing your download quality and storage location first before you start searching for shows to watch without WiFi.

Instructions

• Open the Netflix app on Android, iOS, Windows, Chromebooks and more
• Tap the More button near the bottom right and head to App Settings
• Choose your video download quality and download location (if available)

Netflix offers two quality levels for downloads: Standard and High. And while they don’t say if HD is 720p or 1080p, it looks great on phones, the iPad, and even my 12-inch Chromebook. I download shows in Standard, which is probably somewhere around DVD quality. This saves time and space, as the files aren’t as big.

Once you choose the download quality and location, like a microSD card, you’re ready to start downloading Netflix movies and TV shows to your device.

• Tap the Downloads column near the bottom right of the screen
• Select Find More to Download (if you didn’t already)
• Browse the collection of content available for download (not everything will be available)
• Simply hit the Download arrow and let the app do the rest

Alternatively, you can simply look for the download button when browsing the catalog as you regularly do. Hitting the “Find more t0 download” simply filters out content Netflix doesn’t offer for download yet. Making it easier to browse and find shows you know you’ll be able to save for later.

At any moment go to My Downloads or simply tap the downloads column again, and you’ll see your entire list of movies and shows on the device. Click to watch anything your heart desires.

How Many Netflix Movies or Shows Can I Download?

The number of movies or TV shows you can download depends on the quality you choose and how much storage space you have on your device. A typical 2-hour movie on Standard will use around 400-500MB. So two movies per 1GB of free space on your phone or tablet.

I downloaded the entire hit series Stranger Things to watch at my family cabin in the woods this summer. The first episode is 48 minutes long and took 197MB of space in Standard quality and 310MB on High. And the entire season took less than 2GB of space total in Standard quality, which looked great.

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I also have a MicroSD card in my Galaxy S20, so space isn’t an issue.  If you’re watching on a bigger screen or pickier than me, you’ll want to download in high quality. Just make sure you’re doing this on a home WiFi connection as it’ll use a lot of data. Then you’ll be ready for later when there’s no internet.

Other Details

Just remember, the entire Netflix library isn’t available to download offline. Anything extremely new or popular likely won’t be an option right away. Plus, over time movies and shows available for download come and go, just like the regular library.

If you don’t want to search forever for something to download, just look for a Netflix Originals movie or show. You can count on those being available for playback offline almost immediately.

In closing, at any moment you can head to More > App Settings and delete your entire download collection to free up space on your device for another show like Altered Carbon.