We’d been asking for it for years, but in 2016 Netflix finally introduced the ability to download shows and movies to watch offline. The selection is limited, but there’s plenty to keep you entertained on a flight or long commute. Here’s how to watch Netflix offline.
How to watch Netflix offline on iPad or iPhone
On your iOS device, you’ll need to make sure you’ve got the Netflix app installed and updated to the latest version. You can find out whether your app is up-to-date by going to the iOS App Store and tapping updates.
Once it’s installed and updated, you’ll need to launch the app and log in to your Netflix account.
Navigate to the menu and then “Available for Download” to make sure you’re only looking at shows and movies you can download to watch offline. You’ll still see them sorted into Popular and Recently Added as well as categories tailored to you.
Once you’ve picked something you want to download, tap it, and then scroll until you can see the list of episodes. You’ll spot a downwards arrow icon – that represents download.
Tapping it will start the download process – you’ll see a blue bar along the bottom of the screen and a white progress bar right above it.
If your iPhone or iPad has lots of storage space available, you might want to consider downloading a higher quality version of the show or movie. In order to do so, head to the menu and tap App Settings.
Navigate to the Downloads section, tap Video Quality and select the option best suited to you. It might take a bit longer to download a video at higher quality, so keep this in mind if you’re in a hurry.
Once it’s downloaded, the blue bar at the bottom will say Download Complete. You can then tap it to be taken to the My Downloads page. If you can’t see the blue bar (perhaps because you’ve navigated away from the page), you can get to My Downloads by going to the menu (found by tapping the three lines in the top right corner) and then tapping My Downloads.
To watch the downloaded episodes or movies, tap the one you want to watch and then, if necessary (if it’s an episode that’s part of a series, for example), tap again to play it.
Read next: How to watch US Netflix in the UK
Author: Ashleigh Macro, Head of Affiliate
Ashleigh is Tech Advisor's Head of Affiliate. Providing expert buying advice you can trust is her forte, helping you to find the most reputable consumer tech products and services, and ensuring you don't spend a penny more than you should.