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How to download movies and TV shows from Netflix

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Netflix and Chill, our one of the favorite things to do. Here is a piece of good news from Netflix. It now allows you to certain movies and TV shows to its app for iPhone and iPad. This amazing feature will be very helpful when you are travelling and don’t have access to cellular data or buy in-flight internet access. Here is all the information about how to download movies and TV shows from Netflix.

What you will see?

  • How to download a movie or TV episode on Netflix?
  • Remove a downloaded movie or TV episode from Netflix
  • What happens to the downloaded TV shows and movies?
  • How long can you have a download from Netflix?
  • Re-download TV shows and movies from Netflix
  • What is the Netflix download limit?
  • Why Does Netflix Have a Download Limit?
  • Common Netflix Download Limit Errors
  • How big are the downloaded movies from Netflix?
  • Conclusion

How to download a movie or TV episode on Netflix?

Netflix allows this feature for only some of the movies and shows, but the list of choices is big enough, which includes Netflix Originals too. Follow these steps to download a movie or TV episode on Netflix:

  1. Open the Netflix app.
  2. Tap the menu button in the upper-left corner. It looks like three horizontal lines.
  3. Select Available for Download.
  4. Tap the show or movie that you want to download.
  5. Select the download button next to the movie or episode that you want to download (looks like an arrow).
download a movie or TV episode on Netflix
How to download movies and TV shows from Netflix 8
download a movie or TV episode on Netflix
How to download movies and TV shows from Netflix 9

Remove a downloaded movie or TV episode from Netflix

When you’ve completed watching a show or movie and want to free up space on your device, follow these steps:

  1. Open the Netflix app.
  2. Tap the menu button in the upper-left corner. It looks like three stacked horizontal lines
  3. Click on the title if you’re looking to delete select episodes of a show.
  4. Select Edit.
  5. Tap the delete button (looks like an ‘x’) next to the items you want to remove.
Remove a downloaded movie or TV episode
How to download movies and TV shows from Netflix 10
Remove a downloaded movie or TV episode
How to download movies and TV shows from Netflix 11

What happens to the downloaded TV shows and movies?

Here is all about the downloaded shows and movies:

  • Saved in the Downloads section of the app.
  • Available only on the device on which they were downloaded.
  • Can be viewed from any profile in your account.
  • Use the audio and subtitle settings that were set at the time of the download.
  • Kids profiles may not be able to view all downloaded TV shows and movies based on the maturity rating of the title.

How long can you have a download from Netflix?

Netflix downloads can’t last forever though. The amount of time the downloads can remain on your device varies according to license and sometimes by the titles. Most of the downloads last for 7 days. Besides, Netflix will display the number of remaining days for the download beside the title on the app’s Download page.

When a download has expired, an orange exclamation mark and the word expired will appear beside the title. But there is nothing to worry about, you can download it again anytime you want.

Redownload Netflix shows and movies

Here is how you can download your shows which have expired, again:

  • Find the title or episode, either on your downloads tab or on the show or movie itself.
  • Tap the orange exclamation mark which says expired.
  • In the pop-up menu, tap on Renew to start downloading again.
Redownload shows and movie
How to download movies and TV shows from Netflix 12

What is the Netflix download limit?

Netflix allows users to download movies and TV series to watch offline. But a limit is set to stop users from downloading too many movies or TV shows. A user can download a maximum of 100 titles of a single device at any given time. After that, they will see an error which prevents them from downloading any more content on that device. Additionally, depending on the Netflix subscription plan, you’ll only be able to download titles on one, two or four devices at any given time.

Netflix download limit
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Why Does Netflix Have a Download Limit?

Netflix in recent years has invested heavily in original content and has created a great library of movies, TV shows and documentaries. But Netflix still has a lot of content which it licenses from other content creators. The download limit is something that is controlled by these license holders and it varies from title to title. Netflix doesn’t exactly tell the download limit set on each title. But you will get notified about the download limit when there’s just one final download left.

The download expiration of titles owned by other creators is also set by them, and it varies from creator to creator. That means some downloaded titles may not expire for weeks on end, and some might expire in just 48 hours. There’s no way to find out the exact expiration date for a title. This is quite inconvenient, especially if you aren’t able to watch the title within the expiration limit. Once you’ve expended the number of times you can download a particular title, you might have to wait for a long time before you’re able to download the same title again. Netflix doesn’t provide any clarification about why there’s a download limit on original content as well.

Netflix download limit
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Common Netflix Download Limit Errors

As Netflix doesn’t clearly states anything about the download limits there’s no way to know when you’ve exceeded a limit. There are some errors you might face when you download Netflix movies to watch offline. Here are the most common errors:

You have too many downloaded videos

Users can store a maximum of 100 unique titles on a single device at any given time. In case you exceed that limit, you’ll see an error on your screen saying that you have too many downloaded videos on your device. In order to download any more titles, you’ll have to delete older downloads from your device.

You have downloads on too many devices 

Netflix allows you to download content on one, two or four devices at any given time, according to your subscription plan. If you try to download any more titles, you will see an error message on your screen saying that you have downloaded on too many devices. To continue downloading movies or TV shows on your device, you’ll have to delete all older downloads from another device or upgrade your subscription plan.

You have reached the yearly download limit for this video

Netflix can prevent you from downloading a title more than a number of fixed times. The number of downloads depend on the licensing agreement the platform has with the content creator. In case you download one particular file more than a couple of times, Netflix will show you an error that you’ve reached the yearly download limit for that title. After that you’ll have to wait for the stated time period before you can download the title again.

How big are the downloaded movies from Netflix?

Netflix has the default option for download feature as Standard Quality. In this setting, mostly the movie size varies from around 500MB to 1GB depending on the duration and content. When you set the quality option as High, the size of the movie will vary from 1.6GB to 2GB or bigger. It is obvious that such large files will result in filling up your device storage space and will slow the device performance. You definitely will not want this.

Conclusion

Netflix has come a long way from mail-in subscription to become the most popular streaming service. It has thousands of movies and TV shows, ready to be streamed at anytime. Now Netflix has brought yet another great feature to download your favourite TV shows and movies on your iPhone and iPad. You cannot download all the shows but there are many titles under the downloadable criteria. And the biggest thing is if the download gets expired, you can download it again.

Which show or movie are you currently binging on? Tell us in the comments section.

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