Can You Download Netflix Movies On A Laptop? – Everything You Should Know

Netflix is the most popular movie and TV show streaming platform in the world. While people enjoy streaming content online, Netflix also offers the option to download movies and TV shows for offline viewing.

However, people who are using Netflix on laptops or PCs are not aware of this function because of technical reasons.

In this article, we will be exploring how you can download Netflix movies offline and watch them even when you don’t have an internet connection. Let’s get right to it:

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How To Download Netflix Movies On A Laptop? – A Step-by-Step Guide

Downloading Netflix movies on a laptop is a simple enough task when you are aware of the process. Hence, I will be sharing a detailed step-by-step guide to help you do it.

Step 1: Download Netflix App

First of all, you need to download the Netflix app directly from the Microsoft store. You can directly open the Microsoft Store and download the app for free.

One of the reasons you might not have been able to download your favorite movies is that Netflix doesn’t support downloads when streaming on the browser.

You can only download and watch Netflix movies and TV shows inside the app and watch them offline. You won’t be able to access them outside of the app.

Step 2: Log-in To Your Netflix Account

Once you have downloaded and installed the app on your system, the next step is to log in to your Netflix account.

Whether you have a family account that you are sharing or an individual account, you will be able to easily download and watch your favorite content after logging into an account.

Step 3: Search for The Movie You Want To Download

Next, you have to search for the specific movie or TV show you want to download. Once you open it on the app, you will see the download option available with a downward arrow icon.

For TV shows, you will have to download each episode individually as the Netflix Desktop app doesn’t support downloading whole TV shows at once.

However, if you are using a smartphone or tablet, you will have the option to download the whole season at once instead of downloading individual episodes.

Step 4: Download The Movie

Once you click on the download icon, the movie will start downloading. The download time will depend on your internet speed. It can take a few minutes, but once the movie has been downloaded you will be able to watch it offline.

Netflix supports up to 100 active downloads at a time depending on the nature of your subscription.

Hence, multiple members who are sharing an account will be able to download their favorite movies at once on their personal devices.

Step 5: Watch Offline

Once the movie has been downloaded, you can watch it anytime you want. There will be no longer a need to have an internet connection.

If your laptop is not connected to the internet, you will automatically be taken to the downloaded movies and TV shows page when you open Netflix.

That’s all you had to do. Now you can enjoy your downloaded movie anytime you want.

It is important to remember that each downloaded movie and TV series will have an expiry date. Most downloads last only for 7 days and are automatically deleted after that. During this time, you can watch it as many times as you want.

However, once the time has passed, you will have to redownload the movie. So, the downloaded movies won’t stay forever for offline viewing.

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Using Third-Party Applications To Download Netflix Movies

There are various third-party applications you can use to download Netflix movies directly from the local storage of your laptop.

However, that is not allowed by Netflix. First of all, you will be breaching your privacy as you will have to log in to your Netflix account using that third-party application, which will compromise your password.

If your account gets suspended or banned from Netflix, you won’t be able to get it back because Netflix strictly prohibits the use of third-party applications to download movies and TV shows.

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Accessing Downloading Netflix Movies In Local Storage

When you download Netflix movies through the official app, it is still stored in your local storage. However, Netflix doesn’t allow you to access these files.

The downloaded files are stored inside the App Data folder of your Netflix and are hidden. Locating it is not the problem, but the files are encrypted and saved in a different extension.

Hence, even if you copy these files to another device, you won’t be able to watch the movies you have downloaded. Even if you try opening them through a media streaming tool, they will just prompt an unknown file error.

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Frequently Asked Questions

If I download Netflix movies on my laptop, can I watch them offline on other devices as well?

No, the files are stored locally inside your laptop. Although inaccessible, these files are not located on other devices. Hence, if you want to watch a movie offline on another device, you will have to download it separately on that device.

Can I use other apps to download Netflix movies on my laptop?

It is not permitted. You can use other apps but that will involve compromising your Netflix account. If Netflix catches any such activity, they might suspend your account or ban you from creating an account again.

Can I open downloaded Netflix movies in another app?

No, you cannot. Downloaded Netflix movies can only be watched inside the Netflix desktop app on a laptop. Hence, you will have to watch them in the Netflix app and the option to watch them in another app is not available.

What will happen to my downloaded Netflix movies if my account is deleted?

If your account is suspended or deleted, all the downloaded movies will be automatically deleted. Similarly, if you delete the Netflix app, all of the downloaded content will be automatically deleted.

How long do Netflix movies remain available for offline viewing?

Netflix movies that you download for offline viewing are available for a certain period of time. During that time, you can watch the movies as many times as you want. The expiry date of each download is mentioned on the download page. After that, it is deleted.

Wrapping Up!

Netflix allows you to download movies inside the app to watch online on laptops as well as smartphones and tablets.

However, if you are streaming movies and TV shows using a web browser you won’t be able to download them.

The above guide shares detailed step-by-step instructions on how you can download Netflix movies on your laptop and watch them offline.

There are also some important considerations that you need to take into account which have been shared above. Good Luck!