How Do I Control Netflix Data Usage

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As you know that Netflix is a subscription-based service where people watch movies and TV shows. Netflix is like Youtube, and video streaming always consumes data. So, if you are worried about bandwidth limits while streaming movies or TV shows from Netflix, we have explained in this tutorial how you can adjust data usage settings on your TV through your Netflix profile or from your mobile device. Follow the simple steps below to adjust your data usage:

How Much Data Does Netflix Use?

Netflix data usage depends on the device you use, the data usage while streaming videos on TV is different from the data usage while streaming video on your mobile device. What determines again is the data usage you choose on your Netflix profile setting which will explain in this tutorial how to control it.  According to Netflix.com, Netflix offers 4 data usage settings.

Data used per hour, per device:

How Much Data Does streaming live TV Use?

  1. Low: Basic video quality, up to 0.3 GB

  2. Medium: Standard video quality, up to 0.7 GB

  3. High: Best video quality:

    • Standard definition: up to1 GB

    • High definition: up to 3 GB

    • Ultra-high definition (4K): up to 7 GB

  4. Auto: Adjusts automatically to deliver the highest possible quality, based on your current internet connection speed.

How Much Data Does Streaming Live on Mobile Devices Use?

Netflix offers 4 mobile data usage settings:

  1. Automatic: The Netflix app selects a setting that balances data usage and video quality. You can watch for about 4 hours per GB of data.

  2. Wi-Fi Only: Stream only while connected to Wi-Fi.

  3. Save Data: Watch about 6 hours per GB of data.

  4. Maximum Data:

    • Highest possible quality for your device and the TV show or movie you’re watching.

    • Can use 1 GB per 20 minutes or more, depending on your device and network speed.

    • Recommended only if you have an unlimited data plan.

NOTE: If you have also set your Netflix data usage, streaming on mobile devices won’t exceed this setting.
 

Method 1: How to Control Netflix Data Usage on Netflix Profile

Steps-by-steps

  1. Sign in to your Netflix account on Netflix.com
  2. Select the profile you want to control its data usage. Note that, Kids’ profile data usage settings cannot be controlled.
  3. Select the account
  4. Under “My Profile”, select “Playback settings
  5. Choose the amount of data usage from the data usage settings. Note that, this may reduce the quality when the data usage is reduced, and the lower the data usage the lower the video quality. Below are the three-level you can change the data usage:

Low – Reduced standard definition video quality, this will use up to 0.3 GB per hour per device.

Medium – Standard DVD quality video, this will use up to 0.7 GB per hour per device.

High – Best video quality, HD quality video (on supported content), this can use up to 3 GB per hour per device and up to 7 GB of usage per hour per device for Ultra HD video content.

Auto – This option automatically provides the highest quality for the current connection speed and signal strength.

  1. Uncheck the box marked “Play next episode automatically” to turn off auto playback.
  2. Click save. Your changes should take effect within 24 hours.

Method 2: Control Netflix Data Usage on Mobile Device

This setting is applicable when streaming Netflix video on a Mobile phone unlike the first solution above which is applicable when streaming Netflix video on TV set. So, follow the steps below to control Netflix data usage on your mobile phone:

Steps-by-steps:

  1. Open the Netflix App on your phone.
  2. Select the Menu icon.
  3. Select App Settings
  4. Select Cellular Data Usage and choose your preferred mobile data usage options. There are three options to choose in which you can choose from to control your data usage. They are:

Automatic – Netflix will automatically select a data usage setting that balances data usage with high video quality, this allows you to watch about 4 hours per GB of data.

Wi-Fi Only – Videos can only be streamed on your mobile device when connected to Wi-Fi.

Save Data – This makes you stream videos for about 6 hours per GB of data.

Maximum Data – Choose this only if you have an unlimited data plan. This setting will stream the video in HD and it is at the highest quality. This may use up to 1 GB per 20 minutes or more depending on your device’s graphics, screen resolution, and network speeds.