Netflix Now Lets You Control Data Usage When Streaming Over Cellular

It’s very easy to blow through your entire mobile data allotment for the month watching Netflix in HD. An episode of a TV show can weigh as much as a couple of GBs in high resolution and that can quickly eat away at the data allotment for the month. To give users more control over how streaming impacts their mobile data usage Netflix today announced that it has rolled out its cellular data controls globally.

The default setting in this new tool will enable users to stream about three hours of TV shows and movies per gigabyte of data, that amounts to about 600 Kilobits per second. Netflix says that its testing found that on a cellular network this bitrate balances good video quality with lower data usage.

Those who have a mobile data plan with a higher data cap can adjust this setting to increase the bitrate, and therefore the video quality while keeping their data usage in check so that they don’t incur overage fees.

Users can access this tool by first updating their Netflix app for iOS or Android to the most recent version. The Cellular Data Usage tool is located in the App Settings which can be accessed from the menu.

It’s here that the automatic default can be switched off and a higher or even a lower data usage setting can be selected when streaming over a mobile data plan. There’s even an option for those who have an unlimited data cap. This setting will only affect data usage when Netflix is being streamed over cellular and will not be affected when streaming is being done over Wi-Fi.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: Netflix