Phone and Tablet Tips
Brilliant things to do on your device
ANDROID Download Netflix movies and TV shows to watch offline
In Issue 492 (see page 44), we explained how to download Netflix movies and TV programmes to watch offline. This kind of data can quickly eat into your phone’s storage space. Thankfully, Netflix now lets some Android users download content on to their SD card. Netflix says that the feature is not available on all devices. We’ll show you how to check whether the feature is available for your device.
Open the Netflix app on your device ( www.snipca.com/23317) and create an account (or log in if you already have one). The service is free for the first 30 days, after which monthly subscription plans starts at £5.99 (see www.snipca. com/23318). To watch offline you’ll need to change Netflix’s default download settings, so tap the menu button (three lines at the top left), then tap App Settings.
Here, ensure Wi-fi Only is ticked (see screenshot below left) – this ensures you can’t download using mobile data. Next, click Download Video Quality and change it from Standard (the default) to High. This will result in larger files, but better video resolution. Next, tap Download Location. If you have an SD card installed and the feature is available for your device, then you’ll see your SD card here. Tap to select it.
To download a movie or TV show, tap the menu button on the main screen, tap the ‘Available for Download’ section, select what you want to download, then tap the Download button. You’ll see its download progress at the bottom. To watch these files, go to the My Downloads section in the menu.
ANDROID & IOS Watch Whatsapp videos on your TV
Whatsapp Messenger (Android www.snipca. com/23319; IOS www. snipca.com/23320) is one of the most popular mobile apps. In Issue 491 (see page 44), we told you how to use it to make free video or voice calls over your phone’s mobile network or via Wi-fi. With its latest update, the app lets you play videos as soon you receive them, while they are still downloading (previously, you had to wait for the video to finish downloading before watching it).
Better still, if you use Google’s Chromecast (£30 from www.snipca.com/ 23322) you can now stream any videos you receive via Whatsapp to your TV. Tap to start playing your video. You’ll now see the Chromecast icon at the top or bottom (see screenshot above). Tap to select it, then select the name of your Chromecast to watch the video on your TV.