Netflix has tons of shows and movies to watch. Since it is a streaming service, it requires an Internet connection to work. Of course, you can also download and watch shows later when you have no connection. Most of us watch Netflix on a TV or other device using a Wi-Fi connection instead of over cellular. This is because Netflix may use a lot of data. How much data you use depends on two things:
- How often you watch something on Netflix.
- The video quality of movies or shows you are watching. You can customize the video quality. Higher quality, like high-definition, means more data.
According to Netflix, it may use up to 7 GB of data per hour. You can watch Netflix on your iPhone 18 Pro or iPhone 18 Pro Max using the Netflix app over Wi-Fi or cellular. I recently attempted to watch a Netflix show on my iPhone 18 Pro, but I could not due to a network error. This was because, by default, Netflix is disabled and won’t play when you are connected to the Internet over cellular. Some data plans come with a data cap. If you are in a plan like that, using Netflix, or similar streaming services, may not be a good idea for you. You may end up having to pay extreme overage fees. If needed, you can also manage and limit your cellular usage by changing your device settings.
If you are not worried about using too much data and you wish to watch Netflix over cellular, you can. However, you may see a message saying, “Network Error – You have selected to playback on Wi-Fi only. Go to App Settings to change. (40101)” In this article, I explain how you can change your settings so that you can watch Netflix over cellular on your iPhone 18 Pro.
Change playback settings on iPhone 18 Pro
Follow these steps to change the playback settings on your device:
- Open the Netflix app on your iPhone.
- Tap your username under “Who’s Watching?” if you have multiple profiles.
- In the lower right, tap My Netflix.
- At the top, tap the profile name.
- Tap App Settings.
- Under Video Playback, select Cellular Data Usage.
- On the Cellular Data Usage screen, you will see four options:
- Automatic: This is the only toggle button. If you turn this on, the other options will be disabled. This will let Netflix automatically set the video quality. According to Netflix, under this setting, you can watch about 4 hours per GB of data. This will allow Netflix to work on Wi-Fi or cellular.
- Wi-Fi Only: If you select this option, Netflix won’t work when your phone is only connected to a cellular network. You should choose this if your cellular data plan is limited to a certain number of GBs. A good option for you to avoid overage charges, then, would be to download the shows or movies you want to watch while connected to Wi-Fi, then watch them later when you have no Wi-Fi and are offline.
- Save Data: This can be an ideal option. Netflix will work when your device has a Wi-Fi connection or a cellular-data connection. This will let you watch about 6 hours per GB of data. This is the option I choose.
- Maximum Data: If you select this, you will be able to watch Netflix in the highest possible video quality, whether connected to cellular or Wi-Fi. This also means that this option uses the most data — 1 GB per 20 minutes or more, depending on your device and network speed. This option may even use up your home Wi-Fi if you watch a lot of Netflix because many of them are not really unlimited, as they claim.
Choose your preferred setting and select OK if prompted. Note that you won’t be able to change this setting if Automatic is toggled on or you have pending downloads. If your preferred setting is grayed out, toggle Automatic off, or cancel or finish any pending downloads, then try again.
If Netflix still won’t play over cellular after changing this, check the setting on your iPhone itself. Go to Settings > Cellular and scroll down to the list of apps. Make sure the switch next to Netflix is on — Apple notes that when cellular data is off for an app, your iPhone uses only Wi-Fi for that app, whatever the app’s own settings say. Tap Show All in that list to see how much cellular data Netflix has used.
I should note that similar settings are available for downloads. You can allow or disallow Netflix downloads over cellular. To do this:
- Open Netflix.
- In the lower right, tap My Netflix. At the top, tap the profile name, then tap App Settings.
- Under the Downloads section, turn on or off the Wi-Fi Only option. You can also customize the video quality: tap Download Video Quality and select either Standard or High/Higher.
