Where to Find the New Netflix Sound-Only Mode on Android
Netflix is currently testing a dedicated audio-only mode for its mobile apps, specifically Android. While this is not a guarantee that such a useful feature will see the light of day in the stable version, it is promising, and if you are lucky, you can test this feature right now.
I totally understand that you are laughing at the idea of ”listening” to a movie instead of watching it, trust me. I would have had the same reaction, but we did it all the time when I was a technical editor. The Maximum PC team spent the day in the lab performing all sorts of performance tests, assembling (and breaking) various components, and packing and unpacking the limitless shipping boxes. We put on films to pass the time, but we can’t just squat and watch them. We had shit.
Was anything lost due to listening to sound only? Obviously yes, but if this is a movie that you’re already familiar enough with, losing the visuals – or just checking them out from time to time, or glancing at favorite scenes – doesn’t really matter. I see the same is true if you are traveling and want to listen to something more immersive than radio (or your favorite podcasts ). Why not stage your favorite movie? And since you’re not streaming video, you should be using a lot less of your precious cellular data limit (in theory).
To see if you are eligible for a Netflix audio-only trial, you need to make sure you are running at least 7.84.1 Android app version (Build 28 35243). It’s easy to check on the Google Play store; just click on “About this app” and scroll down until you see the version number in the “App Information” section.
If you can, try subscribing to the Netflix beta at the bottom of the app list. When I checked it was full, but if you can log in, you will only increase your chances of being chosen to test such limited edition features.
A word on this: Since Netflix’s sound-only mode is server-side unlocking, you might not see it in your app, even if you’re using the most recent version you can get. If you’re eligible, you’ll find out pretty quickly when you open up anything to watch on Netflix. At the top of the screen, just above the pause button, you’ll see an option to turn video on and off .
I don’t have this option, so I get the normal screen shown above. (Also, blame Netflix for not allowing screenshots of its content.)
If you can access this feature – you’re in luck – you’ll also find an entirely new option in the Netflix settings screen. In the redesigned Playback Video & Audio category in the app settings, you can choose when Netflix should default to sound-only mode: always, never, or whenever it detects that you are using headphones or external speakers.
We don’t know when Netflix will roll out this feature to everyone, if it ever comes, but we’ll let you know if that changes. I can’t wait to test this feature as I can’t wait to enjoy movies without wasting precious data when I can’t focus on my screen for hours.