Can I Stream Netflix With 3G or 4G Cellular Mobile Data?

With over 220 million subscribers, Netflix is far and away the world’s go-to source of streaming entertainment. There’s little doubt that Netflix’s rise in popularity coincided with the wide adoption of smartphones and cellular network-connected tablets.

With devices like those, people suddenly had the option of watching their favorite TV shows and movies from anywhere at any time.

Over the years, however, Netflix has started to focus more and more on providing high-definition—and therefore high-bandwidth—streams.

They’re doing it amid a rise in ultra-high-speed home internet services and the rollout of newer, faster 5G cellular service.

For Netflix devotees in countries still heavily reliant on 3G and 4G cellular networks, though, that raises the question of how long they’ll still be able to stream content from Netflix while on the go.

To answer that, here’s a comprehensive look at whether you can still stream Netflix using 3G and 4G cellular networks.

We’ll discuss how much data Netflix consumes while streaming and the recommended throughput needed for the video quality levels Netflix offers.

Using that information, we’ll give you concrete answers on whether you can steam Netflix with your 3G and 4G devices. Let’s dive in.

Understanding Netflix’s Video Quality Tiers

Ever since Netflix began offering streams in HD quality, they’ve been tight-lipped about the stream bitrates they deliver.

That’s because they use a proprietary video encoding method that’s constantly under adjustment. Plus, most users only care about what their streams look like, not how much bandwidth they’re using.

For mobile users, though, bandwidth is a major concern. For one thing, many mobile users have monthly data caps.

That means watching a data-hungry stream for too long can use up their available data in a hurry. And in the case of 3G and 4G users, a stream’s bandwidth requirements determine if they can use their device to watch at all.

With that said, here are the approximate bitrates of Netflix’s most-used quality levels, as measured by independent testers.

We know there’s quite a bit to unpack there. However, there are only two things about the chart above that you need to understand.

First, it’s that the vast majority of content served by Netflix runs at 23.976 FPS. That’s the standard number of frames per second used for most television and movie productions.

However, you might run into 59.940 FPS content if you watch sports-related shows and documentaries, which might employ it for smoother-looking motion.

The second thing you need to know is that you can stream everything in the Netflix catalog at the minimum 480p resolution.

For this discussion, that’s important. It lets us know the minimum amount of bandwidth that you need to stream Netflix content—1750 kbps.

Can You Watch Netflix on a 4G Cellular Connection?

Devices that connect to the internet via a 4G cellular connection shouldn’t have a problem watching Netflix in most cases. Here’s why:

Modern 4G networks have a theoretical maximum download speed performance of up to 150 Mbps. That’s enough to watch a stream with a bitrate up to 150,000 kbps!

Of course, no 4G user ever reaches those theoretical maximum speeds. Signal interference, network traffic, and a variety of other factors make that impossible in the real world.

Most 4G users will see download speed averages between 12 Mbps and 20 Mbps under normal usage conditions.

It’s important to note that those are averages. So, if you look at the underlying data, you’ll find that it’s not uncommon for 4G download speeds to drop as low as 6.4 Mbps.

Fortunately, that still translates to 6,400 kbps. If you consult the Netflix quality chart, this means a 4G device user should have no trouble streaming Netflix at up to its 23.976 FPS HD 1080p quality level.

Can You Watch Netflix on a 3G Cellular Connection?

Even though countries like the US and the UK are in the process of decommissioning 3G networks, they’re still the backbone of cellular networks in large parts of the world.

That means a decent share of the Netflix subscriber base still streams—or tries to stream—their content using 3G. That’s astounding, given that 3G technology predates Netflix streaming by at least 6 years.

It’s worth pointing out, however, that 3G users will have a vastly different Netflix experience than their 4G counterparts.

That’s because 3G cellular technology only offers a theoretical maximum download speed of around 8 Mbps.

In the real world, however, most 3G users will see download speeds between 1 Mbps and 3 Mbps. When they’re at the high end of that range, they can just about manage a 23.976 FPS HD 720p Netflix stream.

At the lower end of that range, things get dicey fast.

A 1 Mbps download speed falls short of supporting Netflix’s lowest-quality SD streams. However, it’s unusual for a 3G user to see speeds that low for very long.

Most of the time, they’ll hover around 2 Mbps, which just barely satisfies Netflix’s lowest possible streaming bitrates.

So, the answer to whether it’s possible to stream Netflix on a 3G network is a qualified yes.

Under most real-world conditions, 3G users should be capable of watching Netflix at its lowest possible quality.

However, they can expect to see some buffering here and there that might complicate their user experience.

Here’s the good news, though. You can check your connection speed to Netflix’s servers by visiting Fast.com. If you see a result of 2 Mbps or above, you’re good to go. Just be mindful of your data cap if you have one!

The Takeaway

The main thing to take away from this article is that both 3G and 4G users should still be able to stream Netflix on their devices.

3G users will be testing the limits of the technology, but it should work fine most of the time (although the video quality will be at the lowest level).

On the other hand, 4G users will be able to watch Netflix comfortably, even at high-definition (HD) quality levels.

So, to circle back and provide a definitive answer to this article’s central question—yes you can still stream Netflix on your 3G and 4G devices.