Netflix users are losing it over ‘annoying’ new feature that makes travel a nightmare

The best part about going on a plane is getting settled into your seat with a new Netflix show, knowing that by the time it's over, you'll be on holiday.

The worst thing about getting on a plane is realising that you can't watch anything for the rest of the trip, because it would appear Netflix has quietly made changes that mean the streaming platform won't work in certain countries depending on your plan.

Avid streamers will remember when Netflix introduced adverts to its basic plan in 2022, before rolling it out across the board on a mandatory basis last year, meaning that every so often mid-show, you'll have to watch around two adverts before continuing.

Except if you're someone who travels regularly, you might have noticed that upon arrival to another country, your downloads section has been wiped, you're unable to stream, and you're met with a message that reads: "Your ad-supported plan is not available in this region. Try streaming from a location where this plan is available. You can also change plans at Netflix.com to start watching here."

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Nightmare.

The streaming platform claims that ad-supported plans are available in the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan, meaning that you shouldn't have any trouble streaming here if you're on the basic plan.

However, streamers aren't happy at the prospect of having to pay more to be able to watch shows while on the move.

But fear not, we've dived into the depths of Reddit for a solution, and there are a couple of workarounds that might help.

Firstly, keep your phone on airplane mode. Sure, you won't be able to call, text, or do literally anything else, but by staying on airplane mode, Netflix won't be able to detect where you are in the world, and allow you to at least stream your downloads as usual.

Another option would be to use a VPN. That means that you can set your location to an area of the world where ad-supported streaming is available and carry on as normal - but for the price of the VPN, you may as well just upgrade to another Netflix plan.

We just can't win, huh?

Indy100 has contacted Netflix to get clarity on where ad-supported streaming does and doesn't work, so we'll keep you posted - hopefully before your next trip.

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