Streaming Netflix over a cellular connection has always felt like a sketchy proposition. You know you're burning data, but you just have to watch one more episode of that show you're currently obsessed with.
Well, Netflix just rolled out a feature that means you may have to worry less. It lets subscribers adjust the quality of their video streams while on a cellular connection so they can stream while using less data. The new controls, available on both iOS and Android, let you switch from an automatic default—about 3 hours of streaming per gigabyte of data—to either higher or lower-quality settings.
Once you’re back within Wi-Fi range, you automatically get your high-quality stream back, so you can continue to watch Frank Underwood plot his presidential schemes in full high-def glory.
The tool revealed today comes after Netflix admitted in March that it did send lower-quality video to mobile subscribers on AT&T and Verizon’s networks. The issue came to light after T-Mobile CEO John Legere proclaimed Netflix offered higher quality streams on his network as part of the company's controversial Binge On program. For its part, Netflix said it simply didn’t want mobile users accidentally blowing their data limits.
Now, it seems, Netflix is letting users decide for themselves whether they want to risk spending a ton of cash to get their House of Cards fix on the go.
