Auto play is an amazing feature. It makes it easy to simply hit play and get lost in a show, or just to have something play in the background. Sadly, if you forget about auto play you can easily blow through your data cap.
We decided to take a look at Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and YouTube auto play on the Roku and the Fire TV to find out how many shows would run before auto play stops. We also looked into how to turn off auto play for each service.
We reached out to these services for comment, but only Netflix replied. So, we sat down and found our answers the old fashioned way; we spent hours upon hours watching TV using the auto play feature. Here is what we found:
Netflix:
Netflix plays 3 episodes before they ask if you are still watching. It can be 3 one hour episodes, or 3 thirty minute episodes; it doesn’t matter which ones you play.
To turn off Netflix auto play:
You can disable auto play on Netflix by going to Your Account settings on the Netflix site; click Playback Settings, then uncheck the option to play next episode automatically. This will stop auto play on all of your devices.
Netflix also offers great plans to help you conserve data usage.
Hulu Plus:
Hulu Plus just keeps playing on, and on, and on. We had 6 hours of Hulu Plus playing once, and even let it run overnight on our Roku. At no time did Hulu Plus ask if we were still watching, nor did it ever stop. If you have a data cap, don’t fall asleep with Hulu Plus playing!
To turn off Hulu Plus auto play:
- While a video is playing, press the down option on your remote or controller
- Then press the up option on your remote to reveal the playback settings menu
- Navigate over to Auto play and press the select/OK/Enter button to toggle the auto play setting
Amazon Instant:
Amazon Instant always played 6 episodes, regardless of length, before it stopped or asked if we were still watching. It seemed to be constant across Roku and the Fire TV.
To turn off Amazon Instant auto play:
To find out how to turn off Amazon Instant auto play please clicks HERE.
YouTube:
YouTube will auto play the entire playlist you are in until the list has finished. If the play list is long (some can be months’ worth of content) it will just keep playing. So make sure you know how long your play list is before you fall asleep!
To turn off YouTube auto play:
We were unable to find a way to turn off auto play on the Fire TV and Roku. If you know how, please leave us a comment.
Conclusion:
In short, if you want auto play, Netflix is clearly your best option to keep from blowing your data cap.
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