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How to listen to podcasts without Wi-Fi
Download the episodes while you have Wi-Fi, make sure they finished, then play them from Downloads. In The Podcast App downloads are unlimited and free, with no account needed.
Before you leave
- Connect to Wi-Fi. To keep downloads off your mobile data, turn on Only download on Wi-Fi in the app's download settings.
- Pick the episodes you will actually play. Open each show and tap download on the episodes for the trip.
- Wait for them to finish. Open Downloads and check each episode shows as complete. If one is still downloading, stay on Wi-Fi.
- Test it. Turn on airplane mode and play an episode from Downloads. If it plays, you are ready. If it buffers, it was streaming, not downloaded.
On the road, play from the Downloads list, not from search or a show page. CarPlay and Android Auto play the same downloaded files.
What works without a connection
| Task | Offline |
|---|---|
| Play, pause, skip and scrub a downloaded episode | Works |
| Playback speed, sleep timer, chapters in the file | Works |
| Search, follow a new show, check for new episodes | Needs a connection |
| Import an OPML file | Needs a connection |
| New transcripts, episode chat, Podcast Brain answers | Needs a connection |
Stay ahead of it
- Auto-Download fetches new episodes of the shows you follow, so the next ones are on your phone before you leave. Set how many per show with Auto-Download Limit.
- Auto-delete finished episodes removes what you have played, so space does not run out.
Storage is the only limit. Spoken-word audio is usually tens of megabytes per hour, so a full flight's worth fits on most phones.
Downloads stay on the phone that downloaded them. If you sign in, your subscriptions and listening position sync to your other devices, but each device downloads its own files.
The app inserts no ads of its own. Ads that are part of the episode's audio are in the downloaded file too.
Download before you go
Free on iPhone and Android. No account needed to start.
