Subtitles are generally useful when watching a foreign movie or TV series, but there are other situations in which they may be necessary. In particular, they allow hearing-impaired people to enjoy a show or a film. Closed captions are also a great help in identifying when a character is speaking or if an important sound effect is occurring.
This guide contains everything you need to know to enable subtitles or closed captions on Netflix. For this tutorial, we focused on how to do it on your web browser, smartphone, or TV.
If you need another guide, take a look at our article on how to improve dialogue audio on Amazon Prime Video.
How to enable subtitles for Netflix on a computer or smartphone
- Time to complete: 2 minutes
- Required tools: Netflix account, device to watch Netflix
Choose a title you want to watch
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Select a movie or series and click “Play”
Click the Audio & Subtitles icon in the options panel
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On the desktop, two options will appear when you hover over the icon on the right
On mobile, you will need to tap the icon for these options to appear
Select your preferred audio and subtitle options
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Click on your chosen preferences in the “Audio and Subtitles” sections.
Anything with (CC) means closed captions are also available
How to enable subtitles for Netflix on TV
The process of enabling subtitles when using Smart TV is similar to what you would do on a desktop computer. Choose a movie or TV series, then press the down or up arrow on the remote. The “Audio and subtitles” icon will then appear. Select it, then adjust the subtitles.
If you’re using Apple TV 2 or Apple TV 3, to see the subtitle icon, you need to hold down the middle button on the Apple TV remote. For Apple TV 4 and Apple TV 4K, the icon will appear after swiping down on the remote.
How to Change the Appearance of Netflix Subtitles on PC
Netflix also allows you to change the appearance of subtitles. For example, you can change their color and size to make them as readable as possible.
If you’re on computer, go to your Netflix account page and select your profile. Find the “Subtitle Appearance” option and click “Edit”. Then adjust the settings according to your needs – you can see all the changes you made in the preview.
How to change the appearance of Netflix subtitles from other devices
If you want to change how Netflix subtitles appear on your TV, select the “Settings” option in the player controls at the bottom of the screen.
On an Android phone or tablet, tap the “My Netflix” option, then “More” and “Manage Profiles.” Choose your profile and tap “Subtitle appearance”.
If you want to change the subtitles on your Apple device, go to Apple Support.
How to Change Audio Language for Netflix
If you want to change the language while watching a movie or TV series, you need to do exactly the same thing as if you had turned on the subtitles. Choose the “Audio and subtitles” option and select the appropriate language in the “Audio” section.
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