“Can I download Amazon Prime videos to an external hard drive?” This is a common question for those who want to free up device storage, watch offline forever, or share favorites with others. If you are one of them, you may find that it is not that easy due to DRM protection.
So, is it impossible to do so? Of course not! Continue reading! This article will walk through how to download and save Amazon Prime movies and shows to your hard drive with clear instructions. Ready to get started? Scroll down now and learn more!
Method 1. Download Amazon Prime Videos to Hard Drive via a Professional Third-party Tool (Recommended)
To permanently save Amazon Prime videos to an external hard drive, the first step is to obtain DRM-free videos. Once the DRM protection is removed, downloaded Amazon Prime movies can be freely moved, copied, or stored on any external hard drive for long-term offline viewing.
Here we recommend MovPilot Amazon Prime Video Downloader. It helps to remove DRM effectively and download Amazon Prime movies and shows as FHD MP4/MKV files to your local folder on Windows or Mac. This ensures you can watch Prime Video offline anytime and anywhere. The best part is that this tool features a powerful search engine, making the whole process even easier.
Key Features of MovPilot Amazon Prime Video Downloader:
- Download all Amazon Prime videos in full HD 1080P.
- Support downloading both purchased and rented Amazon Prime videos.
- Convert Amazon Prime movies to MP4/MKV without DRM protection.
- Preserve the original multilingual audio and subtitles.
- Preserve subtitles as soft subtitles, hard subtitles, or external subtitles.
- Offers fast downloading speed to batch download Amazon Prime videos to the external hard drive.
Next, let’s see how to save Amazon Prime videos to a hard drive with the help of MovPilot Amazon Prime Video Downloader.
Process 1. Download Movies from Amazon Prime to MP4 on Computer
Considered as one of the best Amazon Prime video downloaders, MovPilot is very user-friendly. With a few simple clicks, you can download your favorite movies or shows from Amazon to MP4 for easy transfer to an external hard drive later.
Step 1. Launch MovPilot Video Downloader and Sign in
Download, install, and launch MovPilot Amazon Prime Video Downloader on your PC/Mac. Select the Amazon website in your region and sign in with your Amazon account on the pop-up window.
Step 2. Open Settings to Adjust Output Parameters
Now just click the gear icon provided on the top-right corner, then you can open the “Settings” window to change the “Output Format”, “Output Quality”, “Output Folder”, etc.
💡 Tips:
If your hard drive has already been connected to your computer, you can just change the output folder on MovPilot Amazon Prime Video Downloader. Therefore, all the downloads from the downloader will be on your hard drive.
Step 3. Search for Amazon Prime Movies to Download Offline
Then use the built-in search function to enter keywords or URLs to find the Amazon Prime videos you want to download offline.
Step 4. Download Amazon Prime Movies to MP4 Files
Simply click the “Download” button, and then MovPilot Amazon Prime Video Downloader will start downloading the DRM-free movies for you. You can track the downloading conditions and see the downloaded movies in “History”.
Process 2. Transfer DRM-Free Amazon Prime Videos to External Hard Drive for free
After you finish the download process on your computer, you can easily transfer Amazon Prime videos to an external hard drive for free and keep them permanently for flexible movie playback without using the Amazon app. Here’s how to move Amazon Prime videos to an external hard drive on Windows or Mac.
On Windows
- Connect the hard drive to your Windows computer with a USB cable.
- Launch MovPilot, and go to History. Click the Folder icon to locate the MovPilot output folder.
- Open “This PC” and select the folder of the hard drive.
- Directly drag the files from the output folder of MovPilot to the hard drive folder.
On Mac
💡 Note:
Hard drives formatted in NTFS, HFS+ are not compatible with macOS. It is advisable to either use a compatible drive or reformat your existing drive.
- Connect your external hard drive to your Mac with a USB cable. It will show up in Finder if it’s compatible with your Mac.
- Launch MovPilot, and go to History. Click the Folder icon to locate your video downloads in Finder.
- Select and drag the downloaded videos to your external hard drive.
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Method 2. Save Amazon Prime Videos to Hard Drive via Official App (with Limitations)
You may wonder if it is possible to change the Prime Video download location to save downloaded Amazon movies and shows directly to an external hard drive. Sadly, the Prime Video app currently does not support changing the default download path.
However, the good news is that you can still consider moving the app’s installation path instead! This trick can help download Amazon Prime videos to the hard drive directly, freeing up your internal storage space. Let’s see how it works.
On Windows
Step 1. Connect your external hard drive to your computer.
Step 2. Go to “Settings” > “System” > “Apps & features”.
Step 3. Choose the Prime Video app from the list. Then, hit the “Move” button. (Note. The button will be unavailable if your app was not installed from the Microsoft Store. )
Step 4. Select the external hard drive as the destination.
Step 5. Click “Move” to confirm your action. After that, any new Amazon downloads will be directly saved to the hard drive.
On Mac
Step 1. Connect an external hard drive that is formatted as APFS.
Step 2. Open Finder and find the Prime Video app.
Step 3. Directly drag and drop the app onto the external drive in the left-side panel.
Step 4. Search for your favorite movie or show on the Prime Video app. Hit the download button, and you can easily download Amazon Prime videos to the external hard drive.
Just a Heads-Up:
When using this method to transfer Prime Video to another drive, please note the following:
- Previously downloaded videos will not be automatically moved to the external hard drive.
- You will need to keep the external drive connected to your computer at all times. Once it is disconnected, you will immediately lose access to the Prime Video app and your downloads.
- Due to DRM protection, you still cannot copy, transfer, or play Amazon downloads outside the Prime Video app.
If you want to bypass these DRM restrictions, it is better to use MovPilot Amazon Prime Video Downloader to download Amazon videos to MP4 or other formats, and then move them to your external hard drive for flexible offline viewing.
FAQs About Downloading Amazon Prime Video to External Hard Drive
1. How long can I keep Amazon Prime videos on the external hard drive?
When you download Amazon videos using the official Prime Video app, you can usually keep these downloads for up to 30 days. Keep in mind that once you start watching, you must finish within 48 hours before they expire automatically.
If you download Amazon Prime videos to hard drive via a reliable third-party tool such as MovPilot Amazon Prime Video Downloader, things are totally different. This tool can unlock Amazon video download limits and save videos as DRM-free files. This way, you can effortlessly keep your favorite Amazon Prime videos forever on the external hard drive.
2. Can I play downloaded Amazon videos from my external hard drive without the Prime Video app?
Typically, Amazon Prime Video downloads are encrypted with DRM protection, meaning they can only be played within the Prime Video app.
However, if you use a professional Amazon Prime Video downloader like MovPilot, you can get DRM-free Amazon videos. This allows you to transfer Amazon Prime movies to hard drive, watch them offline on any device, and even play them directly on your TV or other players without restrictions.
Final Verdict: Which is the Best Way to Save Amazon Prime Videos to Hard Drive?
After walking through these two methods, you may have found that choosing the right tool matters if you want to download Amazon Prime videos to a hard drive. Here is a quick comparison to help you decide:
| Method | MovPilot Amazon Prime Video Downloader 👍 | Official Prime Video App |
|---|---|---|
| File Format | MP4, MKV | Encrypted |
| DRM-free | Yes | No |
| Save Permanently | Yes, no expiration date | No, 30-day validity (48 hours after playback starts) |
| Cross-device Playback | Supports playback on any device (TV, tablet, etc.) without the app | Only playable in the Prime Video app on the original device |
| Transfer Freedom | High | Low. The external drive must remain connected to the original computer. |
In short, if you just want a temporary fix to save your device storage, the official app works fine. But if your goal is to download Amazon Prime videos to an external hard drive permanently, MovPilot Amazon Prime Video Downloader is undoubtedly the best solution. With it, you can remove DRM and convert Amazon videos to MP4/MKV files, making watching them on any device much easier.
Download it today and give it a try!