Why Can’t I Download on Hulu? Troubleshooting Guide

When you’re exhausted after a long day of work and unwind with your favorite Hulu videos, you may encounter lots of problems unexpectedly. Generally, the first time these Hulu download problems happen, they may catch you off guard.

But luckily, Hulu will pop up some error codes as clues to guide you to specific and feasible solutions. This article provides some constructive advice to troubleshoot these common Hulu problems so that you can enjoy your Hulu shows and movies quickly.

Problem #1: There’s No Download Option

When you search for a favorite show or movie, you find there’s no nearby download option. There may be two reasons for the inability to download. The download function does not apply to ad-supported plans and is only available to Hulu (no ads) subscribers.

Besides, some shows and movies from Hulu Premium add-ons and content with a Live TV subscription aren’t downloadable on Hulu, which isn’t part of the Hulu streaming library.

Solution: Please check to see whether your subscription plan is ad-free. If not, you can upgrade your subscription plan to be ad-free. Then, you can click search and then click downloadable to find all movies that can be downloaded.

If you are disgusted with this problem and want to completely solve the problem of being unable to download, a reliable video downloader called MovPilot Hulu Video Downloader is worth a try. It downloads all Hulu shows and movies perfectly to MP4 in 720P.

You may know that only ad-free users can download movies to watch offline, and those videos will expire in 30 days or 48 hours after playback. To keep downloaded videos indefinitely, you can rip Hulu videos from Mac/Windows.

Problem #2: Hulu Won’t Download

The reasons why Hulu won’t download are as follows:

Downloading quantity limit: Hulu supports downloading a total of 25 videos. You can try to check if your device’s storage space is full and delete some useless apps or photos. Or your downloads have exceeded the quantity limit, then you need to delete some movies you’ve watched to let the new in.

Poor Internet: Your device doesn’t have internet access or a stable connection. You need to have at least 3 Mbps internet download speeds if Hulu says to keep waiting for the download to start and it won’t download.

Cache problem: Cache problems caused by the poor network also make Hulu downloads not working. To fix this, you need to clear the Hulu app’s cache.

Unsupported Device: The device you’re using isn’t approved for downloading by Hulu. Check whether your device supports Hulu by reading the official article: Download the Hulu app on your device.

A bug in the Hulu app: Not all the problems have to be yours. The Hulu downloads not working error may be due to a bug in it. Updates are often accompanied by bug fixes and performance improvements. So you can go to the app’s device app store to update the system and the Hulu app. Make sure you’re using the latest version.

Problem #3: Hulu Downloads Disappeared

When you open the Hulu video you downloaded over the weekend and prepare to watch it on your device and network, you discover that it has disappeared. The reasons for Hulu downloads disappearing may be these three aspects:

Logout of Hulu on the device: Logging out of your Hulu account will automatically delete your downloads from that device. To solve this issue, try downloading these videos again when you log in to Hulu

The subscription plan expiring or switching from ad-free to ads: the previous downloads will still disappear after your subscription plan expires although you subscribe to the ad-free plan again. To deal with this issue, update subscription plans promptly in case downloads disappear.

Your subscription being on hold: When Hulu can’t process the monthly subscription payment, your subscription will be on hold. To resolve this problem, check whether the method of payment has the above problems or update your payment method.

Problem #4: Downloaded Video Expired

You may encounter a situation where downloaded videos on Hulu are unable to be played for expiring. Hulu set a valid time for watching downloaded videos within 30 days. Once you start playing it, you need to finish watching the video otherwise it will expire after 48 hours.

Solution: If you still want to download it, you may have the option to renew some downloads while your subscription is still active. Simply go to the Download section, tap the “!” icon next to the expired videos, and select “Renew Download” to resume them. Alternatively, you can use the tool named MovPilot Hulu Video Downloader mentioned above to rip Hulu videos and keep them forever, without expiration.

Problem #5: Hulu Says “Too Many Downloads”

There are some frustrating Hulu download limitations on the number of downloaded videos and devices, because Hulu supports your downloading of 25 videos on five devices in total.

Solution: You can try deleting some unnecessary videos before downloading new ones.

Problem #6: Download Error Code

People who download Hulu videos for offline viewing will generally encounter several error codes, including Hulu error 16911 and 11863, etc. The solutions to fix these Hulu download error codes are as follows:

Error Code 16911

There are three common reasons that contributed to Hulu error 16911:

Corrupted cache: Corrupted cache or cookie files from your browser or Hulu app will result in error 16911. To fix this, you can clear your browser cache files by navigating to Settings > More Tools > Clear browsing data. Or clear cookie files on the Hulu app by navigating Settings > Applications > Hulu > Select Clear Cache and Clear Data. Then check whether the error 16911 issue has been fixed.

Antivirus Program: Antivirus software also interferes with Hulu downloads. So temporarily turning off the antivirus program to download Hulu shows and videos can be helpful to fix Hulu error code 16911.

Out-dated Hulu App: Due to the constant updates of the Hulu app, continuing to use the old version of Hulu may encounter some errors and bugs, resulting in error code 16911. To check for any available updates for your Hulu, you can follow the simple steps below:

• On iPhone: You can directly go to the App Store and click Updates. If there are any updates for Hulu, just select Update next to the Hulu app
• On Android: Go to the App> Google Play Store > My Apps > check for any Hulu updates.

Reset Networking Connectivity: If the above solutions are not valid to fix Hulu error 16991, you can finally reset your network settings and reconnect your Wi-Fi network to try whether the problem has been fixed.

Error Code 11863

Some users reported that when downloading Hulu episodes and movies, Hulu download error code 11863 pops up. Until now, officials haven’t provided an accurate explanation about download error 11863.

But there is a somewhat puzzling method provided by other users that is useful to fix Hulu error 11863: First, go to Downloads, click the settings wheel in the top left corner, and turn on High Video Quality. Give it a try.

Bonus Tip: Download Hulu Shows Without the Hulu App

You’ve noticed that downloaded videos from Hulu have many unavoidable issues. The best solution to bypass all these annoying Hulu download problems fundamentally is downloading Hulu videos to MP4 or MKV without its app.

Therefore, it is time to turn on a third-party tool, MovPilot Hulu Video Downloader, which is highly recommended to download your favorite Hulu shows without time validity and device limitations. MovPilot Hulu Video Downloader can batch download Hulu shows and movies to MP4 or MKV in 720P in the simplest way. What’s more, you can watch them at any time on any device in your free time.

Here is a simple guide to downloading Hulu videos to MP4/MKV.

Step 1. Launch MovPilot Hulu Video Downloader

Install the MovPilot Hulu Video Downloader and open it. Then, log in to your Hulu account. If your account has a plan with ads, you can easily download Hulu shows and movies without ads at a really low cost instead of subscribing to an ad-free plan.

If the country you subscribe to doesn’t match the website, you need to change the website by clicking the gear button in the upper right corner.

Step 2. Search for any Hulu show or movie

You can paste the title or URL to search for your favorite Hulu videos and click the magnifying glass icon on the right.

Step 3. Adjust the default settings

You can set the output format as MP4 and select the video encoding, language, and subtitle type of the video as default settings.

Step 4. Start to download Hulu videos

Click the download button, and it will be added to the download list.

When the downloads are completed, you can click History to check the videos.

Conclusion

Can you solve your problems with the above solutions and advice? If you’ve temporarily fixed this issue but are concerned that it will reappear in the future, you can try to download Hulu videos to MP4 by MovPilot Hulu Video Downloader, getting rid of the restrictions from the time and device limits directly.

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