Technical Reviewer: Editorial team.
Last reviewed: September 17, 2025.
Key References: Prime Video Help pages on downloads, casting limits, system requirements, speed guidance, and forums for limits/expiration behaviors
If your Prime Video download won’t start, gets stuck on "Queued", or plays once and then says "offline viewing expired," you’re not alone. I’ve had this happen on airplanes, subways, and hotel Wi-Fi.
To avoid the annoying troubles, I looked up reasons and fixes on tech blogs, the Amazon official forum, and user communities such as Reddit and Quora. Below are my findings: a device-specific playbook to fix Prime Video won’t download and Prime Video downloads not working problems.
Get Started Quickly
In a hurry to fix the downloads not working problem? Check the guide list:
- Do a quick 3-step check:
- Network: Prime Video recommends ~1 Mbps (SD), 5 Mbps (HD), 25 Mbps (4K). If you’re under these, switch to a faster Wi-Fi or try cellular. Or try to download titles one by one.
- Storage: Free more space than the size of videos you want to save, like 2–5 GB on the device.
- Update & Re-login: Update Prime Video and your OS, sign out/in, then reboot the device.
- Trapped by a specific error message? Check Section 1.
- Follow more detailed troubleshooting steps in Section 2: 11 Fixes.
- Read the Section 4: the ultimate solution if all methods fail for you.
- Read Fix Prime Video not Working to solve online streaming not working problems.
Common Error Code and Messages Explained
Check this section to see if you get the same error code or message on your screen. If it does, follow the one-minute fix to solve the Prime Video downloads not working problem quickly.
Offline viewing expired, Expired rights, or WA5002
This means the app needs to "check in" online to verify your subscription and the title’s license window. It always happens when your subscription ends or you haven't connected to the Internet for a long time after downloading titles.
Open the app while connected to the internet. The message usually clears after the title revalidates. Windows/macOS/iOS/Android behavior can vary by title. One-minute fix:
- Connect to the internet
- Open the title once
- Wait for the prompt to disappear
- Return to airplane mode.
Q: Why did it expire on my trip?
A: License windows vary by title. Most titles behave like the "30 days to start / 48 hours to finish" rule once playback begins. Once expires, you need to go online to re-enable offline viewing.
Queued or Download Pending
It's usually a bandwidth problem, app-state issue, paused queue, or region/account eligibility. Try to use cellular to download videos instead of Wi-Fi only. Set this through Settings > Streaming & Downloading > turn off Download on Wi-Fi Only.
If you're using an Android device or a Windows PC, you can also try to clear the app cache to avoid cache glitch.
Low bandwidth may lead to the problem, too. Based on the official troubleshooting article published by Prime Video, the suggested download speed for SD content is 1MB/s, and 5 Mb/s for HD content.
Download Limit Reached
Prime Video sets strict limits on the download service. It commonly caps accounts at ~25 downloads at a time (region may differ) across all devices. Forum staff note that some Originals may not count toward the cap, but 25 still should be treated as the safe ceiling.
When you receive the message "Download Limit Reached", delete older content that you've finished from Downloads and try again.
Title not available for download
Not all titles on Prime Video are licensed for offline viewing in every region or membership state. Eligibility varies by content provider and location. Sometimes, "can't find the download button" means "this title is unavailable for downloading".
If you're travelling abroad, you're only allowed to stream and download a selection of Amazon Originals titles, instead of the full library. Namely, the selection narrows outside your home region.
Troubleshoot in Detail: 11 Proven Fixes
These 11 fixes are proven to solve 95% of Prime Video not working problems. Follow the instructions and learn about the reasons in detail, one by one.
Fix 1: Check Eligibility
Downloads are governed by content licensing and region detection. If a title isn’t licensed for offline viewing in your current location—or your membership has expired—the download button may disappear or the request will fail silently.
Follow these steps to verify the region, account status, and title eligibility:
- Search for the same title inside Prime Video and check if a Download option appears. Test 2–3 other titles to compare.
- Go to Profile > Account & Settings and confirm your membership is active.
- If you’re traveling, turn off any VPN (I'll cover that in Fix 4) and try again.
- Briefly open the title on the web and play 10–20 seconds.
- Note any region or license messages.
Testing multiple titles and validating account/region rules can quickly separate eligibility problems from device/app issues, so you don’t waste time tweaking settings for a title that simply can’t be downloaded in your situation.
Fix 2: Use Cellular
Prime Video defaults to Wi-Fi to protect your data plan. On congested public Wi-Fi, the app can’t sustain the bitrate needed for stable chunk downloads and will queue indefinitely or stall at 0%. Allowing cellular gives the app a second, often more stable path:
On iOS: My Stuff > Settings > Streaming & Downloading > Download on Wi-Fi Only. Toggle it off.
On Android: Settings > Stream & Download > Download on Wi-Fi Only. Switch it off.
Try the download again on a strong 5G/4G connection.
Fix 3: Free Up storage
Prime Video writes media in encrypted chunks plus a local database for indexing. Low free space and fragmented temporary files cause partial writes or checksum failures, which surface as "Queued," "Failed," or 0% progress. You should:
- Delete watched episodes in Downloads and keep at least 2–5 GB free.
- Retry the download tasks, one by one.
Fix 4: Disable VPN/Proxy
If you're using a VPN or Proxy server, we have to talk about the system-wide and router-level problems.
VPNs and proxies change your egress IP and sometimes split or re-encrypt traffic. While Prime Video uses your region and license checks to allow downloads, A VPN can send you to the wrong licensing domain or a CDN edge that refuses offline entitlement, leading to 403/authorization loops or endless queuing.
Proxy goes the same. It also adds latency and packet loss, which breaks large chunk transfers.
Try these steps on different devices to disable your VPN or proxy fully:
On iOS/macOS:
- Settings > VPN, disconnect it, and also disable "Connect on Demand/Always On".
- For Wi-Fi network settings, turn off HTTP Proxy.
On Android:
- Settings > Network & Internet > VPN, disconnect it and remove profiles.
- Under Advanced > Proxy, set None.
On Windows:
- Settings > Network & Internet > VPN, disconnect all VPNs and your VPN programs
- Settings > Network & Internet > Proxy, and turn off the proxy server
Router/accelerator: Log into your router, disable global proxy/smart routing, or remove outbound rules for your device. Then restart the device.
Fix 5: Update the App or Your OS
New builds often fix issues in the download queue manager, DRM license handling, storage permissions, and TLS/certificate chains.
If your device is missing a certificate update or using an older DRM component, the app may fetch the manifest but fail to acquire decryption keys or write chunks correctly—updating removes these hidden blockers.
Update your Prime Video app and the OS by following these steps:
On iOS/macOS:
- Update the Prime Video app in the App Store.
- Update the system via Settings > General > Software Update.
On Android:
- Update the app in Google Play
- Check the System update from the Settings > System/About phone > Software update/System update
On Windows:
Update the app via the Microsoft Store. If the update fails or the issues persist, go to Settings > Apps > Prime Video > Advanced options > Repair/Reset.
Fix 6: Force-Quit
Downloads are tied to session tokens and local state. A full sign-out + force-quit + reboot clears in-memory caches and refreshes your auth state, which often lifts the "stuck in queue" behavior without touching any other settings.
- In the Prime Video app: Settings > Sign out.
- Force-close the app (on Android, use App info → Force stop).
- Reboot the device.
- Open Prime Video and sign in again, then re-queue the download.
Fix 7: Lower Download Quality
Lower quality presets use smaller segment sizes and lower bitrates. Smaller segments complete faster, reduce TCP retransmits, and lower disk I/O pressure.
On phone-size screens, the visual difference between "Good" and "Better" is minor, yet the stability gain and space savings are substantial, especially when traveling.
- In the Prime Video app on any device: My Stuff > Settings > Streaming & Downloading > Download Quality.
- Change from Best or Better to Good or Data Saver.
For items already in the queue, delete and re-download so the new quality applies.
Fix 8: Change the Download Location (Only for Certain Devices)
If your internal storage on your device is insufficient, try changing the download location to the SD card. On the contrary, if you find that the download to your SD card fails, change the download location to internal storage.
On Android:
- Open the Prime Video app
- Go to Settings > Stream & Download > Download location > choose Internal storage or SD card.
On Windows:
- Launch the Prime Video program
- Go to Settings > Storage/Downloads > pick a local drive/folder.
Smith
Remember, although you can change the download location, you still need the Prime Video app to play all downloaded titles. Also, Prime Video doesn't recommend changing the location to any USB-attached drives.
Fix 9: Clear App Cache
The download engine relies on a local database that maps titles to segments. If cache indexes are corrupted, the app can’t reconcile what’s already written vs. what it needs, so it loops between Queued and Starting.
Clearing the cache forces a rebuild of indexes and temporary directories, eliminating mismatches that halt progress:
On Android:
- Navigate to settings > Apps > Prime Video > Storage > Clear cache
- Use Clear data if the cache alone doesn’t help.
- Sign in to your Prime Video account again.
On Windows:
- Go to Settings > Apps > installed apps > Prime Video > Advanced options > Repair
- Try Reset if Repair doesn’t fix it.
Fix 10: Reduce Concurrent Downloads
Reducing concurrency gives each download more stable throughput and round-trip time, which reduces timeouts and retries. This is especially helpful on hotel/Airbnb networks or crowded household Wi-Fi, where bandwidth spikes and dips constantly.
- Restart the phone/tablet/computer and power-cycle (reboot) your router.
- In Downloads, pause everything except 1–2 items and resume.
Fix 11: Reinstall Prime Video
A clean install wipes orphaned configs, broken permissions, and leftover temp folders that a simple cache clear may miss. It also guarantees you’re on the latest app build with a fresh DRM stack.
- Uninstall Prime Video.
- Reboot the device.
- Reinstall the Prime Video app from App Store, Google Play, or any verified store.
- Sign in and re-add downloads.
Note: If you tried all the fixes and still cannot download anything from Amazon Prime, the last method is to contact Amazon customer service.
You can ask the Prime Video community, call, or email the official team.
Bonus: Must-Know Rules on Prime Video Downloads
When using the official Prime Video app to download titles, pay special attention to the following items to avoid potential not working problems:
| Category | Note |
| Quota limit |
|
| Expiration limit |
|
| Casting limit |
|
| Storage limit |
|
| Reliable internet | Target 1/5/25 Mbps for SD/HD/4K, respectively. |
Ultimate Solution: Alternative to Download Prime Video Movies
Using an alternative method to download Prime Video movies is the fastest way to solve the downloads not working. A third-party tool can help you download videos without the Prime Video app, thus avoiding many problems.
Yes, you might think, "I can record the Prime Video shows if I can't directly download them". But DRM prevents you from recording or screencapturing nearly all Prime Video content.
Do not worry, tools like KeepStreams for Prime Video can download videos without the need for the Prime Video app, and are able to convert the downloads into MP4/MKV format, a kind of video format that is compatible with most players.
To do this, follow the steps below:
1. Find Amazon Prime Video and click the icon from the VIP Services.
2. Log in to your Prime Video account to get access to the videos you want to download. Play the video in the built-in browser.
3. Set download options, such as video/audio codec, resolution, language, etc. Click "Download Now" to download and convert Prime Video shows into MP4 format.
In this way, you can download your favorite Amazon titles directly on Windows PC or Mac, without the need of the official app. The simplified process can avoid many potential download problems for you, such as download limit, app crash, outdated app version, etc.
FAQs
Q1. Why can’t I download Amazon Video?
A1. It may not be licensed for offline viewing in your region or membership, or it’s temporarily unavailable. Try another title or connect without a VPN. For detailed troubleshooting, read the methods above.
Q2. How many titles can I download at most on Prime Video?
A2. Commonly, Prime Video allows about 25 titles per account (across all devices). The number should vary to different regions. Some Originals may not count toward the cap, but 25 still should be treated as the safe ceiling.
Q3. Can I watch downloaded Prime Video movies via Chromecast or AirPlay?
A3. No. Playback of downloaded content via Chromecast/AirPlay isn’t permitted. Use the device screen or supported adapters. Or use KeepStreams to rip Prime Video titles into MP4/MKV format, and cast these compatible videos through Chromecast/AirPlay.
Q4. Why are my Prime Video downloads stuck in "Queued"?
A4. Bandwidth is low, Wi-Fi-only is on, cache is corrupted, or the app needs a reboot. Try to clear cache (on Android/Windows), toggle Wi-Fi-only, and restart.
Q5. Can a VPN affect Prime Video downloads?
A5. Yes. VPNs can change your detected location and break licensing checks for downloading or offline playback. For a stable download process, make sure that your VPN or Proxy is turned off.
Smith's Take-Away
Here’s my quick take, as someone who’s wrestled with Prime Video on too many red-eye flights. Most failed downloads come down to eligibility (the title/region/membership isn’t allowed offline), shaky bandwidth, the Wi-Fi-only switch, low storage or corrupted cache, VPN/proxy interference, out-of-date app/OS, or an "offline viewing expired" license that needs a check-in.
I explained several common error codes and messages in the beginning, and summarized my experience into 11 quick fixes. Even if all methods fail, you can try the ultimate solution to use an alternative to get Prime Video downloads. Hope my story can help you.
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