How to Change Your Language on Netflix on Your TV

Jessie Richardson Read more February 20, 2020

Streaming platforms are currently one of the most popular ways to watch movies and TV shows. As one of the best platforms out there, Netflix provides thousands of hours of entertainment. On top of that, Netflix brings their own original content as well, which is on par with standard film and TV productions.

How to Change Your Language on Netflix on Your TV

With close to 200 million subscribers, Netflix is a true worldwide phenomenon. As such, it provides multiple language options for its interface, as well as many more audio and subtitle languages for the content you watch. If you want to change any of the language options, please read the sections below.

Setting the Default Language

With well over twenty languages to choose from, the best way to change the default language for Netflix is by using your computer.

Open an Internet browser on your computer and login to Netflix.
On the profile selection screen, click the “Manage Profiles” button.
Now select the Netflix profile for which you want to change the default language.
In the “Language” section, click the drop-down menu.
Choose your preferred language from the list by clicking it.
Click the “Save” button.
This will return you to the “Manage Profiles” screen, where you should click “Done”.

Now when you select the profile for which you’ve changed the language, the Netflix main screen will open, and the interface will appear in the language of your choice. This will also allow Netflix to show you the relevant language options for both audio and subtitles.

Setting Preferred Audio Language

With so many Smart TV manufacturers out there, there are slight differences in how you can change the audio language for the content you watch. It mostly depends whether your Smart TV is of an earlier or a newer generation. Since there’s no clear cut on how Netflix works depending on the age of a TV, you can find below both variations of this process.

Most Smart TV’s, including Blu-ray players and set-top boxes of the similar age:

Launch Netflix on your TV.
Select a movie or a TV show.
In the overview menu for the movie or TV show, go to “Options”.
Here select “Audio & Subtitles”.
In the “Audio” section, select the language you prefer.
Return to the options panel by pressing “Back” on your TV’s remote control.
Select “Play” from the overview menu.

And for newer Smart TV’s, Blu-ray players, and set-top boxes:

Launch Netflix on your device.
Select a movie or a TV show.
When you play a movie or an episode of the show, press the “Up” arrow on your remote to bring up the control icons.
Select the “Dialogue” icon that looks like a speech bubble. If you can’t see the “Dialogue” icon, wait for the controls to disappear from the screen, and then press the “Down” arrow on your remote. This will immediately open the audio and subtitles screen.
Now select the audio language you prefer and press “Back” on your remote.

With that done, the content will play with audio in the language of your choice. If you haven’t managed to go through the steps as described above, it’s possible that your device doesn’t support changing the audio language for Netflix.

Setting Preferred Subtitle Language

Similar to changing the audio language that’s described in the previous section, you can change the subtitle language as well. Like for the audio, the steps for changing the subtitles depend on the age of your TV.

For most TVs, you can change the subtitle language from the overview screen for a movie or a TV show you want to watch. Go the options menu, and in the “Subtitles” section choose the language you prefer. Return to the title’s overview screen and play it. The subtitles should now appear in the language you’ve chosen.

If you have one of the recently released TVs, you’ll be able to change the subtitle language from the play screen directly. When you play a movie or a TV show, press “Up” on your remote and choose the “Dialogue” icon (speech bubble). Select your preferred language from the “Subtitles” section and press “Back” on your remote to continue watching the content. If your TV supports the shortcut to the “Dialogue” menu, activate it by pressing “Down” on your remote, directly from the play screen.

It may happen that you can’t see one of your preferred languages listed in the “Subtitles” section of the “Dialogue” menu. This could be for two reasons. Either there are no subtitles available for that language, or your default Netflix language is set to one that’s different from the language you’re looking for.

While there’s nothing you can do about the languages Netflix still doesn’t support, you can follow the instructions in the first section of this article to change your default Netflix language. This way, the app’s algorithm will suggest up to seven languages that are relevant to you. This is based on your default language, as well as your location.

Enjoying Netflix in Your Living Room

With so many movies and TV shows available on Netflix, it’s great that you can change the language for both the app itself and the content you watch. Regardless whether you’re watching Netflix on your smart TV, Blue-ray player, or over a set-top box, it’s pretty useful that you can customize your viewing experience.

Have you managed to change languages on Netflix? Do you find the process convenient enough? Please share your experiences in the comments section below.