I have the Netflix streaming plan, along with a Roku box and a couple of tablet computers with the Netflix app. Can all three be used at the same time to stream movies?
If you have the standard $7.99 monthly Watch Instantly plan for Netflix streaming, you can have six different devices registered to your account, divided among computers, mobile apps for phone and tablet, set-top boxes like the Roku player or Apple TV, game consoles, TiVo recorders, Blu-Ray players and any other device that has Netflix capability. However, you can watch video on only two different devices at the same time.
If you try to stream on more than two screens, you may see an error message about your Netflix account’s being in use on other devices. If you try to stream video on two devices and get the error message, stop streaming everywhere, then try again on the screen that got the message. (It may be possible that a third device crashed with a sudden disconnection from the Netflix service — and is still being tallied in the stream count — but this should fix itself within an hour or two.)
Netflix began to offer upgrades to its basic streaming plan this past spring. For $11.99 a month, you can stream on four devices at once instead of two. To upgrade, log into your Netflix account on the Web and click the Your Account link in the top right corner. In the Your Streaming Plan area of the page, click the “Change plan” link and select the $11.99 monthly option instead.