Does Audible Need Internet? (Checked & Explained)

Audible.com offers a convenient and accessible way to have a massive library’s worth of audiobooks at your fingertips.

What about when we don’t have that connection?

Here’s How Audible Works With and Without the Internet:

In addition to a valid subscription, a stable internet connection is required to access the full library of audiobooks from Audible.com. While connected, subscribers can download individual titles they wish to listen to offline. While offline, all previously-downloaded audiobooks are available.

Does Audible Require an Internet Connection to Work?

You can listen to any audiobooks you’ve already downloaded while you’re offline, but an internet connection is required to access those books and download them in the first place.

So there’s no way to access this vast library of over 200,000 titles without an internet connection. That huge library is stored on Amazon’s servers, not your device.

However, with an active subscription, you should be able to download any titles to your device for later listening in offline mode.

This doesn’t mean you get to keep these titles if your subscription expires, but it does mean that as long as you’re subscribed, you can listen to them anytime, with or without the internet.

Remember, Audiobooks take up a lot of data on your phone.

Can You Listen to Audible Books on Airplane Mode?

Airplane Mode disables Wi-Fi, mobile data, phone calls, and all forms of connecting to anything outside the phone itself.

So, naturally, there’s no way to use Audible with an active internet connection while on Airplane Mode since the mode deactivates these features.

However, you can download any of your audiobooks to your phone as long as you have an active subscription and access to those titles.

Then, you can open up Audible and listen to those books even if you are on an airplane without the internet!

Can You Download Audible Books on Wi-Fi and Listen Offline?

You can download any title your subscription allows you access to, so Audible Plus users can download Plus Catalog titles only, and Premium Plus users can download anything.

Here’s a simple, step-by-step guide to downloading Audible titles for later offline listening:

1. Log in to your Audible App on the mobile device on which you’d like to listen to the titles later.
2. Open the top-left options menu and select “library.”
3. Next select “cloud” from the submenu.
4. Browse for the titles you’d like to download later.
5. Once you’ve found such a title, tap the cover art.
6. Select “add to library.”
7. If you want to add more titles to the list, keep browsing and repeat steps 5 and 6 with any additional titles.
8. When you’re finished, give your device time to download everything.

Once that’s all done, you’re all set! Now the next time you don’t have an internet connection, you should still be able to listen to any title you downloaded with these steps.

Does Audible Work when your Device Is Offline?

You’ll still be able to log into your Audible app, but without an internet connection, you won’t see the full 200,000+ title library Audible has to offer Premium Plus members. Instead, you’ll be limited to the titles you downloaded in advance.

However, the normal Audible app functionality should be fully available offline, limited to those titles stored locally on your device. You’ll be able to listen to it anytime, online or offline, as long as you’re subscribed to Audible.

If you cancel or let your sub run out, you forfeit the right to listen to any titles you do not own, whether you downloaded them or not. That said, if you’re a Premium Plus member, it’s a different story with any titles you redeemed your monthly credits for.

Exchanging one of your monthly credits for a title is considered purchasing it, so it’s yours to keep after that.

The same is true for any titles you purchase with actual money.

Audible provides a discount for subscribed members who wish to purchase more titles with real money after using up their credits, and these are yours to keep as well. So if your subscription expires, any downloaded books you purchased, whether with credits or real money, will still be available.

If you haven’t downloaded your purchased titles yet, you should still be able to do that without a subscription when you have an Internet connection.

Can I Listen to an Audiobook without Using Data?

Yes, and there are multiple ways to do so! For one, you can use Wi-Fi instead.

If your mobile device has access to a Wi-Fi network, you can turn Mobile Data off and Wi-Fi on, and you’ll be connected to the internet without using data. From there, you can use Audible or, for that matter, any other internet-dependent app freely without data.

The second way to use Audible without using data is the one we’ve mentioned multiple times: downloading titles in advance for offline listening.

You don’t need Wi-Fi or mobile data to use an app in offline mode, after all. If you have a limited data plan and want to minimize your data use, download titles you want to listen to when you have Wi-Fi, then use the app offline when you don’t.

Sources:

Can I Listen to Plus Catalog Titles Offline?

Can you Listen to Audible Offline?