How to Stop Autoplay on Discovery Plus

Without an off button for autoplay, it's on an episode-by-episode basis

By
Jeremy Laukkonen
Jeremy Laukkonen
Jeremy Laukkonen
Writer
  • Shoreline Community College
Jeremy Laukkonen is automotive and tech writer for numerous major trade publications. When not researching and testing computers, game consoles or smartphones, he stays up-to-date on the myriad complex systems that power battery electric vehicles .
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Updated on September 20, 2022
Reviewed by
Ryan Perian
Ryan Perian headshot
Reviewed by Ryan Perian
  • Western Governors University
Ryan Perian is a certified IT specialist who holds numerous IT certifications and has 12+ years' experience working in the IT industry support and management positions.
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What to Know

  • As the episode you’re watching nears to end, click the X on the thumbnail that shows the next episode.
  • There’s no way to turn off autoplay on Discovery Plus preemptively, only within the last minute of individual episodes. 

This article explains how to stop autoplay on the Discovery Plus streaming service.

How to Turn Off Autoplay on Discovery Plus

Discovery Plus has a lot of great content, but the player lacks some basic features other online video players have had for a long time. One key feature that Discovery Plus lacks is a setting to disable autoplay site-wide. That means whenever you watch a video on this service, it will automatically play the next video in the queue unless you take specific action to stop it.

To prevent Discovery Plus from automatically playing the following video, you must watch the current video to the end. About a minute from the end of the video, you will notice a small thumbnail appear in the bottom right corner of the screen.

If you're watching through the web player on the Discovery Plus website or the phone app, you can click the X in the upper right corner of the thumbnail card.

The X highlighted above the next episode thumbnail on Discovery Plus.

When you click the X on the Up Next card, the card will disappear. The rest of your current video will then continue playing until the episode is done, at which point it will stop. If you want to play another episode at that point, you can click Back and select a new episode.

How to Disable Discovery Plus Autoplay on Roku

There is no way to disable autoplay in the Discovery Plus app on Roku or any other streaming device. Additionally, the Discovery Plus app on Roku and some other streaming devices lack the option to cancel autoplay at the end of an episode. Suppose you’re watching a show on the Discovery Plus app on a streaming device like Roku, and you don’t see an option to cancel the next episode when you reach the end of the current episode. In that case, your only option is to stop playback manually.

If you’re watching Discovery Plus on Roku, you can press the play/pause button to prevent the next episode from playing. You can also press the home button, or turn the Roku off. Other streaming devices have similar options to pause the episode, return to the home screen, or go back to the episode listing by pressing a button on the remote.

FAQ
  • Does Discovery Plus stop playing after a while?

    No. Discovery Plus will keep playing new videos as long as your device is turned on and connected to the internet.

  • How do I clear my Continue Watching list on Discovery Plus?

    You can't clear your Continue Watching list, but you can remove movies by scrolling to the end. Cancel autoplay before the video finishes playing, or else the next video will show up in your history. Alternatively, delete your profile and create a new one to start off with an empty watch history.

  • Why does Discovery Plus keep buffering?

    If Discovery Plus keeps freezing, check if the service is down, close the app and reopen it, make sure your ad-blocker or VPN is disabled, and restart your device. If you still have trouble, check your internet connection.

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