How to Download Crave Shows Offline in 2026: Official Method + PC Workaround
Summary: Learn how to download movies and shows from Crave for offline viewing. This guide covers the official download option and an alternative way to save Crave videos for more flexible playback.
Table of Contents
If you're tired of ad breaks on Crave and want to download Crave shows for the flight, the cabin, or a long commute, you've probably already hit the wall: the official offline download expires, locks to one device, and quietly disappears the moment your billing lapses. Here's the honest read from where I sit as an editor covering streaming tools — Crave's official download is a rental, not a keep. This page walks through what the official offline download actually allows, whether a US reader can even use Crave, the official in-app steps, a Windows/Mac workaround that saves a local MP4, and the fixes for the errors people actually hit in 2026.
What Crave's Official Download Really Allows
Crave's native download is best thought of as a rental you can watch offline for a short window, not a copy you own. If you're disconnected when the app tries to revalidate the file, the cache locks and the show won't play.
Download Eligibility and Plan Tiers
Offline downloads on Crave are only available on the Premium Ad-free plan. The ad-supported Basic tier cannot download at all. As of July 2026, Crave lists the Basic With Ads plan at about CA$11.99/month and Premium Ad-free at about CA$22/month.
Download Limits at a Glance
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| Expiry after download | 30 days |
| Expiry after you press play | 48 hours |
| Registered offline devices per account | 5 |
| Cached titles per device | 20 |
| Supported apps | iOS, Android (not desktop browser) |
| Source: Crave's official Help Center. | |
Can You Download or Watch Crave in the US
Crave is a Canadian streaming service and is officially available only to eligible viewers in Canada. There is no US-facing Crave signup, and the offline download feature is tied to a valid Canadian subscription, so a US reader can't legitimately subscribe to Crave or use its offline downloads from within the United States. This is also why travelers see the app stop working the moment they leave the country: playback and re-authorization are checked against your region, not just your account.
Official Crave Download, Step by Step
The official offline download only works inside the Crave mobile app on iOS or Android, not in a desktop browser. The steps are the same across both platforms, apart from where the download icon sits in the layout.
- Open the Crave app on your iPhone, iPad, or Android device and sign in to a Premium Ad-free account.
- Find a downloadable title. Not every show or movie carries a download icon; if there's no icon, the title isn't licensed for offline.
- Tap the download icon and, if prompted, pick a quality (higher quality takes more storage).
- Wait for the download to finish. Keep the app in the foreground until it completes if you're on a spotty connection.
- Open the Downloads tab to play the file offline, and remember it expires 30 days after download or 48 hours after you press play, whichever comes first.
Download Crave to MP4 with StreamFab on PC
For content you're authorized to access, where permitted by platform terms and applicable law, a desktop tool is the practical workaround when the app's 30-day timer keeps interrupting a long trip or a stretch of unreliable Wi-Fi. StreamFab DRM MPD Downloader is a Windows and Mac option that saves a local MP4 or MKV of a Crave title you have a valid subscription to, for personal offline viewing on your own devices.
How to Save a Crave Show as MP4
If you travel a lot or your home connection drops when you actually sit down to watch, this is where a local file earns its keep — one download, no re-authorization pings mid-flight.
- Install StreamFab DRM MPD Downloader for Windows or Mac and launch the app.
- Open the built-in browser inside StreamFab and sign in to your own Crave account.
- Navigate to the show or movie you want to save and start playback so the app can parse the stream.
- Choose 1080p, pick MP4 or MKV as the output, and select the audio track and subtitle language you want. For a fuller walkthrough of how downloading MPD video works under the hood, see the pillar guide.
- Start the download and, once it's finished, play the local MP4/MKV in any standard player on your own device.
Output Specs at a Glance
At the format step above, StreamFab saves up to 1080p in MP4 or MKV, keeps the original EAC3 5.1, AC3 5.1, or AAC 2.0 audio without downmixing, and lets you export subtitles as an external SRT file or remux them into the MKV. Because the output is a standard container, the file plays in any regular media player and slots cleanly into a Plex library. Season batch and overnight scheduling are available if you want to queue a full season and let it finish while you sleep.
StreamFab vs the Official Crave App
The honest trade-off: the official app is a mobile-only rental with strict expiry, while StreamFab is Windows/Mac only and still requires an active Crave subscription — it's a way to keep a personal local copy, not a way to skip paying.
- Save subtitles as SRT or remux in video according to your requirements
- Save Crave TV shows in MP4 or MKV format to ensure all device compatibility
- Enjoy audio-track with EAC3 5.1, AC3 5.1, or AAC 2.0
Crave Downloads Not Working? Fixes That Actually Help
No Download Button on Some Titles
If a Crave title shows no download icon at all, it usually isn't a bug — many newer HBO seasons and movies simply aren't licensed for official offline download, so the icon is hidden on those titles. There's no in-app setting that brings it back; it's the single most common reason readers end up looking for a desktop alternative.
Offline Playback Fails with a 3000 or 6006 Error
In 2026 the failure people actually report on r/cravetv is error 3000 or 6006 when they try to play a downloaded show while genuinely offline — at a campsite, on a plane, in a basement Airbnb. It happens because the app can't reach Crave to revalidate the download's authorization. Two practical fixes: open the Crave app once while you're still online right before you travel so it refreshes the token, and keep the app updated. If a specific file keeps failing, delete and re-download it.
Download Stuck at 0%
A download that queues but never advances usually means it hasn't actually started. Pause and resume it, confirm you have free storage and a stable connection, then force-quit and reopen the app. If it still won't budge, sign out and back in.
| Technical Metric | Crave Official App Cached Logic | StreamFab MPD Extraction |
|---|---|---|
| Offline Geoblocking Check | Mandatory ping via IP validation | Local IP play |
| Audio Preservation | App-dependent ( souvent downmixed) | Original EAC3 5.1 Bitstream |
| Metadata Customization | Locked inside hidden app folders | SRT extraction / MKV Remuxing |
FAQs
Conclusion
Circling back to the read I opened with: Crave's official offline download is a rental, not a keep — that framing decides which route fits you.
Best for the official app: casual viewers who stay subscribed, watch mostly at home or on short trips, and don't mind the 30-day and 48-hour timers. If the app already covers the titles you care about, you don't need anything else.
Best for a desktop tool like StreamFab: Windows or Mac users who travel for long stretches, want a durable local MP4/MKV in their own library, or need original 5.1 audio and clean SRT subtitles for a Plex setup — with an active Crave subscription.
Not ideal if: you only watch on mobile and the official app handles your viewing already — the extra desktop step isn't worth it.
This guide separates official CBS app viewing from local-file workflows, compares five computer-based options, and explains where each one falls short. It then shows how StreamFab handles authorized MP4 or MKV downloads and provides concise fixes for analysis and quality problems.
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