A Step by Step Guide to Netflix in Kenya

Netflix is now in Kenya! 

Yaaay! I know a lot of movie enthusiasts that are really excited by this new development in TV content. So just to bring everyone to speed, I will try and help you wrap your head around what is Netflix and how to enjoy it. 

What’s Netflix?

Well in simple terms Netflix is an on-demand internet media streaming service provider. They allow you to stream TV episodes and movies at a standard fee per month. In Kenya they have three packages costing US$7.99, US$9.99 and US$11.99 or – using current exchange rates Kshs. 814, Kshs. 1,018 and Kshs. 1,222. These three packages have distinct features as below

On you first month, they will allow you to access the content without any charges. Now I have to offer a disclaimer before I proceed.

Disclaimer 1 - Don’t think you get free content by using different emails every month. You can’t. This is because before you get the free content for a month you have to provide your payment details and unless you have ten sets of identity you can’t go around using a different account every month.

What does Netflix offer in Kenya?

Well Netflix is a global firm and so is their content. What people are watching in the US is the same with what people are watching in Kenya. Netflix is mostly known for movies and TV series. This means if you’re a movie junkie then Netflix is your thing. It has all the imaginable TV series and movies. There are basically endless hours of content that you can easily personalize content to your desired taste. These are updated probably faster than you can keep up with. In addition, they have documentaries and soap opera but not so much of them. You even get subtitles if you want – a plus for the deaf. And you can resume watching from where you left off.

Disclaimer 2 – Not all their content is in Ultra HD and HD and the quality at which you watch with will largely depend on the strength of your internet connection. In fact I think most Kenyans will watch it in SD - standard definition. Let’s talk internet later in this article. 

Does Netflix have football?

Now for the umpteenth time, Netflix does not have any live coverage of football nor recorded football in archives - at least not for now. You can’t watch your favorite EPL (English Premier League), La Liga and Bundesliga matches on Netflix not abroad and definitely not in Kenya.

How do I pay for Netflix in Kenya?

Currently, the options of paying for Netflix include using the Nakumatt global card, Visa card, MasterCard and PayPal – that is as far as those living in Kenya are concerned. This is conceivably possible to everyone with a functional bank account and an active Visa card or MasterCard. Preferably the MasterCard. The payment is done on a monthly basis – and Netflix will automatically debit your bank account on a monthly basis so you’ve to actually cancel the subscription online if you want to opt out.

Sharing Netflix passwords

Now here is the ultimate hack - you can share your login and password with other users. According to The Money the CEO of Netflix agreed that sharing passwords does not have any impact on their business. So it won't be a surprise if several users watch shows using one account. But there's a bummer to this, you can only watch four different videos on four different devices at the same time. That is actually the family package. It is also encouraged that the streaming be done in the same location aka 'Household'  - not one in Kiambu in Central Kenya and the other in Shinyalu western Kenya :). However the rules on password sharing are not very clear on the do's and don't's but in the mean time just know 'sharing is sexy'.

What's best internet for Netflix in Kenya?

Now here lies the real setback – Netflix works well with fast and reliable internet. Normally, you need speeds of at least 5Mbs to stream HD and 25Mbs to stream Ultra HD. If you lack this then you’re going to have to put up with poor quality video streaming and endless buffering. Now that’s something a lot of Netflix users in Kenya will have to deal with. Here’s the list of internet choices for you;

Zuku

Zuku is arguably the most convenient internet provider when it comes to affordability and streaming speeds. There’s a Zuku cable TV and internet package that you can use for Netflix that costs Kshs. 2,799 which comes with number of TV stations and 1 Mbs unlimited internet. There are other packages with faster speeds but you have to cough a little more cash. See them here. However, Zuku fiber is not available everywhere. You can check the covered locations in their website here . Another problem with Zuku is that their customer care is not so caring.

Faiba – Jamii Telcom

Faiba is offered by Jamii Telecom Ltd. The following are the packages offered.

 

You can obviously tell that they are more pricey that Zuku. However they have great customer service should your internet go down. In general Faiba is super-fast and has minimal downtimes. See the speed comparison with Zuku here. Actually in comparison to Zuku - both with the same 10Mbs plan - Faiba will stream almost twice as fast as Zuku. As with Zuku, Faiba is also not accessible from everywhere. See if your location is covered here. 

Safaricom and Airtel Kenya for Netflix

Well you can opt to use Safaricom or Airtel internet to stream Netflix services. Let’s start with Safaricom. The good is that they have 4G service which is fast enough for streaming. The bad is that I can count the places with 4G coverage in Nairobi with my fingers. You can use their 3G but that isn’t going to be wise considering the signal strength. Airtel on the other hand has a very strong 3G network. You can opt to use their unlimited internet but it is usually capped at around 20GB monthly for Kshs. 2,999. The problem with Airtel and Safaricom is that you'll be lucky to get HD streaming with their average speeds.

There are other satellite internet providers in Kenya but then they are not as reliable as the above or rather I have zero experience with them. You may try your luck with them and come back and tell me how it went down.

So is Netflix in Kenya worthwhile?

The answer is Yes. However, you must have a strong internet connection and of course the capacity to pay for their packages monthly. The alternative is to continue the good old way of waiting for some time after the release of TV series and movies and getting them from the movie guy.

I can't 'adult' on Monday

Monday is not such a good day. And this has nothing to do with the cliché hatred for Mondays that even those peeps whose only job is tweeting all day long hold. I have genuine reasons for disliking Monday and one of them is the uphill task that is writing blog articles on Monday. This is me trying to come up with an article on Monday and the conversations that ensue in my head;

•  Thinks of a great title as I get inspired by glorious music from Dela (this mama can really sing)

• Decides to write about ‘how KFC cheats us out of our money’

• Writes one sentence and thinks ‘I don’t like this story I sound too opinionated’

• You know what forget it I am just going to form a title and write a story around it

• Backspaces the whole sentence

• Writes a title ‘Let’s arrest Raila Odinga’

• Looks for reasons. Wait are there enough reasons for arresting Raila? I don’t think so.

• Deletes title

• Goes back to reading about UK’s attacks on ISIS (Word of advice; read what is happening on global politics interesting stuff there)

• Comes back 20 mins later to the blank MS page *Still no ideas*

• Thinks; should I tell the story of how I visited my Cucu the other day? Or how Gitau – our caretaker – has become reckless? Or how I am fairing with my guitar quest?Or how many Christmas carols I don’t know the lyrics to? Or how much the weekend has been awesome? Or the joys that the rain bringeth over the weekend? Or how I want to spend Christmas? Or just tell the new inspirational story?

• So much to choose from. So much.

• Let me first listen to Snarky Puppy and their jazz thingies

• Comes back 30 mins later ready to write an ass-kicking inspirational story

• Writes a paragraph on how audacious it is for Boniface Mwangi to get arrested for the umpteenth time for the sake of human rights while everyone else is busy talking about how sleek B.o.B is and how his show in Kenya slayed.

• Thinks; you know what would really be a great story for today? A review of latest gadgets and apps.

• Goes back to research on tech and  before long hey look Tesla has a new self-driving car with a semi-autonomous autopilot system.  *gets distracted from searching for gadgets and apps*

• Goes to YouTube to watch the Tesla review.

• Finishes watching the review and goes on to listen to YouTube music for the next hour.

• Oops I have run out of blogging time

• I have to write something so I just decided to write about how hard I tried to start the article but I couldn’t get to it.

Clearly Monday is a difficult day to 'adult'. Can we all not adult on Monday? Yes? Awesome!!

Have an excellent week y’all.

Felix Is My New Barber

Barbershop 'Tings'

Whenever I start writing this awesome stuff that I write here I often get this urge to start off with this line. I am Wesh, Peter Wesh – you’d get this if you watched enough James Bond movies. And then go on to say superfluous things about me. Like I can play the guitar over the back of my neck like the late Professor Okumu used to do. 

Any-who how are you? How’s life over there? Is it raining? Yes? That’s a good thing. And speaking of rain, it really rained heavily this morning. One word - Awesome!!! 

You don’t get to experience the warmth of a comfy bed on a rainy morning very often. And it happened today. A Saturday! Mother Nature had really good timing today. I am saying that because I slept late last night watching the HIMYM comedy series and today I woke up to the sound of Heavy rain. As you can guess and as any hardworking Nairobian that doesn’t get to oversleep as they would wish would do, I savored the moment. I overslept. It was special. They say the best nights are when you don’t have to set an alarm for the next morning. But you know what makes this even better? Not setting an alarm and then it rains in the morning. I believe I offset a lot of my sleep debt which is a good thing since they - I know you're starting to wonder who is they; I also have no idea - say the more sleep deprived you are the more you act funny. The bad funny that is: the kind that embarrasses you. 

Anyway I don’t want to write about rain, I want to introduce you to my new barber. He is called..wait I forgot to ask for his name but he looks like a Felix so let’s call him Felix. 
 

One more ‘wait’ before I tell you about Felix. I promised a friend that I will comment on their dyed hair. What do you guys think about dyeing hair? Would you dye your hair? What color? I imagine how my conversation with Felix would go if I went over there to dye my hair.

Me: Vipi Boss

Felix: (He has a Kisii-sh accent) Poa. Karibu tena. Tunyoe kawaida?

Me: Zii, leo nataka uniweke dye ya blue! I am sure nitakaa poa na nywele ya blue. I think madame hupenda nywele za blue!

Felix: (Really sure he would laugh an entire hour) Boss kuwa serious bana. Dye ya blue hata hatuna hapa. Unataka nikunyoe aje?

This conversation would go on and eventually I would just have to shave normally. I have nothing against dyeing hair. I think you, my friend, look great with dyed hair. It comes forth as bold to me and bold people are good people. I rest my case there. 

So back to Felix my new barber. Wait – the last one now – so that you understand why Felix is the new barber I need to tell you what happened with my old barber. He was a ka-rough dude with a barbershop just opposite my flat. This ka-dude went to Dubai for a job. You know one of those Saudi jobs that people go for. I used to like him because he was not chatty. Then he was replaced by a tall weird beardless guy. I didn’t like him much. His hands were clumsy mostly. So I moved to this other barbershop over there (pointing with lips the Kenyan way). This new barbershop was okay but their massages were not. They shave you nicely then throw you into the temptation that is engrossed in their massage chair. I hated that place – though I went there kedo 5 times. For the sake of decency I will not divulge the details. So I moved to this very new barber – Felix. 

Felix is very chatty. Five minutes in and I was already exhausted from the 'lengthy' chat. You should know I am not a chatty person, I like to keep stuff to myself and talk when I really have to. Felix did not know this – he just kept going. I wanted to stop him but I couldn’t mainly because he was the one with the shaving machine. He had leverage yo! I guessed if I told him he talks so much – like a girl – he would intentionally screw my cut. And you all know a good cut is important – just like dyeing hair. 

We, mostly he, talked about many things. Sports – I had to pretend to like his team because, again, he was holding a shaving machine over my head – we talked chics, the hood, politics and business. The business part was particularly interesting. Felix now owns this barbershop after 8 years of being employed in other barbershops. 8 years man! He told me about how he mapped for business and worked his ass off to get where he is. It is interesting that he warms his water – to wash clients’ hair – with a Blueband tin. He dips that heater coil inside the tin and waits patiently at a safe distance. I was baffled at first. Who does this in this century especially with such a nice shop setup? Would it kill one to just buy an electric jug? A damn jug! Anyway after he told me his story I just stopped judging him because I am pretty sure next time I visit that place he will have saved enough for a new electric kettle. I will compliment him for it btw.

I should have started by saying that I like the service there. Its in-explainable how it feels to sit confidently knowing 8 years of experience is working on your hair; so reassuring. I will end this post by saying this. I thought of the case of Felix as I strolled back to my flat and I was immediately thankful for what I have accomplished thus far. Sometimes we focus so much on what lies ahead of us and on those ahead of us that we forget to appreciate our own milestones and think of those that are behind us. 

I admired his courage too. He started off something new in a place where he is a stranger to everybody – I will add this – while some of you won’t get the balls to move out of your parents’ house (But they say ‘Mwanaume ni kukatalia kwa wazazi hadi wazazi wana-move out wanakuachia keja). 

Seriously though Felix gave me a little bit of motivation to pursue what I do best and to have faith in my abilities. Let’s call it a ka-reawakening. Did I say I tipped him?