Separate a saved reference from a saved video
Open the title’s details and identify which action you used. SBS’s heart control adds a film or series to Favourites. That collection is a convenient route back to the programme, but its presence does not show that the video bytes have been stored for offline playback.
Before travelling, make a simple inventory of what you have: an installed application, a signed-in account, a saved programme link or an explicitly supported offline download. Those are different resources. A programme thumbnail remaining visible without a connection does not establish that the whole film can play.
Check the location requirement separately
SBS’s help says streaming is available within Australia and that Australian citizenship does not itself provide access while overseas. An overseas hotel connection therefore raises a different issue from a domestic journey without internet. Both matter to a travel plan, but one is location eligibility and the other is the absence of an offline feature.
Do not rely on an old device manual describing a different generation of the app. Use SBS’s current service guidance when deciding whether to reserve a title for the journey. A player application supplied by another provider cannot add an authorised offline feature to SBS’s service.
Choose a workable viewing plan
If your plan depended on a favourite playing without internet, revise that plan before departure. You can keep the favourite as a reminder for a later eligible streaming session. For any other service you already use, check its own offline and travel rules independently rather than transferring assumptions from SBS.
Also inspect the title’s current programme page when returning to it, since a personal saved list is not a reservation of catalogue availability. If you need help, describe the action you performed and the travel condition you expected it to support. That makes the question clearer than reporting that a download failed when no download action was available in the first place.