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How to unblock Netflix with a VPN

How to unblock Netflix with a VPN

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If you are trying to watch the latest show on Netflix while traveling abroad, or if you want to watch a show that Netflix only offers on the other side of the globe, you are in for a tough time. But with a VPN service and a little persistence, you might be able to see most of what you want to watch, no matter where you are.

Your Netflix is ​​not My Netflix

It’s easy to assume that the video streaming services we use every day are the same everywhere on earth, but that’s simply not true. What is available on streaming services can be very different from country to country. That’s because streaming services like Netflix make agreements with other media companies to supply movies and TV in certain markets. A good example of that Star Trek: Discovery. In the US and Canada, you need a CBS All Access account to boldly go where no one has gone before. However, most of the rest of the world can enjoy Discovery on Netflix.

This might sound like a raw deal to Netflix subscribers. They pay for a subscription, so shouldn’t they be getting all the great video content that Netflix has to offer? This is just not the case. You are only entitled to view shows in the country where you created your account.

To enforce regional restrictions on content, Netflix makes an effort to prevent VPN use. This is a bit unfair to people who aren’t trying to sneak around digital boundaries. In fact, I’ve found that Netflix sometimes blocks me even when I’m connected to a VPN server within my home country.

When writing this article, I tried to focus on a specific scenario: You’re traveling abroad and you can’t watch a show you were already watching on Netflix. This is a real problem, but I imagine that many readers are probably more interested in accessing Netflix content that is not available in their home countries.

This raises a thorny question in ethics. Using a VPN to watch Netflix (or any other streaming service) that you’re not eligible to watch isn’t quite the same as downloading copyrighted content without paying for it, but it still breaks the rules – even when the content you want isn’t appropriate. t is available in your country at any cost. I have often been asked to vote with my wallet and to support content that I enjoy. That’s why I specifically have an All Access account so I can see all the cool new features Star Trek offers. I want there to be more seasons of what I love, and so I feel compelled to follow the CBS rules in hopes that my subscription will help fund more seasons.

Perhaps I am naive, or perhaps there is no moral consumption under capitalism. Regardless, if you feel differently and see no problem with using a paid service in ways that go beyond the intentions of its creators, it’s up to you. We at PCMag are not lawyers, nor are we experts in ethics, but we advise you to think carefully before breaching any of our Terms of Service.

VPN: Unblock Master

Every device on the Internet has an IP address assigned to it, and these addresses are generally distributed geographically. All IP addresses for people in the New York City area should be the same, but different from IP addresses in London. By looking at the IP address of the device, it is very easy to determine roughly where the device is.

This is where VPNs come in. A VPN blocks your internet traffic with encryption that prevents monitors from seeing what you’re going to do. It then transmits your web traffic to a remote server operated by the VPN company. If that server is in a different country, you can effectively use the web as if you were based in that country. It will appear that your device has the IP address of the VPN server, which effectively hides the real IP address and makes it difficult to connect online activities directly to you.

There are many reasons why you need a VPN, but if you need to appear as if you are in a completely different location than your home country, this is a must. VPN apps make it super easy to switch from one location to another and send your traffic around the world. Just click, and your traffic will be redirected.

Here’s how it works in practice: Imagine you’re from the UK and you’re watching a Netflix show at home in London. You are now on a trip to New York City (this assumes pre- or post-COVID-19). When you arrive in the US, you may not be able to continue watching your show because it is not available to US Netflix subscribers. If you set up a VPN, connect to a server near your home in London in the UK, you should be able to pick up the show where you left off.

Of course, you might want to taste the forbidden fruit of foreign Netflix without pretending above. If you are in the US and want to watch something that is only available on Netflix in another country, just connect to the VPN server in the appropriate country to spoof your location.

Keep in mind that IP addresses are not the only ways to find out someone’s true location online. Other pieces of information such as cookie data, specific browser and device settings, or even connection latency may also tell you something about your location. On a mobile device, the app may simply request access to your GPS data. But IP addresses are readily available for inspection, and generally do not require special permissions or tricks to see.

While Netflix is ​​actively working to block VPN use, VPN companies are working hard to keep their customers connected to Netflix, partly out of convenience but no doubt because they also understand that unblocking content is a major attraction for VPN customers. It’s like a Cold War-era submarine movie, where enemies slowly try to maneuver each other.

Great VPN Campaign of 2021

In the summer of 2021, news emerged that Netflix was taking a tougher stance on VPN access to its streaming content. I wanted to see how this works in practice, so I put together a list of 15 VPN products, taken from an older version of this article, a list of the best VPNs overall, and a list of the best VPNs for accessing Netflix in the US.

To perform this test, I installed each VPN one by one and tried to access Netflix while connected to different servers. In these tests, I looked at VPN servers in the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

For each service, I did my best to use all the unblocking tools that each company provides. Each country was given five attempts to download the content and each time tried to use a different IP address. Sometimes this meant switching to a different server in the same location, other times it meant having to try a completely different location within the same country. If the VPN provides private servers for streaming, I have tried it the same way.

Not all VPNs allow you to select specific servers or server locations beyond the country level, and some don’t make it easy to change your IP address manually. In these circumstances, I simply disconnected and then reconnected. This will sometimes redirect you to a different server, but it’s not a sure thing. In each case, I tried to use as many unique IP addresses as possible.

Prohibited, open and limited

In my testing, I found that Netflix appears to work in three different ways. The first case was as if you were connected normally within a particular country. I was able to see all the content available in that area, and watch any of them successfully. I called this open. The second case was simple. Viewing the content may result in an error message, and one message usually indicates the use of VPNs or proxies. I called this ban.

The third case was a kind of Netflix purgatory where I could only watch and stream a subset of movies and shows, most of which were rated as Netflix originals. It was as if Netflix realized I was a paying customer, but wasn’t sure which region I was in, so it only provided the content available in each region. While nothing was blocked in this case, the options were limited, so this limited state was called. Note that in earlier versions of this article, I referred to this case as “Netflix Originals”. However, closer examination revealed that some of the content available is internationally licensed from Netflix (such as the movie Uncut Gemstones) as well as shows and movies produced by Netflix itself (such as She-Ra and the Princesses of Power).

Comparing my results for 2020 and 2021, it’s interesting to note that VPNs are now rarely outright banned. The most common is limited mode. While it’s frustrating for people trying to access region-restricted content, I think this is an improvement for customers. Netflix seems to acknowledge that it cannot stop people from using VPNs. Providing limited access mode lets VPN users see Something.

However, it is frustrating that customers who use VPNs to improve their privacy sometimes have to choose between security and their preferred software.

From years of testing VPNs, I know that using one of them is often like working with a black box. You give input, observe output, and guess what happens in between. Testing a VPN and Netflix is ​​like testing two black boxes at the same time. When I did this test last year, I ran into baffling scenarios that weren’t always clear what was going on with Netflix. This time around, I’m relieved to say that the results were even more visible. However, I still make great effort to check and recheck my work whenever possible. Despite this, it is inevitable that my results will come without any specific knowledge of how Netflix works from the inside.

Recommended by our editors

The following chart breaks down my results. Below, I report the best score for each VPN service in each country. This means that if you find that I’ve been blocked multiple times, but stream from Netflix at least once, report it as unblocked.

The last time I updated this article, I was impressed with how well VPNs have been performing since 2018. This time, the situation is completely different. In 2021, no service successfully streamed in all five regions I tested. ExpressVPN and ProtonVPN have the best performance, but they still only work in three out of five countries. Eight of the fifteen I tested did not work in any of the countries I tested.

Hotspot Shield showed some unusual behavior in this test. It was listed as the only service that didn’t perform better than being banned in an area, but the actual situation was complicated. I could see all the available content, as I do if open, but when I clicked on the videos, it resulted in a never ending loading screen. I called this blocker on the graph because even content that I knew was available in limited mode wouldn’t load either. Resetting the internet connection had no effect, and my other internet activities were working fine, indicating that it was an issue with Netflix and Hotspot Shield.

But what about speed?

Streaming video can eat up some serious bandwidth, especially if you want HD quality or better β€” which you should, because this is the 21st century, after all. Speed, if you’re new here, is just the other side of the bandwidth coin.

With a faster connection, you can get more data, and in theory a better viewing experience. However, keep in mind that Netflix is ​​very good at providing high quality video on very limited connections. The following chart shows the results of the VPN speed test results so far. This shows the percentage change between the speed test results obtained with the VPN and the results obtained without the VPN. Again, note that your results will likely differ from these.

COVID-19 has dramatically changed the way VPNs are tested, which I recently outlined in a column. Do read it for more context on these numbers. Also, this list will be updated periodically with new results and new products.

Is that all I can do?

When trying to stream Netflix through a VPN, there are a few things you can do to help establish a connection. The most important thing is to be persistent. There were several instances during this test where Netflix only started working on the last try.

Also, be aware of the tools at your disposal. Try multiple servers, and…

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