As I’m sure many of you do, I have a Netflix account. It’s pretty awesome- for a paltry $10 a month, I’ve access to a whole library of movies and TV shows which I can watch whenever and wherever I desire (so long as I’ve a stable Internet connection, anyway). Unfortunately, since I live outside the United States (I’m based up here in the Snowy North) I’ve got a rather considerable problem – compared to the Netflix library Americans have access to, my library of shows is very, very scant. Some might even refer to it as downright pathetic. I have access to less than half the shows and movies, yet I’m still paying the same subscription fees.
Thank you, content licenses. If the dinosaurs who owned the content would adapt and evolve, none of this would be a problem.
But that’s neither here nor there. See, it’s actually quite possible (simple, even) to fool the service into thinking you’re connecting from the States, even if you’re coming in from somewhere else. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend or endorse this, as it’s technically against the Netflix ToS, and you could potentially end up losing your subscription if you get caught. Still, it’s more of a moral and legal gray area than pirating the media, so if you’re frustrated with the selection of videos you’re receiving in your country, it’s still viable.
Setting up a VPN
It’s actually pretty easy to set up a simple VPN service that will effectively ‘fool’ Netflix’s servers into thinking you’re connecting from an American IP address. There are a number of VPN services out there that you could potentially go with, but one of the most highly recommended is Hide My Ass. CryptIP and Unotelly are also great options.
There’s a very large majority of VPNs which actually require an active subscription themselves – so you’re essentially paying an additional $5 or more on top of what you’re already shelling out for Netflix. Still, if you’ve got the money for it, it’s a potential solution to your streaming woes. Truth be told, you don’t actually need a paid VPN for this. You can simply connect to Netflix using a free VPN service, then disconnect it once it’s registered you as being from the US. Enjoy all your media!
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How to Watch American Netflix Outside of the US
Does anybody see anything wrong with this? What a nonsense statement. There is no country called America and there never has been. Maybe it should be reworded to say, “How to watch US Netflix outside of the US”. Now at least a statement is correct.
Great post but I agree with Millinneumman.
I use a VPN service called boxpn and it works great for me to stream from Netflix USA site when I’m in Europe. Their price for yearly subscription is 44.99 USD which comes to 3.75 USD per month. Best deal I could find on the net.
You may visit their site http://www.boxpn.com VPN service and I believe their discount is still active.
Thanks for the recommendation about Unotelly. I signed up for a free trial and it works great. Very fast service.