Netflix is available in 190 different countries. With almost 183 million paid subscribers as of March 2024, it is one of the best streaming services all over the world and everyone loves it. People who enjoy binge-watching can not find a better way to satisfy their cravings than Netflix. The streaming giant enables people from all over the world to watch their favorite Tv shows, the latest movies, documentaries, stand- up comedies and even has a fantastic category dedicated to kids!
However, besides all the good features of the streaming service, it has its own challenges too. The most frustrating challenge about Netflix as most of its users agree is a restriction called Geo-blocking. Let’s discuss it more deeply to see if we can bypass this challenge.
Geo-blocking: how and why Netflix does it?
Geo-blocking means the restriction of the availability of specific internet content to a geographical location. In fact, Geo-blocking limits access to internet content based on the user’s location. This is a common tactic used by entertainment industries such as Netflix, Hulu and BBC iPlayer, which offer premium content over the internet.
For making things clear, let me give you a simple example of what Geo-blocking is and how it works in real life:
I am an American citizen who currently lives in Germany to do some business. When I open up Netflix which I have subscribed to while I was in the US, I am just able to view the Germany library and do not have any access to my US library. When I search for my desired content, I see this error message: This title is not available in your current region.
Can you imagine my disappointment when I find out that I can not continue streaming my favorite series anymore? Well, this is called Geo-blocking.
Now, the more important question that comes next is why Netflix implements Geo-blocking. Apart from Netflix’s original movies and Tv shows, the streaming service also offers movies owned by other vendors. These movies and Tv shows are mostly licensed and copyrighted. Therefore, Netflix implements Geo-blocking to avoid violation of the owner’s copyrights and licenses.
In fact, Netflix restricts its content and offers selective content depending on the user’s geographical location.
How does Geo-blocking work?
Every computer has its unique IP address. As soon as you register with your internet service provider (your ISP), You get your IP address. Your IP address shows your location to the world, and anyone can track you easily using that. Companies like Netflix and Hulu, use this to restrict users to be allowed to view content based on their location. (Netflix recognizes an internet user’s location by their IP addresses and blocks them from accessing the restricted content).
Geo-blocking usually has nothing to do with the money you pay for the service. For example, a person based in Germany pays nearly the same price as someone based in the USA for a Netflix subscription but, the number of movies and Tv shows that are available for the American subscriber of Netflix is so much more than the number of available contents for the German user. Things could even get worse when you travel to another country for vacation or business.
When you leave your country and travel to somewhere else, your geographical location changes to your current region, therefore, Netflix will show you the library of your current country and you will not be able to continue watching your desired series as long as you are out of your country. Now, let’s see if there is any way to get around these restrictions:
How to bypass Netflix’s Geo-blocking using a VPN
So far, we have learned what geo-restriction is and why streaming services like Netflix use it. Now it’s time to discuss the ways of getting around these restrictions. As we mentioned earlier, your geographical location is the basis of all geo-blockings. Now, if you are willing to bypass these restrictions, you need to find a way to change your IP address.
The easiest way of doing that is to use a virtual private network (a VPN). Using a virtual private network enables you to get past any kind of geo-blocking and access your favorite content no matter where you are. Although it might seem easy, not all VPNs work in these cases. Many VPNs have slow data speeds or are just unreliable, and the team at VPN Geeks has tested and reviewed VPNs using real data.
Under pressure from copyright holders, Netflix uses various tools to detect and blocks VPN connections and that is why you sometimes get this error message while using a VPN: Oops, something went wrong…you seem to be using an unblocker or proxy. Please turn off any of these services and try again.
Does this mean we should give up and somehow content with our region library? Of course not! There are still several VPNs that can get past Netflix’s Geo-blocking and Wachee VPN is one of them.
1. Connect the VPN
Open the app or extension and click on ‘connect’.
2. Go to Netflix
Open Netflix and sign in with your existing account.
3. Enjoy streaming your favorite content from where ever you are!
Here are some popular movies that are not available in your country but you can stream easily them by using Wachee VPN:
- Into the Forest
- Married at First Sight
- 89
- Connected
- November Criminals
- The Clique
- Single Wives
- Ip Man 4: The Finale
- The Long Dumb Road
- A Kid from Coney Island
- Born Racer
- David Foster: Off the Record
- Ride Like a Girl
- Riding Faith
- The Night Clerk
- Norm of the North
- American Gospel: Christ Alone
- High Strung Free Dance
- Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend
- The Universe: Ancient Mysteries Solved
