Last Updated on October 25, 2017 by Larious

If you’re a fan of movies and TV shows, then you are likely to own a Netflix subscription. However, if you don’t live in a country like the US or the UK, then you must have realized by now that the library of shows and movies you are presented with is incomplete.

There are many reasons why this happens, but the thing with it is that you own the same subscription that anyone in the US can have, yet you have access to less content than them. Many users consider this to be an unfair treatment. After all, they are making an effort and spending their money on an incomplete service when they could easily opt for piracy and watch everything for free.

However, it is not impossible for Netflix subscribers around the world to unblock the content that’s been hidden away from them. With the right tools and knowledge, they can be able to watch every single show hosted on the streaming service no matter their location. Some of the methods are simpler than the others and each one has its pros and cons. We’ve managed to gather information about the one’s we consider most effective, so let’s lay the cards on the table and discuss them in detail.

Virtual Private Networks

VPNs are networks of servers that encrypt and reroute your internet traffic so that no one can intercept it and the other end of your connection can’t trace it back to you. All the online activity from your devices goes through a VPN server before it reaches any websites or services, fooling them into thinking that it was the server who accessed them. If the server is located in a different country from yours, this effectively lets you access all the content that’s available in that location.

Even though they were designed to provide stronger security and privacy for internet users, VPNs are also one of the best tools to unblock Netflix content. Good VPN providers let you connect to servers in dozens of countries without compromising your connection speeds. On top of all this, you’ll also be protected from eavesdroppers, and since your connection can’t be traced back to you, you can be sure you won’t be getting in trouble with Netflix for trying to access blocked content.

Using a VPN is also fairly simple. The most common way of doing it is by hiring the service. VPN services usually provide a client that lets you choose the location of the server you want to connect to with only a few clicks. You can also create your own VPN if you happen to own a server in another country, but this process is a bit complicated so we recommend you to do it only if you have some knowledge about computer networks.

It is important if your goal is to access geo-restricted content from Netflix that you only use VPNs with dedicated IP addresses. This is, VPNs that mask your IP with a different one that only you will be using. This is because Netflix has a system to detect VPN connections, it does this by detecting if a single IP address is being used to host multiple connections at once. The consequence is that you’ll most likely end up blocked again, so choose your VPN provider carefully.

Smart DNS Proxy

To block content based on your location, Netflix depends on the IP address given to you by your ISP. When you connect to the internet using a smart DNS proxy, your connection is sent through a server created by the proxy software, which make it seem like you’re connecting from the server’s location. This works very similarly to the way VPNs unblock content for you, except this option doesn’t have as many privacy and security options.

To use it you have to find a provider, who will then give you some DNS addresses and all you have to do is put these addresses in your internet connection’s configuration. You usually don’t need to download any software for this and since it doesn’t feature encryption options, it can be somewhat faster than using a VPN, although it is also less secure.

Smart DNS proxies are a great option if you’re looking for a lightweight solution to unblock Netflix content in your region. You can even configure your router with the DNS addresses you’re given and tunnel the connections of all the devices in the network through the proxy, which allows you to unblock content from console marketplaces and devices like Apple TV.

Tor

The Tor browser is a privacy tool that’s become popular because it is the main way people access unindexed websites, also known as the deep web. The reason it is used with this purpose is because all connections made from that browser go through a very complex process of encryption and rerouting before reaching any websites. This ensures the identities of the users of the browser is always protected and if it is used well, it can also unblock geo-restricted content from media sites like Netflix.

The main issue with the Tor network is that all the security and identity protection processes that take place in it take a lot of computer resources. On top of this, connections normally travel longer routes than usual, all this results in connection speeds that are much slower than on regular networks. Since streaming media is something that requires stable and fast internet connections, it might not be the best choice to use the Tor network to access Netflix’s geo-restricted content.

Response from Netflix

You should know that Netflix is well aware that people are using these tools to bypass their restriction and are taking actions to block them from their service. It shouldn’t surprise you if your VPN or Smart DNS stops bypassing geo-restrictions all of a sudden. Still, there is never a flawless system, it’s just a matter of moving to the next option that still accomplishes your goal, in this case, unblocking Netflix content.