How to Change your Netflix country

Netflix is available in over 190 locations around the world and each country has a completely different catalog of TV shows and movies. This means that some users get to stream more content - despite paying the same monthly subscription fees.

This might seem depressing at first, but don’t despair! By changing your Netflix region you can unlock all that extra content - from inside your existing Netflix account. All you need is a cheap online service known as a Virtual Private Network (VPN).

How to change Netflix region

Can I watch Netflix abroad?

Yes. When you go on vacation, you can log in and watch Netflix as usual. If the country you are visiting does not have Netflix or has a very limited catalog of titles, you can use a VPN to pretend to be back home. This will permit you to log in to your Netflix as usual and watch all the shows that are available back home. Simply follow the step outlined above.

Why does Netflix lock content to regions?

A large amount of content on Netflix is purchased and licensed from third party content producers. It is those copyright holders that enforce licensing restrictions, forcing Netflix not to show certain shows or movies in particular regions.

Depending on where you live and where you travel to, it is possible that you will be able to access the full catalog you are used to back home for a limited period. This is what Netflix says on its website:

If you are traveling for an extended period of time, or traveling to a country outside of the European Union, you may notice that the available choices change. For countries within the European Union, we provide the same content as your home country for a limited period of time. We'll let you know when the limited period is over, and you'll have access to the TV shows and movies for the country you are traveling to. When this happens, we’ll be sure to let you know.

help.netflix.com/en/node/24853

Of course, with a reliable VPN, the above statement becomes muted because you can access all the content from back home (or any large Netflix library of your choice) whenever you want.

Which Netflix library is the best?

Just a couple of years ago, the answer to this question was always the US library. However, in the last few years, Netflix has spent a lot of money on licensing agreements that have allowed it to really boost its catalogs elsewhere.

The US is still one of the best catalogs in the world. However, as you can see in the table below, Canada and Japan now also have massive catalogs.

One thing worth bearing in mind is that while the top three Netflix libraries all have nearly the same number of titles, those movies and TV shows actually change a fair amount from country to country. This means that by using a VPN to flick around those catalogs, you can unlock quite a few nice surprises! The price of a Netflix account also changes from country to country.

Can US Netflix users benefit from a VPN?

If you are a US resident - and you think you already have it all - below is a list of popular TV shows you could be unblocking with a VPN!

Can a free VPN access regional Netflix libraries?

In our experience the answer to this question is largely a no. Netflix spends a lot of time and money blocking IP addresses that belong to VPNs. This makes it very tough for VPN providers to keep working with Netflix. 

Free VPN services simply cannot afford to spend the time, money, and effort it takes to get around Netflix's blocks and for this reason, there are no free services that we know of that are capable of the job.

The Netflix VPNs that we recommend all work hard to keep providing access to a choice of Netflix catalogs - they do this using a collection of secret methods to stop Netflix catching on. Providing access to Netflix has become tricky, and it costs these VPNs a lot of money to keep providing access.

Unblock Netflix for free hack

The premium VPNs that we recommend using for Netflix all offer either a moneyback guarantee or short free trials. This is not a permanent solution, but if you did want to unblock Netflix for free, it is possible to take advantage of these to gain temporary access.

We recommend trying ExpressVPN. Not only is it one of the market leading services, but they have a no quibble 30-day moneyback guarantee.

Will I get in trouble for changing my Netflix region

No. You are a paying subscriber and you are a massively valued customer to Netflix. It is for this reason that Netflix never penalizes its subscribers for using a VPN. Netflix would prefer to show all TV shows and movies in every country, but due to the licensing restrictions imposed on it by third party content producers, it is unable to do so.

Netflix must be seen to be making an effort to stop people bypassing these geo-restrictions, and that is why Netflix works hard to block the VPNs themselves. However, no user has ever had their account canceled or been fined for using a VPN to watch Netflix. And, it is not illegal to change your Netflix to watch more shows, because you are a paying subscriber.

Having trouble?

If you are having problems, it is likely that the VPN you are using is simply not capable of unblocking Netflix. If this is the case, check the providers money back guarantee policy. Some services this which is usually up to 30-days. If you have had the VPN for longer than this period then follow the steps then there are a few things you can do to get it working:

1. Connect to a different server in the same country.

   The VPNs that we have recommended only work with Netflix on specific servers. Communicate with your provider to find out exactly which servers are suitable for Netflix.

2. Disconnect your VPN and reconnect it.

   Refreshing your VPN IP address on the server in question can resolve the issue.

3. Contact customer support.

   The VPNs support team will always help to troubleshoot your problems so be sure to talk to them if you can’t fix the problem yourself.

If you have followed the above steps and are still having issues, we cover some more in-depth troubleshooting in our Netflix VPN troubleshooting guide.