Hosting a huge amount of TV series, movies, and documentaries makes Netflix one of the best on-demand streaming platforms in the world. Yet, it has a small con. While Netflix operates worldwide, unfortunately, not all countries are treated equally in terms of content availability.
In other words, not every country does have the same catalog. Furthermore, Netflix offers most of its content to the USA and if you are outside the USA, then you will have geo-restriction problems. But, do not worry about it. In this tutorial, I will teach you how to watch Netflix US outside of the US territory.
Simply, by making use of a VPN service, we will change our virtual location (IP address) to the USA and access Netflix’s huge US catalog anywhere in the world.
Analysis: Because of licensing and copyright issues, Netflix is required to offer certain content in certain areas. Therefore, if the specific content is only available to the USA territory (IP range), you cannot watch that content outside the USA. They make this restriction possible by keeping the track of the visitor’s IP address.
Solution: We will use a VPN service to change our local IP address to the USA’s. This trick will help us virtually be located in the US and access the Netflix US catalog regardless of our physical location.
A quick guide to watching Netflix US outside the USA:
- Visit SurfShark VPN -It has hundreds of servers in the USA.
- Click the “Buy now” button and pick a plan.
- Input your email address and complete the purchase with a payment method. (SurfShark will send the credentials to your email address.)
- Download the compatible SurfShark app for your device and install it.
- Login to the SurfShark app with your credentials.
- Navigate to “Locations”, search for “United States and connect to one of the US servers (New York, Dallas, or San Francisco, etc…)
Once you are connected to the US server, you can now access all Netflix US catalog. As an example, I chose to access the US-Only TV show “Arrested Development” in Europe. Here is what I got:
If you feel like, you did not quite get the VPN purpose above, let me walk you through the all basics, and clear your mind…
Yet, first, we got to understand the core reason for the geo-restriction.
Why is Netflix US only available in the USA?
Netflix has global and local categories. While the global categories are available to any streamer, the local categories are bound to be served within the licensed area. That is why anyone outside of this location cannot watch the geo-restricted shows.
Netflix explains this in the terms of use, under service section, 4.3:
- You may view the Netflix content primarily within the country in which you have established your account and only in geographic locations where we offer our service and have licensed such content. The content that may be available to watch will vary by geographic location and will change from time to time…
Simply put, driving from the licensing issues, Netflix cannot air all of its content everywhere. This might seem like a physical location problem. Yet, actually, it is a virtual one.
Let’s dive into the power of VPNs and change our virtual location.
How to watch Netflix USA anywhere
We have analyzed the problem:
- Because of the licensing problems, we cannot access Netflix US content outside the USA.
Now, let’s fix this problem.
In this geo-restriction scenario, we do need a service called VPN (Virtual Private Network). By using one of these services, we will be able to encrypt our online traffic and change our virtual location (IP address).
Therefore, to stream Netflix US, we will be using a quality VPN service that has fast and reliable servers deployed in the USA. This way, we will change our IP address to USA’s and bypass the Netflix geo-restriction embargo.
Let’s take the steps one by one…
Choosing the right VPN
Not any VPN will help us watch Netflix US. There are some criteria to be met. These are:
- Servers in the US: As we will be streaming Netflix US content, this criteria is a must.
- Bypass Netflix VPN embargo: Netflix can easily detect that we are using a VPN service, that is why we need an undetectable one.
- Decent speed: To watch the shows at the best quality possible (Ultra HD), the VPN should grant us at least 20 Mbps download speed.
When all add up, SurfShark turns out to be the best VPN solution for streaming Netflix libraries. It has hundreds of servers in the US with outstanding download speed performance up to 69.16 Mbps.
In addition to this, SurfShark will help you watch Netflix US as well as 30+ more Netflix libraries around the world.
To make use of this service:
- Visit SurfShark VPN and pick a plan.
- Enter your e-mail address.
- Complete the purchase with a preferred payment method.
Download and install the VPN app
Once the purchase is a success, SurfShark will send the login credentials to your email address. Check your inbox and follow these steps:
- Visit SurfShark and log in to the user portal with your username and password.
- Click on the “Apps & extensions” menu on the left.
- Download the VPN app where you want to stream Netflix (Mac, iOS, Android, etc…)
- Finish the installation by following the tutorial.
- Start the app and log in with the same credentials.
Now our VPN is ready to use!
Connecting to the right VPN server
It is time to take the final step.
- Launch the VPN app and click on the “Locations” menu.
- Write down “United States” to the search bar.
- Click on one of the lined up servers such as “New York, Seatle, Chicago, etc…”
There you are! Now, you are connected to one of SurfShark’s US servers and you have a US IP address.
Visit Netflix, log in to your account, and enjoy the Netflix US catalog outside the USA.
For all these efforts, does it really worth it?
Well, considering the huge amount of TV series, movies, and documentaries, Netflix US could be your top pick.
Even when you are bored with the Netflix US, you can switch between more than 30 catalogs around the world with SurfShark.
Enjoy your streaming!
Problems when using a VPN
For sure, things might not go as expected. Netflix is in a never-ending war with the VPN and Proxy services. From time to time, you might experience VPN services fail to unblock Netflix libraries.
In such a situation, I highly recommend you to contact customer service and get the latest updates.
If the update takes longer than expected, you might go for alternative VPN solutions such as CyberGhost (6 Netflix Libraries), NordVPN (10 different Netflix libraries), or ExpressVPN (5 different Netflix libraries).
All those three VPN providers will help you bypass Netflix US restriction and enjoy several other libraries as well.
Summing up
Being one of the biggest streaming platforms, Netflix has huge categories for the likings of many. However, these categories may vary from country to country because of the copyrights and licensing.
In this article, I taught you how to change our virtual location and bypass Netflix geo-restrictions with a VPN service.
By connecting to the VPN’s US server, we change our current IP address to USA’s and unblock the Netflix US catalog anywhere in the world.
The idea behind this solution is quite simple. VPN services such as SurfShark will start encrypting your data through the selected server. Hence, the system will grant you the IP address of the server as well. Wherever the server is located, you will get the IP address range of that specific country.
Simply put, encrypting your data in a US server will swap your local IP address with the USA’s and help you bypass geo-restrictions no matter where you are located.
Last but not least, you will see that Netflix goes hard on such services as well. In this case, make sure to use alternative services such as CyberGhost, ExpressVPN, or NordVPN.
I’m a part-time traveler on a mission: to explore the world and uncover the intricate demands of VPN usage. Fueled by curiosity, I meticulously navigate the realms of privacy, streaming, and unblocking needs in every destination I visit. With a keen eye, I analyze the local and global VPN demands of each country, translating my findings into informative articles about VPN-related topics.