How to Unblock HBO NOW

With a latest season of Game of Thrones just days away we wanted to share a guide for accessing the new HBO NOW service from anywhere in the world.  If you live or travel outside of the US then you probably know popular streaming services block access.  Like Hulu, Netflix, YouTube, HBO NOW and many more.  You can use a VPN service to unblock the restrictions and watch anywhere.  We’ll show you how to unblock them all.

HBO NOW

Have you ever tried to access HBO NOW from outside the US?  If so the site looks fine until you try to watch a show.  When you try to stream a show the service will fail if you are connected from an IP address outside the United States.  That’s where a VPN comes in.  You can connect to a US VPN server and enjoy your favorite HBO shows.

Let’s take a look at how easy it is to get around this geographic restriction.

How can a VPN help unblock HBO NOW?

Let’s look at how a personal VPN can help you stream HBO NOW from outside the United States:

  • VPN helps you to get an IP address from a server in the United States.
  • Your data is then routed through a secure tunnel to protect your online privacy.
  • A fast connection is important for streaming.  A good VPN can support the speed.

A reliable privacy service will allow you to connect to a server in the US and enjoy HBO NOW from anywhere in the world.  Allowing you to view the full selection of movies and shows as if you were sitting in the United States.

Connecting to HBO NOW with a VPN service

Personal VPN’s are meant to be easy to use.  You’ll want a fast connection for streaming HD content.  There are quite a few companies out there that are good but just can’t meet the bandwidth needs.  Two of our favorites for fast, reliable VPN access are IPVanish and OverPlay.  Both have quite a few US server locations.

We’ll be using IPVanish since they have the fastest VPN connections in the United States.   First you’ll want to sign up for access.  IPVanish offers unlimited VPN from just $4.87 a month which is a great value.

IPVanish coupon

After you become a member, IPVanish will send a welcome email with your account information.  From there you’ll want to visit their site and download the VPN client.  IPVanish has VPN software for Windows and Mac.  They also have custom iPhone, iPad, and Android VPN apps.

Once you have the IPVanish client downloaded and installed go ahead and fire it up.

IPVanish Windows 2.0 client

From here you’ll want to choose a US server location that provides the best download speed.  We’ve connected to quite a few of the locations.  It depends on where you are located.  IPVanish ha an expansive network of VPN in the United States so you have a lot of options to choose from.  I like using their server in Ashburn, Virginia.

We’ll keep it non technical.  You can connect to any IPVanish server and switch between them anytime.  They offer locations throughout the United States.  If you want an IP from elsewhere they have VPN servers located in 63 different countries.  IPVanish allows two simultaneous connections which is great for mobile devices.

You’ll notice options for OpenVPN, PPTP and L2TP at the top of the interface.  These let you select which protocol is used to access the servers.  Test each of them out to see which one works best from your location.  For streaming services like HBO NOW we recommend OpenVPN (UDP).  We enjoy the best results using it.

That’s all there is to it.  An IP in the US will unblock access to Netflix, Hulu, Pandora, YouTube, Facebook and many more sites.  Follow us on Twitter @VPNSP for more how-to guides along with VPN reviews and specials.