Unblock Netflix Outside the US

We’re huge fans of the Netflix streaming service.  Except when traveling outside the United States.  Then it got rather frustrating until we found a solution.  Luckily you can access Netflix worldwide by using a virtual private network.  A fast VPN service will let you connect to servers in the U.S. and get an IP address there.  Regardless of where you might be traveling at the time.  Giving you the ability to enjoy Netflix from anywhere in the world.

Unblock Netflix with VPN

How does a VPN help unblock Netflix?

Let’s look at how a VPN service can help you stream Netflix from outside the United States:

  • VPN allows you to acquire and use an IP address in the United States.
  • All traffic is routed through a secure tunnel to help ensure your privacy.
  • A fast connection is necessary for streaming.  VPN can help you achieve the best performance.

A good privacy service will allow you to tunnel to a server in the US and enjoy Netflix from anywhere in the world.  Allowing you to view movies and television shows as if you were sitting in the United States.

Connecting to Netflix using a VPN service

We’ll walk you through signing up with a reliable VPN provider and connecting to Netflix from outside the US.  You will want a fast connection for streaming HD content.  There are quite a few VPN companies that won’t meet your bandwidth needs.  Two of our favorites for fast, reliable access are IPVanish and Hide My Ass.

We’ll be using IPVanish since they have the fastest VPN connections in the United States.   The first thing you’ll want to do is sign up for access.  You can enjoy unlimited VPN from IPVanish for just $6.49 a month.

IPVanish $6.49 Special

After you sign up IPVanish will send a welcome email with your account information.  From there you’ll want to visit their site and download the free VPN software.  IPVanish offers VPN clients for Windows and Mac.  They also support iPhone, iPad and Android mobile devices.

Once you have the IPVanish client downloaded and installed go ahead and launch it.  You’ll see this screen:

IPVanish Client

From here you want to select the US server location that provides the best download speed.  The “Response” column is a good indicator of the best choice for performance.  When you first launch the client the “Response” column will be blank for a few seconds while it pings the server locations.  A low ping “Response” time means low latency between your system and the server.  Giving you the fastest possible connection.

We won’t make things too technical.  Connect to any IPVanish server and switch between them at will.  They offer locations throughout the United States.  If you ever want an IP from elsewhere they have VPN servers located in 41 different countries.  You can have up to two simultaneous connections which is great for mobile devices.

You’ll notice OpenVPN, PPTP and L2TP buttons at the bottom of the screen.  They allow you to select which protocol is used to access the VPN servers.  Test them out to see which one works best from your location.  For streaming services like Netflix we recommend OpenVPN (UDP) as we’ve seen the best performance using it.

That’s all there is to it.  An IP in the US also gives you access to Hulu, Pandora, Skype, Facebook and many more sites.  Follow us on Twitter @VPNSP for more how-to guides along with VPN reviews and promotions.