Have you ever met the error message saying that the content isn’t available in your region when trying to play a video on YouTube, or watch a Netflix show that you have no idea that it is not intended for your country?
If yes, you need to read this post, as it will explain why you are presented with that kind of error message, and then how to fix it. Well, if you haven’t run into similar error message yet, you’d better read this post, too, because it will tell you how to make sure this never happens to you in the future.
Without further ado, let’s get started now.
1. Get to know the geo-restriction and how it works
Geo-restriction, sometimes maybe referred to as geo-blocking, geo-filtering or region-locking, is a way a company, a website, a streaming service, etc., uses when it does not want users from certain locations to access its contents, including but not limited to, articles, websites, services, videos, music, and others, that are not meant for the locations they are living in.
Geo-restrictions can be applied to countries, states, cities, and even smaller locations like a building or office. The implementation varies from one service to another.
Some will allow you to browse the content but restrict you from continuing to view it. Other websites will hide the restricted content entirely, so you won’t know what is available outside your country or region.
Nowadays, almost every streaming service and music/video-sharing website, from YouTube to Netflix, has applied some form of geo-restriction to their streaming contents.
As mentioned at the very beginning, Netflix is a fine example of applying geo-restrictions to its diversified streaming libraries for different countries and regions. One movie or TV show available in the U.S. does not necessarily mean that you can watch it from outside the U.S.
Another example is the Peacock, which is only available in the U.S. territories, and you cannot access it from anywhere in the world outside the U.S. soil.
All being said, it does not mean that there is no other means to access geo-restricted contents. There surely is. Read on to the next part to find out how.
2. How to access geo-restricted streaming contents
Despite the geo-restrictions, there are still ways to unlock your desired streaming contents if they not available in your country or region. Generally, there three common practices to access geo-blocked contents.
2.1 Through a streaming VPN
You may already know that a VPN is, but do you know what is streaming VPN? Well, it’s easy: when a VPN is specifically optimized for streaming services, it becomes a streaming VPN.
With a streaming VPN, you can get access to the on-demand streaming contents on Netflix, or any other geo-enabled streaming service, that are not meant for your country or region.
VPNs can mask your real IP address, and as a result, your actual geographical location is hidden. With this, you get to browse with a different IP address provided by the VPN server.
The VPN Servers are located in various countries, so all you need to do is to connect with one in the country where the streaming contents are not geo-blocked.
2.2 Through a rotating proxy server
When you browse the internet, a proxy server intermediate on your behalf, the requests you send are first received by a proxy server before being sent to the webserver.
Typically, a proxy server would send your requests as it is, but with a rotary proxy server, you use random IP addresses for each web request.
Rotating proxy services do offer different Geo proxies so you can use a proxy server in various countries which will switch your location.
2.3 Through a smart DNS service
Just like IP addresses, DNS (Domain Name Server) can give out your exact location to websites online. With SmartDNS services, your original IP address is not hidden or changed; your request is simply re-routed.
Hence, your request does not go directly from your region but is passed through a different region before getting to the webserver.
The web server receives the request with your original IP address but will read a different location based on the route it followed.
3. What to consider when choosing streaming VPNs
There are many VPNs in the market, but not everyone is optimized for streaming services, plus the fact the streaming services are constantly blacklisting VPNs to make sure you cannot access their contents that are not meant for you. So, when choosing a streaming VPN, there are several things to consider:
We tested the compatibility issues of two VPNs with all the major streaming services to date, and here below is our final test result for your reference:
Access NordVPN Website
Access ExpressVPN Website
Final Wrap-up
Due to the geo-restrictions, when travelling from one country to another, you will probably lose access to the streaming service you have subscribed to, and your access to the streaming library that your streaming service is meant for another country from your home country will also be denied.
But with a streaming VPN, the problem can be fixed, this is probably the reason why streaming VPNs are becoming increasingly popular these days. That being said, the streaming services are also keeping backlisting users from using VPNs.
So, when choosing a streaming VPN, it is better to opt for those famous brands, so that you can get reliable connections, plenty of switchable servers, and also fast speed that can affect your actual user experience.
If yes, you need to read this post, as it will explain why you are presented with that kind of error message, and then how to fix it. Well, if you haven’t run into similar error message yet, you’d better read this post, too, because it will tell you how to make sure this never happens to you in the future.
Without further ado, let’s get started now.
1. Get to know the geo-restriction and how it works
Geo-restriction, sometimes maybe referred to as geo-blocking, geo-filtering or region-locking, is a way a company, a website, a streaming service, etc., uses when it does not want users from certain locations to access its contents, including but not limited to, articles, websites, services, videos, music, and others, that are not meant for the locations they are living in.
Geo-restrictions can be applied to countries, states, cities, and even smaller locations like a building or office. The implementation varies from one service to another.
Some will allow you to browse the content but restrict you from continuing to view it. Other websites will hide the restricted content entirely, so you won’t know what is available outside your country or region.
Nowadays, almost every streaming service and music/video-sharing website, from YouTube to Netflix, has applied some form of geo-restriction to their streaming contents.
As mentioned at the very beginning, Netflix is a fine example of applying geo-restrictions to its diversified streaming libraries for different countries and regions. One movie or TV show available in the U.S. does not necessarily mean that you can watch it from outside the U.S.
Another example is the Peacock, which is only available in the U.S. territories, and you cannot access it from anywhere in the world outside the U.S. soil.
All being said, it does not mean that there is no other means to access geo-restricted contents. There surely is. Read on to the next part to find out how.
2. How to access geo-restricted streaming contents
Despite the geo-restrictions, there are still ways to unlock your desired streaming contents if they not available in your country or region. Generally, there three common practices to access geo-blocked contents.
2.1 Through a streaming VPN
You may already know that a VPN is, but do you know what is streaming VPN? Well, it’s easy: when a VPN is specifically optimized for streaming services, it becomes a streaming VPN.
With a streaming VPN, you can get access to the on-demand streaming contents on Netflix, or any other geo-enabled streaming service, that are not meant for your country or region.
VPNs can mask your real IP address, and as a result, your actual geographical location is hidden. With this, you get to browse with a different IP address provided by the VPN server.
The VPN Servers are located in various countries, so all you need to do is to connect with one in the country where the streaming contents are not geo-blocked.
2.2 Through a rotating proxy server
When you browse the internet, a proxy server intermediate on your behalf, the requests you send are first received by a proxy server before being sent to the webserver.
Typically, a proxy server would send your requests as it is, but with a rotary proxy server, you use random IP addresses for each web request.
Rotating proxy services do offer different Geo proxies so you can use a proxy server in various countries which will switch your location.
2.3 Through a smart DNS service
Just like IP addresses, DNS (Domain Name Server) can give out your exact location to websites online. With SmartDNS services, your original IP address is not hidden or changed; your request is simply re-routed.
Hence, your request does not go directly from your region but is passed through a different region before getting to the webserver.
The web server receives the request with your original IP address but will read a different location based on the route it followed.
3. What to consider when choosing streaming VPNs
There are many VPNs in the market, but not everyone is optimized for streaming services, plus the fact the streaming services are constantly blacklisting VPNs to make sure you cannot access their contents that are not meant for you. So, when choosing a streaming VPN, there are several things to consider:
- Reliable access to many streaming services
- A great variety of servers
- Excellent speed.
We tested the compatibility issues of two VPNs with all the major streaming services to date, and here below is our final test result for your reference:
| Sercice | NordVPN | ExpressVPN |
| Amazon | Yes | Yes |
| Amazon JP | Yes | No |
| Netflix | Yes | Yes |
| Disney+ | Yes | Yes |
| HBO Max | Yes | Yes |
| HBO Now | Yes | Yes |
| Hulu US | Yes | Yes |
| Hulu JP | Yes | No |
| Paramount+ | Yes | Yes |
| Apple TV+ | Yes | Yes |
| Discovery+ | Yes | Yes |
| Crunchyroll | Yes | Yes |
| Funimation | No | Yes |
| Tubi | Yes | Yes |
| CW | Yes | Yes |
| Peacock | Yes | Yes |
| Roku Channel | Yes | No |
| ESPN+ | Yes | Yes |
| Shahid | Yes | Yes |
| dTV | Yes | Yes |
| U-NEXT | Yes | Yes |
| FOD | Yes | Yes |
| AbemaTV | Yes | Yes |
| Paravi | Yes | No |
| DMM | Yes | Yes |
| FANZA | Yes | Yes |
| R18 | Yes | Yes |
| Rakuten TV | No | Yes |
| Joyn | Yes | Yes |
| RTL+ | Yes | No |
| Stan | Yes | Yes |
| Canal Plus | Yes | No |
Access NordVPN Website
Access ExpressVPN Website
NordVPN and ExpressVPN all have thousands of VPN servers, but not all of servers can access the Streaming Service, since of that streaming service will block the server if they detect the connection is VPN. So you need to connect to another service if it does not work.
Although most of services can be accessed by NordVPN and ExpressVPN, but I still recommend to get NordVPN if you need, because of that NordVPN have much more VPN server than ExpressVPN, we can try more VPN server if the one server does not work, also the NordVPN price is cheaper than ExpressVPN.
Final Wrap-up
Due to the geo-restrictions, when travelling from one country to another, you will probably lose access to the streaming service you have subscribed to, and your access to the streaming library that your streaming service is meant for another country from your home country will also be denied.
But with a streaming VPN, the problem can be fixed, this is probably the reason why streaming VPNs are becoming increasingly popular these days. That being said, the streaming services are also keeping backlisting users from using VPNs.
So, when choosing a streaming VPN, it is better to opt for those famous brands, so that you can get reliable connections, plenty of switchable servers, and also fast speed that can affect your actual user experience.
NOTE: when you report the download problem if you are connecting the VPN, please make sure that:
If you can access and play back the video on your Chorme/Edge browser, but StreamFab could not download the video, it's StreamFab problem;
If you could not access and play back the video on your Chorme/Edge browser, then the video also will not be downloaded in StreamFab, it's the VPN problem, you may need to try to connect another VPN server.
If you can access and play back the video on your Chorme/Edge browser, but StreamFab could not download the video, it's StreamFab problem;
If you could not access and play back the video on your Chorme/Edge browser, then the video also will not be downloaded in StreamFab, it's the VPN problem, you may need to try to connect another VPN server.
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