How To Get American Netflix from Outside the Country

Regular readers will know that we here at TechJunkie are all Netflix fans. We are as happy as can be when we are at home binge watching House of Cards or other boxset when the weather outside is bad. We are not so happy when we have to travel outside the U.S. and can only access a portion of our Netflix catalog. So what are we to do? How can we get American Netflix from outside the country?

Regular TechJunkie readers will also know what we are fans of VPNs. They protect us while online, stop our ISPs from seeing what we do and provides an effective barrier to government surveillance. Fortunately, they can also help us get American Netflix from outside the country.

Unfortunately, it isn’t as simple as buying a VPN, selecting a U.S. server and loading the catalog. Over the past year or so, Netflix has waged war on VPNs. As far as I can tell, the company has nothing against them but the movie and TV industry forced Netflix to take action.

The entertainment industry uses an old fashioned regional licensing system that charges more to other countries depending on their ability to pay. The ability to connect to Netflix from somewhere else without the industry getting their extra few cents annoyed them so they forced Netflix into action. Allegedly, they threatened to remove their content from the platform unless Netflix began doing something about people accessing U.S. Netflix from outside the country. Hence the current fight against VPNs.

While there is no evidence that you will get banned from accessing Netflix using a VPN, it is against the T&Cs. “You also agree not to: circumvent, remove, alter, deactivate, degrade or thwart any of the content protections in the Netflix service,” and “We may terminate or restrict your use of our service, without compensation or notice if you are, or if we reasonably believe that you are (i) in violation of any of these Terms of Use or (ii) engaged in illegal or improper use of the service.”

Access American Netflix from outside the U.S.

So that’s the why, now to the how. We still use a VPN to access American Netflix from outside the U.S., we just need to be selective about the one we use. Fortunately, the hard work has already been done in ‘The Best VPN Options For Netflix’. I spent a long time testing the various VPN services mentioned and all of them works with Netflix.

I recommend ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Buffered VPN, PrivateVPN and Strong VPN in that piece as they all work hard to enable you to get American Netflix from outside the country. None of them guarantee access but all say they do what they can to keep one step ahead of Netflix. I would suggest signing up to one of those services and selecting a suitable plan.

To access American Netflix from outside the U.S. you will need a VPN and a Netflix account. As far as I can tell you don’t need a U.S.-based Netflix account, any account will do as Netflix assesses your IP address when you log in to decide what catalog you get to see.

1. Sign up to a VPN that actively works to allow Netflix access. One of the above suggestions all do that while offering free trial periods so you can test it.
2. Download and install the VPN app to your devices. Install an app on every device you are likely to view Netflix on as they are each controlled individually.
3. Enable the app and select a U.S. server. The VPN provider may recommend a particular server for Netflix, they may not.
4. Log into your Netflix account while connected to the U.S. VPN server.
5. View your new full size Netflix catalog.

If you read any of my other articles, you know that I recommend using a VPN for all aspects of your internet use. Given how little privacy we have left and the sheer amount of surveillance that happens while online, I consider using a VPN while connected as essential. If that VPN also provides access to the full Netflix catalog then all the better!

You don’t have to use the VPN providers I suggest either. There are dozens of good quality services out there. You just need to find a vendor that actively works to allow Netflix access and that offers some kind of free trial or moneyback guarantee should you not be able to access U.S. Netflix from outside the country.

Had any issues using the VPN providers I suggest? Know of any other reliable ways to get American Netflix from outside the country? Tell us about it below if you do!