3 Ways to Bypass Country Restrictions on Video Sites.
Waiting for the next season of The Walking Dead while everyone is watching? It won’t happen.
There are several reasons why you might want to bypass the country restriction on video sites. Say:
- You stumbled upon a YouTube video that is unfortunately not available in your country
- You are not satisfied with the Netflix catalog in your country
- You are traveling abroad. And there you cannot watch your favorite shows on Hulu, Netflix, AMC, etc. E even if you have an active subscription
- Or, say so, you live in a country with Internet censorship.
Typically, these video sites add geographic restrictions due to licensing rights. But in the end, it is the end user who must suffer. So here are three ways to get around the country restriction. Let’s start.
Related: How to See Blocked Content on Websites
Bypass state restrictions on video sites
1. Try proxy sites
This is the simplest method and probably the first thing you should try.
I remember a few years ago someone on Reddit shared a YouTube link for the first episode of Mr. Robot. It was uploaded by the official channel, but they limited the video to US only. And here this proxy method came in handy.
So how does it work?
Let’s say you have this YouTube video that is not available in your country. Then just copy its url to your clipboard and go to google. Type Proxy Sites and press Enter.
Nowadays most of these proxy services are often shut down when they become popular, o there is no single name that I can suggest. Searching on Google is the best option. Although this one has been working fine for several years now.
So try the first few links on a Google search (the first one works most of the time). Paste the URL of the YouTube video into the search box on proxy sites. Switch to a supported country. A and that’s it. Now you can stream this video easily.
The advantage of using proxy sites is that they are free, fast, and easy to use. But the flip side of the coin is that they only work in your current browser, not the entire computer. Also, you cannot use proxy sites on major video sites like Netflix, Hulu, etc., where the content is hidden behind an entrance wall.
Related: How to Access Torrents Blocked by Your ISP
2. Use a VPN
VPN or virtual private network is a popular way to get around geographic restrictions. Like a proxy, a VPN also spoofs your IP address and thereby changes your location.
But unlike proxy sites, which can only work at the browser level, VPNs can also work at the system level (if you use their desktop tool). This means that every application on your computer or smartphone can change its IP address. So, if you want to stream content from other countries on Netflix, you need a VPN.
So which VPN should you choose?
Well, there is no definite answer to this. There are many players on the market. Some are FREE and others are PAID. They all have their pros and cons.
However, if you’re looking for a decent free VPN, I recommend TunnelBear. With the free account, you get 500 MB of bandwidth. Or you can try Hotspot Shield (there are ads) Some older guides offer free VPN Hola. Avoid this, it is not safe.
Related: 5 Best Free VPN Services You Should Try
How it works?
Install the Tunnelbear client first. I is available for Windows, MAC, Android, iOS. Then create a free account, turn on the service (there you will see an ON / OFF button) and switch to your desired country. Now if you refresh the page the video will start playing.
Tip: Most video sites only check the location (IP address) at the beginning of the video. S o Once the connection is established and the video starts playing , you can turn off the VPN and stream over the normal Internet.
I’ve been using this workaround for a few years now and it has worked for many popular video hosting services. All in all, this means you can stream 100 hours of content using just 500MB of data. Not bad. Right?
| Benefits | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Works on both desktop and mobile | Does not work with consoles or media streaming devices such as Chromecast, Xbox, Apple TV, etc. |
| The connection is encrypted | Reduce the connection speed |
| Limited free version available | Good paid |
So, if I want to watch Canadian Netflix on TV with Chromecast, it won’t work. Plus, over the past year, Netflix has started blocking all connections coming from popular VPNs. So, you need something that works at the router level and also needs to be reliably fast. And here comes the third solution.
3. SmartDNS
Thus, the way to unblock DNS is very different from what we have seen in a VPN or proxy. Instead of changing your IP address (like the VPN did), DNS unblockers will override the selected DNS records.
This means you can unblock all geo-restricted content while maintaining your IP address and speed.
Popular options are SmartDNS and Unblock-us. Both are paid ($ 5 monthly subscription), but you can try it FOR FREE for a week or two. No credit card required. I am using SmartDNS proxy and it works fine with my Chromecast.
How it works?
Go to the official website. Sign up for a trial account. Then you will be given two IP addresses, you must add them to the dns1 and dns2 entry of your router (or whatever device you want). Reboot your device and go back to the official website once. again.
If you did everything correctly, you will see a confirmation message and the option to change the country. Well that’s all. Now you can watch your favorite video sites on any device.
| Benefits | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Works for all devices connected to the router like – Chromecast, Roku, Apple Tv, etc. | Paid service (worth the money if you use it) |
| Easy to customize. The website has manuals for most routers and devices | It only works with popular video streaming sites |
| You keep your IP address and use the entire bandwidth bandwidth | No encryption like VPN |
Packaging
So these were some of the ways to get around country restrictions on video sites like YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, etc. If you’re a casual user, a free VPN like TunnelBear should be the one for you. However, if you love to watch Netflix on all your devices or are looking for a long-term solution, services like smart DNS make more sense. For a low monthly subscription, you can live a worry-free life and enjoy our favorite shows.
Also Read: 10 Ways To Access Blocked Websites At Your College