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The Best VPNs That Bypass Prime Video VPN Errors
Simon Migliano
Simon Migliano is a recognized world expert in VPNs. He's tested hundreds of VPN services and his research has featured on the BBC, The New York Times and more. Read full bio
The best VPN to use with Prime Video is ExpressVPN, thanks to its impressive consistency at unblocking popular regions on all devices. IPVanish is an excellent alternative for streaming on Firestick, while Windscribe is a 100% free service ideal for occasional short-term use.
Amazon Prime Video is available almost all over the world, but each country’s content library is different. What you can watch depends on your geographical location.
Many websites just tell you to get a VPN to access geo-blocked content, but it’s not that simple. Beating Prime Video’s geo-restrictions is trickier than on other content platforms.
Unlike Disney+ or Netflix, Prime Video content is linked to your Amazon account country so you’ll have to either update your existing account, or create a new one.
That’s not all. After testing 61 VPNs, we found that over 50% of VPNs can’t bypass Prime Video geo-blocks anyway.
Summary: Best VPNs for Prime Video
Our latest test confirm that these three VPNs are still the most effective for Prime Video:
Windscribe: 100% Free VPN That Unblocks Prime Video
If you use a best-in-class VPN and follow our instructions closely, you’ll gain access to popular region-locked content like top Champions League matches, Tennis Grand Slams, and movies unavailable in your country’s catalog.
Why Trust Us?
We’re fully independent and have been reviewing VPNs since 2016. Our ratings are based on our own testing results and are unaffected by financial incentives. Learn who we are and how we test VPNs.
🔄 Recent Updates
ExpressVPN is once again our top pick for Prime Video due to its improved performance on Fire TV. We’ve also highlighted differences between popular content regions, and updated our testing methodology.
The Truth About Amazon & VPNs
Let’s clarify something very important: if you want to watch content available only in another country’s library, a VPN isn’t enough. You’ll have to either change your account’s country or open a new Amazon account in that country.
Amazon has a very sophisticated VPN detection system, possibly the most advanced and unlike most other streaming platforms, it detects almost all VPN connections.
Not even the VPNs we recommend in this guide go unnoticed, but this doesn’t mean they won’t work. Quite the opposite, in fact.
We’ve discovered that if your account country and VPN location match, then Amazon will let you stream content without issue, even if it knows you’re using a VPN.
We streamed Alien Romulus which is free only in the US.
How to Watch Prime Video with a VPN
Now that we’ve established the unique way VPNs and Amazon interact, we’ll show exactly how to access geo-blocked content on Prime Video.
While the bad news is that you’ll have to create a new Amazon account, the good news is it’s all straightforward to do.
In the video below, we used ExpressVPN to stream a movie on Prime Video UK from the US, and in so doing avoiding its rental cost.
We used ExpressVPN to stream a UK-only movie on Prime Video from the US.
Below we’ll explain how to create a new Amazon account from any country.
Instructions: How to Create a New Amazon Account
Go to the local Amazon website where the content you want to watch is hosted. For instance, Amazon.com (USA), Amazon.co.uk (UK), Amazon.de (Germany), etc.
Click/tap the country flag in the top right corner of the website. We like to always select the local language just to make the signing up behavior appear more genuine.
Hover over ‘Hello, sign in’ and beside ‘New customer?’ select ‘Start here.’
Create your new Amazon account, filling in your details when prompted.
You’ll then be asked to add your phone number for verification. You don’t need a local phone number, but don’t use a number already linked to another account.
Once you’ve passed verification, your account will be created. To access Prime Video, you’ll also have to insert payment details. You can use your normal bank or credit card.
Once you’ve added your payment details and subscribed to Prime Video in your chosen country, the next step is to actually stream content from that catalog.
Instructions: How to Use a VPN with Prime Video
Sign up to a VPN that beats Prime Video blocks. ExpressVPN and IPVanish are the most reliable.
Download and install the VPN onto your device(s).
Launch the VPN, sign in, and ensure the ‘Kill Switch’ is turned on. This prevents your real IP address leaking if the VPN cuts out.
In the VPN’s server list, search for a location in your new Amazon account country.
Connect to your chosen VPN location.
On your computer, go to your new account’s URL, navigate to ‘Prime Video’ and start streaming. This can also be done by changing your country/region on the Amazon website.
On your smartphone, you can use your existing Prime Video app, but you’ll have to sign out out of your existing account and log back in using your new account details.
If you’re a Fire TV user, remember that your device is linked to your Amazon account. If you change country, you’ll only have access to apps available in your new account’s regional app store.
The better solution, although more expensive, is to buy a second device and link it to your new (second) Amazon account. As long as you have a VPN installed on both, you can easily switch between the two regional content libraries on your TV.
Most VPN services can’t beat Prime Video’s VPN blocks. Only the three below did it consistently and across popular devices and you can use the table below to compare them side by side.
After fixing last year’s issues streaming Prime Video on Fire TV, ExpressVPN has returned to the top of our rankings.
ExpressVPN reigns supreme at unblocking popular Prime Video libraries around the world on the broadest range of devices. Its consistent access is unparalleled.
We loved using its web browser extensions, which dodged detection and bypassed Prime’s geo-blocks at every single attempt. The mobile apps were just as effective, and incredibly smooth in changing our IP location.
VPN speeds were impressive, even faster than IPVanish’s, delivering picture perfect streaming on connections covering thousands of miles.
Just like IPVanish, you can use ExpressVPN for free for seven days if you sign up via your smartphone’s app store.
Using ExpressVPN to Stream the UCL on Prime Video UK.
Smooth Access to Content Worldwide
In our latest battery of tests, Prime Video never blocked our ExpressVPN our VPN connection, even in less popular regions.
In addition to expected access to the US content library, ExpressVPN comfortably accessed geo-restricted titles in the UK, Ireland, Canada, and Australia.
We often use ExpressVPN’s UK, Ireland, and Germany servers to stream Tuesday’s Champions League top match, and Italy’s to watch Wednesday’s big match.
Moreover, ExpressVPN’s long-range speeds were even faster than IPVanish. Not massively, but still a touch quicker which can make a difference depending on your standard internet speed.
On average, our connection speed around the globe dipped by only 15%, which is among the fastest measurements we’ve seen in the industry.
And the great thing about ExpressVPN is that it’s also a phenomenal VPN for unblocking Netflix, Disney+, and HBO Max regions.
If you’re already subscribed to one of these other streaming services, then you can get even more from ExpressVPN.
Better UI & Device Compatibility
You may think we’re exaggerating but ExpressVPN is really the most compatible VPN you can get.
In addition to the standard apps for computers, smartphones, and popular TV streaming devices, you also get a Smart DNS proxy (for US and UK access) and even a router app.
We downloaded and tested each ExpressVPN app, and each one was exceptionally intuitive and user-friendly.
ExpressVPN’s mobile app is well-designed and very easy to use.
Each app follows a consistent design, which makes switching between them friction-free.
If you want to watch Prime Video on a device with no direct VPN support, like PlayStation or Xbox, you can use the service’s Smart DNS proxy (MediaStreamer). It only works with the US and UK libraries, though.
And if that’s not enough, you can set up ExpressVPN’s dedicated app on your home router to have each device at home use a different IP address.
For example, you could have your laptop connected to an American server location, your smartphone to a British one, and your Apple TV to a Canadian one.
Choosing between IPVanish and ExpressVPN comes down to the device you’ll be using, and the region you want to unblock.
If you’re trying to access region-locked UK and US content on your TV, especially on your Fire TV Stick, then IPVanish is potentially better.
We encountered very few VPN errors using the app and, as a result of its very good long-range speeds, we watched international content in Full HD / 4K quality.
What’s more, IPVanish offers a 7-day free trial, and a 30-day refund guarantee, which you can combine with Prime Video’s free trial to watch content for free.
Watching live WTA tennis on Prime Video USA with IPVanish.
Unblocks Many Prime Video Regions
IPVanish avoided detection or blocks by Prime Video in most of our tests, giving us regular access to geo-restricted content in some of the most popular regions.
It was particularly effective accessing region-locked content in countries such as Canada, France, Mexico, the UK and the US.
These are the countries where IPVanish’s server coverage is the most extensive.
We particularly enjoyed using the VPN to watch the NFL on Thursdays on Prime Video USA, and to avoid rental costs on movies included in standard subscriptions abroad.
What we found worked best was to have protocol selection set to ‘Automatic’ in the VPN’s settings, and using the ‘Boston, United States server.’
IPVanish also performed extremely well in unblocking content in other important countries like Brazil, Germany, Japan, and India.
Not every server worked, though, and we sometimes ran into the “Video Unavailable” error message. When this happened, we changed server (same country) until we found one that loaded the video.
Great Fire TV App but No Extensions or Smart DNS
IPVanish’s user-friendly Fire TV Stick app has clearly been designed with Fire TV’s interface in mind.
Finding the closest VPN server location was quick and easy, taking just moments to successfully connect to our chosen server.
Changing VPN server location on the IPVanish Fire TV app.
One small complaint we have is that the VPN kill switch lives in a separate app to get round Fire TV’s RAM limitations. At least you can control it from within the VPN app.
We also didn’t find IPVanish as compatible as ExpressVPN, particularly with devices that don’t support VPN software.
Currently, IPVanish has apps for Windows, macOS, iOS, Android (including an Android TV VPN app), Apple TV, and Firestick.
While this isn’t bad, ExpressVPN also offers browser extensions, a Smart DNS proxy (for games consoles), and a dedicated app for routers, which is really useful for using a VPN on Roku.
Strong Speed Measurements
Expect fast speeds when you’re connected to an IPVanish server, even if it’s on the other side of the world.
In our recent speed tests, our internet speed dipped as little as 4% on short-range connections, and only 12% on longer routes.
These are among the fastest speed recordings in the VPN market right now.
Thanks to this negligible impact on our speed, we streamed content on a variety of devices at maximum resolution.
Windscribe is the one of the rare secure free VPNs that streams international Prime Video without major issues.
The free service has also a very good track record of unblocking many other popular streaming services, so this is far from surprising.
That being said, the 10GB monthly data restriction doesn’t allow for a lot of streaming time, and streaming quality can falter, especially during popular live events.
Windscribe’s free London servers unblocked Prime Video UK.
Unblock Prime Video Content for Free
In all of our tests, we were able to unblock Prime Video with minimal effort and without connection issues, just like with IPVanish and ExpressVPN.
Obviously, we were limited by Windscribe’s free locations which only span 10. At least popular countries like Canada, France, Germany, the UK, and the US are covered.
The French and German servers worked really well, actually, and we streamed local favorites such as Braquo and Tatort from abroad.
The major hurdle you’ll face is the monthly data restriction of 10GB. It roughly equates to four hours of HD streaming time, enough for watching two sports matches, or a couple of movies at most.
Free Apps for Many Devices
Every Windscribe app is highly functional, and allowed us to stream Prime content on our laptops, smartphones, and at home on our Apple TV, Android TV, and Fire TV devices.
Truth be told, Windscribe’s apps are nowhere near as slick and intuitive as ExpressVPN’s, but they aren’t hard to use neither. Performance-wise, they definitely punch above their weight.
Windscribe’s free US locations on mobile.
And thanks to Windscribe’s unlimited device policy, you can use your free account on any of the devices above at once.
There’s no router app and no Smart DNS proxy, so definitely don’t use Windscribe if you’ll be streaming via a game console or a Roku stick.
There are several reasons why your VPN may not be working, or may have suddenly stopped working with Prime Video.
When this happens, you’ll see the “Your device is connected to the internet using a VPN or proxy service. Please disable it and try again.” or the “Video Unavailable.” error messages.
Half the VPNs we tested were detected by Prime Video.
We’ve listed the most common fixes to resolve these errors and get your VPN working again, assuming it can actually unblock Prime Video.
You can either watch our video or read, our troubleshooting tips below it:
1. Change Your Amazon Account Country
The most common reason why your VPN isn’t working with Prime Video is because you haven’t changed the country of your account.
As we explained earlier, it’s not enough to just change your IP address like it is with Netflix; you also have to change the locale of the Amazon account you’re using.
You can change your Prime country/region by selecting from a list within the website or changing the URL.
2. Change VPN Server
Often, simply switching VPN server can resolve the issue. Prime Video constantly monitors IP addresses that access its service and if the same IP address is used by hundreds of users at once, it will likely block it.
Thankfully, Amazon can’t keep track of every VPN IP address in use, and there will be some that slip through the net.
If every location in your VPN’s server list is blocked by Amazon, you’ll have to get a new VPN.
3. Clear Your Browser’s Cookies & Cache
Browser cookies and cached files track your internet behavior. These web identifiers may contain traces of your real geo-location.
Amazon can use this stored browser (or app) information to figure out that you’re using a VPN, and block you.
Deleting your cookies and cache in your web browser can be an easy fix to unblock Prime Video.
Below are quick step-by-step instructions on clearing browser cookies and cache on Chrome, Safari, and on Amazon Fire TV devices.
How to Clear Cookies and Cache in Chrome
Launch Chrome and click on the ellipsis (the icon with three vertical dots at the top right of the window).
Click on More Tools, then Clear browsing data, and from the Time Range drop-down menu select All time.
Tick Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files.
Click Clear data.
Close and then reopen your Chrome browser.
Visit the Amazon Prime Video website.
How to Clear Cookies and Cache in Safari
Launch Safari, go to the Safari menu then click Preferences.
Click the Privacy tab > Manage Website Data.
Type Amazon into the search bar, select it, then click Remove.
Close and reopen Safari.
Go to the Amazon Prime Video website.
How to Clear App Cache on Your Fire TV
Open your Fire TV device and navigate to the Settings cog icon.
Select Applications.
In the Applications menu, click on Managed Installed Applications.
Navigate to the Prime Video app and select it..
In the app’s settings, select Clear cache and then Force stop.
Head back to the Home screen and launch the Prime Video app.
4. Disable Your IPv6 Address
If your ISP has assigned you an IPv6 address, Amazon Prime Video can use it to determine your geolocation.
Unfortunately, many VPNs still don’t support IPv6 connections. Therefore, if you have an IPv6 address and a VPN that doesn’t support it, your true location will be visible to Prime Video.
You can resolve this issue by getting a VPN with IPv6 leak protection or full IPV6 support. Or, you can disable IPv6 on your device. Follow the instructions below to do this.
How to Disable IPv6 on Windows
Open Network & Internet settings.
Select Network & Sharing Center > Properties.
Uncheck Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6).
How to Disable IPv6 on Mac
Open System Preferences and click Network.
Click Advanced in the bottom right. Click the TCP/IP tab.
Click the dropdown menu next to Configure IPv6 and choose Off.
Click Ok & Apply.
5. Switch to a VPN That Definitely Works
Most of the time, your VPN isn’t working with Prime Video because it simply isn’t good enough.
Maybe you’re using a free VPN, or you’re subscribed to a poor service that can’t bypass Prime’s VPN blocks.
Many VPNs don’t invest the time and resources into staying ahead of Amazon’s VPN blocks. Only the very best VPNs for Prime Video constantly refresh their IP addresses to maintain access to Prime Video.
Popular Prime Video Regions Compared
Since Prime Video is available in most countries, each with its own licensing agreements, content selection varies significantly across libraries.
In the table below we’ve listed below live sports and popular movies that are only available in specific regional libraries (as part of the basic Prime Video plan):
The British and American catalogs offer the most content titles, especially Hollywood classics, but even between these two regions there are noticeable differences.
There are in fact popular movies included in one country’s basic plan that are only available for rent or purchase in the other.
Also, Champions League fans will be able to watch watch a top match on Tuesdays in Germany, Ireland, and the UK, and one on Wednesdays in Italy. There are no free UCL matches on Prime Video USA.
VPNs We Don't Recommend
During our tests we discovered that a really high number of VPNs don’t work properly, if at all, with Prime Video.
This is especially true about free VPNs. The only free VPN that works with several Prime Video regions is Windscribe. PrivadoVPN works a couple, but can’t match Windscribe’s performance at the moment.
Amazon Prime Video detecting a VPN connection.
Here’s a short list of popular free VPNs that can’t unblock Prime Video:
Avira Phantom
Hide.me
Hotspot Shield Basic
Proton VPN
Touch VPN
TunnelBear
X-VPN
ZoogVPN
Alongside free VPNs, many subscription-based VPNs struggle to bypass Prime Video blocks. Below are some of the services that didn’t work as well as our top picks, or didn’t work at all in some cases:
VPN Service
Reason for Exclusion
CyberGhost
Slower than top competitors
Didn’t work with several regions
No router app
NordVPN
No router app
Smart DNS didn’t unblock Prime Video UK
Proton VPN
Slower long-range speeds
No router app & no Smart DNS
PureVPN
Unreliable for Prime Video
Slow connecting into the US
No Smart DNS
Connection errors
Surfshark
Slower international speeds
Not all servers worked
Connection delays on mobile
No router app
How We Test VPNs for Prime Video
We developed a testing methodology to uniformly test 61 VPNs in five categories that we consider the most relevant.
Our methodology is designed to give us a like-for-like comparison between VPN services, and judge more accurately which ones are most suitable for Prime Video users.
The chart below shows the test categories we focus on, and the percentage they make up of a VPN’s overall rating for Prime Video.
Below you can read in more detail how we tested each VPN and why these categories are important.
1. Unblocks Prime Video (50%)
Test Conducted: Logged into our various regional Amazon accounts and then connected to a VPN’s server in the corresponding country to see if it could access the local Prime Video library. We performed these tests multiple times trying many different servers.
Why It’s Important: This reveals which VPNs are detected by Prime Video’s geo-blocking technology and which are consistent at bypassing the blocks.
Optimal Result: The VPN unblocks the US content catalog on most US servers, as well as content in popular countries like Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, India, Mexico, Spain, and the UK.
2. Speed (20%)
Test Conducted: Ran each VPN through our speed test tool multiple times, gathering long-term data on a VPN’s international speed performance. We used this data to calculate a VPN’s overall average speed performance.
Why It’s Important: Shows whether a VPN will deliver fast enough speeds for high resolution streaming of Prime Video.
Optimal Result: Download speeds over 90Mbps, equating to a speed loss no greater than 10% when connected to the VPN.
3. US Servers (10%)
Test Conducted: Looked at each VPN’s server network and counted the number of US servers it maintains, including the number of US cities and states, and considered whether they are spread equally across the country’s landmass.
Why It’s Important: The US Prime Video library is the most desirable outside the country, and having more US servers spread evenly across the country leads to less chance of congestion, the ability to manually select servers based on current performance and troubleshooting reasons, and a better overall VPN performance.
Optimal Result: Maintains hundreds of US servers in many different states, covering the West and East Coast.
4. International Servers (10%)
Test Conducted: Examined each VPN’s server network to see if it has locations in other popular Prime Video regions, and how many servers there are in each country.
Why It’s Important: International servers provide IP addresses to access the other popular Prime Video content libraries, and the more there are the less likely the VPN will be detected.
Optimal Result: The VPN has hundreds of servers in key countries such as Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, India, Mexico, Spain, and the UK.
5. Device Compatibility (10%)
Test Conducted: Check to see which apps each VPN offers.
Why It’s Important: If a VPN doesn’t have an app for a particular device it makes unblocking Prime Vide a lot harder. The more apps it has the more options you have to stream Prime Video.
Optimal Result: Custom apps for every major desktop and mobile device, as well as streaming devices like Fire TV, Apple TV, and Android TV.
FAQs
Why Does Prime Video Block VPNs?
Amazon tries to block VPN access to Prime Video because of licensing agreements with media companies.
These agreements force the company to only display specific content in certain countries or regions, and therefore to block attempts to bypass these geo-restrictions.
You’ll know your VPN is blocked on Prime Video if you see the “Video Unavailable” or “Your device is connected to the Internet using a VPN or proxy service. Please disable it and try again.” error messages.
How Does Amazon Detect VPN Connections?
To block VPN connections, Prime Video uses five primary detection methods:
Account Country: It checks if a user’s account country and IP address location match.
VPN IP Blacklists: Blocks addresses listed in databases of known VPN and proxy servers.
Deep Packet Inspection (DPI): Identifies VPN protocols and metadata that differ from standard traffic.
Shared IP Monitoring: Blocks single IP addresses that show a high number of simultaneous user accounts.
DNS Mismatching: Detects leaks where your IP location and DNS server location don’t match.
