How to Bypass Hulu’s VPN Blocks & Fix Your VPN Not Working

If you try to access Hulu from outside the United States you’ll get the following message: “Hulu is not available in your region.”

To bypass Hulu’s geographic restrictions and access it from the UK, Mexico, Canada or any other country, you’ll need to change your IP address location using a virtual private network (VPN).

By connecting to a VPN server located in America, you can appear to be located in a US city and therefore watch all of Hulu’s content from overseas.

You can also use a VPN to bypass your Hulu Live TV home location error and access broadcasts available in different US states.

The problem is Hulu detects and blocks many VPN connections. When this happens, you’ll see the following anonymous proxy error message: “Error playing this video. You appear to be using an anonymous proxy tool” (error code P-EDU101, BYA-403-011 or 16).

In our numerous tests over the years, many VPNs have failed to unblock Hulu and only the most effective VPNs for streaming worked.

The table below compares the three VPNs that performed best in our Hulu-specific tests, based on access to Hulu from outside America, international connection speeds, and price.

After testing 62 VPNs with Hulu, we were surprised by how many failed to unblock it. In fact, there are only five VPNs that consistently worked and we can truly recommend for the smoothest experience.

While it’s possible to use a free VPN with Hulu, options are very limited given most free VPNs don’t unblock the streaming service.

In our streaming tests, only the free versions of Windscribe and PrivadoVPN consistently bypassed Hulu’s VPN blocks. They are by far the best free VPNs for Hulu.

When testing Windscribe, we consistently unblocked Hulu from abroad using the VPN’s free US server.

PrivadoVPN is also a good free VPN for Hulu, although it worked less consistently than Windscribe. On the plus side, it’s considerably faster.

Sadly, both free VPNs limit data usage to 10GB a month, which equates to approximately four hours of HD content before you run out of data.

Other than Windscribe or PrivadoVPN, there are no other free VPNs we recommend to unblock Hulu.

If you’re wondering, free proxy servers won’t unblock Hulu, either. They’re simply not advanced enough to circumvent Hulu’s geo-blocks.

As we’ve already explained, Hulu doesn’t allow the use of anonymous proxy servers and VPN services.

On top of that, many VPNs aren’t designed to work with streaming services, or simply aren’t good enough to bypass Hulu’s VPN blocks.

If Hulu has detected your VPN or proxy, it will display error code P-EDU101:

“It looks like you’re using an anonymous proxy or VPN.”

Or, you may get Error 16 while using a VPN on your iOS device:

“Based on your IP address, we noticed you are trying to access Hulu through an anonymous proxy tool. Hulu is not currently available outside the US. If you’re in the US, you’ll need to disable your anonymizer to access videos on Hulu.”

If this is what’s happening, try our methods below for bypassing Hulu’s VPN blocks:

1. Get a Different VPN

If your existing VPN isn’t working with Hulu, it most likely means your VPN’s US IP addresses have all been blocked. If this is the case, you have no choice but to change VPN provider.

Our advice is to choose a VPN that unblocks Hulu all the time, and that has a excellent history of getting around streaming geo-restrictions.

Each VPN for Hulu we recommend won’t let you down as we’ve tried and tested them rigorously before selecting them.

2. Connect to a Different US VPN Server

If Hulu is blocking your current VPN, it’s still possible the streaming platform hasn’t blacklisted all of your VPN’s US IP addresses, and some may still work.

You can figure this out by changing US server locations in your VPN’s app. Depending on how many it has, this can be either a quick or long process.

The steps are: close your browser window or Hulu app > connect to a different US VPN server in your VPN app > open Hulu in a new browser window or relaunch the app.

This fix only works if your VPN operates hundreds, if not thousands, of servers in the United States.

VPNs like ExpressVPN and NordVPN have thousands of US servers that are updated frequently, successfully evading Hulu’s detection.

If your VPN still doesn’t work after testing more than five American city servers, it’s highly unlikely to work at all.

3. Contact Your VPN’s Support Team

If your VPN doesn’t work with Hulu after testing several US servers, contact your VPN’s customer support. Ask them if they have a server optimized for Hulu.

They may recommend an optimized server, or they may inform you the VPN service isn’t equipped to bypass Hulu’s VPN blocks.

Ideally, your VPN service has 24/7 live chat support available for faster responses. Alternatively, send them an email.

For instance, we contacted ExpressVPN’s live support team and they told us their New York and Los Angeles servers unblock Hulu.

4. Clear your cache and cookies

Clearing your browser cookies and cache removes potential geo-location traces.

Cookies are web identifiers used by websites to track your internet movements. Deleting them can help evade Hulu’s geo-location techniques.

5. Check for IP and DNS Address Leaks

Hulu could be detecting your VPN because the software is leaking your real IP address.

Or, the VPN could be experiencing a DNS leak. This happens when DNS requests (website visit requests) fall outside of the VPN connection, revealing your true location.

Check your VPN is working properly by running an IP and DNS leak test while your VPN is running.

Free or low-quality VPNs are far more likely to suffer from IP and DNS leaks than the most secure VPNs.

The best VPNs have built-in DNS and IP address leak protection to stop these leaks from happening. For this reason, we caution against using free VPNs with Hulu.

6. Change VPN protocol

Your VPN should come with a range of different VPN protocols to choose from.

If the current protocol you’re connecting with isn’t working with Hulu, try changing to a different one in your VPN’s settings.

For instance, ExpressVPN’s Lightway protocol is the most efficient at unblocking streaming platforms. We found the same with NordVPN’s NordLynx.

7. Disable IPv6

Many VPNs still aren’t compatible with IPv6 traffic, and this can lead to IP address leaks.

If you have an IPv6 internet connection, and your VPN doesn’t support IPv6 traffic, your connection request will revert back to your ISP.

In other words, the connection will travel outside of the VPN connection, exposing your real IP address location to Hulu.

Highly-rated VPNs like ExpressVPN can block IPv6 traffic altogether. Some VPNs even offer full IPv6 support – such as Perfect Privacy – but they don’t work with Hulu.

If you suspect your VPN is leaking IPv6 traffic, choose an alternative VPN that comes with IPv6 leak protection.

Alternatively, you can disable IPv6 on your device.

If the ‘off’ option is not available, you can also disable IPv6 via your Mac Terminal.

To do this: Open Terminal (⌘ + Space > Terminal) > Type in networksetup -listallnetworkservices > Type etworksetup -setv6off “Wi-Fi”

If you are on Ethernet, type networksetup -setv6off Ethernet

8. Purchase a residential IP address

You can also avoid Hulu’s VPN blocks by using US residential IP. These are IP addresses that belong to household ISPs like AT&T and Verizon.

Unlike shared VPN IP addresses, which belong to data centers, residential IPs are indistinguishable from regular IP addresses. They’re also assigned to one user, typically.

Very few VPN services offer residential IPs, though. The most reliable one so far is Windscribe.

Windscribe is the best free VPN for Hulu, but residential IP addresses are only available to premium subscribers, and cost extra.

Using Windscribe’s US residential IP service works to unblock Hulu, but it’s not the most cost-effective solution.

9. Activate Smart DNS

Hulu can also detect VPNs by checking a user’s public IP address against their DNS settings.

If there’s an inconsistency between IP address and DNS credentials, Hulu can work out you’re using a VPN and even identify your real location.

By changing your DNS settings, you can bypass Hulu’s VPN blocks and even stream Hulu from outside the US without using a VPN at all.

You can change DNS settings by using a tool called Smart DNS, which some VPNs offer. Smart DNS lets you change your default DNS servers to servers in the US.

Smart DNS doesn’t encrypt your traffic or hide your IP address like a traditional VPN. Instead, it reroutes your DNS requests towards US DNS servers, granting you access to blocked websites and streaming services.

We recommend using Smart DNS to stream Hulu on games consoles and Roku, which don’t support native VPN software.

In this section we’ll explain how to use a VPN to watch Hulu from anywhere in the world.

The video tutorial below shows you how to easily use a VPN with Hulu (in this example ExpressVPN):

If the service is detecting that you’re using a VPN or proxy, refer to our instructions on how to fix your Hulu VPN not working.

The Hulu + Live TV package gives you access to over 95 live American TV channels, including CBS, NBC’s regional network, and sports channels like ESPN+ and NFL Network.

Your IP address and GPS location, when you first sign up to Hulu, will determine which channels you can watch. Hulu calls this your home location.

Your home location only applies to any device associated with your Hulu + Live TV account. It doesn’t affect your standard Hulu subscription.

Even if you’re in another state, Hulu will still only show content from your home location. If you’re away from your home location for more than 30 days, you’ll get the error message below:

“It seems like you’re not at home. Your current ZIP code and IP address don’t match the location of your home linked to this account.”

Hulu lets you legitimately change your home location up to four times a year. But, Hulu uses GPS technology to determine your location (zip code) alongside your IP address.

You can’t change your home location without granting access to your GPS location. And if you attempt to change your home location when you haven’t physically moved, Hulu will inform you that you can’t.

Very few VPNs can change your GPS location, which makes Hulu home location errors extremely difficult to fix.

Two Ways to Fix the Hulu Home Location Error

Luckily, we’ve figured out two ways to bypass Hulu’s Home Location restrictions and access region-restricted live TV broadcasts.

These home location error fixes allow you to watch region-restricted US sports, by bypassing NHL blackouts on ESPN+ for instance.

1. Install a VPN on Your Home Router

You can associate your Hulu + Live TV account to a location of your choice by setting up a VPN on your router.

This needs to be done at the very start of the process, before signing up to Hulu. And when you do this, use a VPN optimized for routers.

You must also watch Hulu using a streaming device that doesn’t use GPS technology, such as Roku or Fire TV Stick.

When you install Hulu and it tries to determine your home location, it should identify the location of the VPN server you’re connected to on your router.

However, despite tricking Hulu into thinking you live somewhere else, you’ll have to reverse this workaround to watch live TV from your home region. In other words, you’ll encounter the same problem in reverse.

If you change your VPN server frequently, you may also alert Hulu to the use of a VPN.

With this in mind, consider investing in a residential IP to keep the same VPN IP address.

2. Get a VPN with a GPS Spoofer

Hulu’s Home Location feature uses GPS to stop you accessing local content outside of your assigned region. This means you need to spoof your GPS location to bypass it.

Unfortunately, not many VPN services can change your GPS location.

Windscribe and Surfshark are the only streaming-friendly VPNs that offer a GPS-spoofing function (on Android only), which automatically aligns your GPS location with your chosen VPN server location.

Surfshark’s GPS spoofer is called ‘GPS Override’ and it makes the provider a particularly good VPN for bypassing MLB.tv blackouts on Android mobile devices.

It works like this with Hulu: in the Surfshark app you’ll have to first change IP address and GPS coordinates, then you’ll need to update your Home Location in Hulu’s settings to match your proxy location.

This isn’t a quick process, and its limited to Android only. For that reason, and until GPS spoofers are more widely available in VPN applications, we recommend using the VPN router setup method.

Hulu’s VPN-detection methods are as sophisticated as those used by Netflix. Even some of the most popular VPNs struggle to beat its geo-restrictions.

Of the 62 VPN services we tested with Hulu, only 24 bypassed the streaming platform’s geo-blocks.

The table below includes the test results of a selection of the VPNs we tested with Hulu:

Popular VPNs That Don’t Work with Hulu

Our latest streaming tests confirm the popular VPNs below still don’t work with Hulu:

• Avast VPN
• AVG VPN
• Avira VPN
• Betternet
• Hola Free VPN
• Mullvad
• Norton VPN
• PureVPN
• TunnelBear
• VyprVPN

If you want to know if a VPN unblocks Hulu, email us at hello@top10vpn.com, and we’ll confirm if it works or not.

Hulu doesn’t allow the use of anonymous proxy servers and VPN services.

The streaming platform tries to block VPN and proxy connections because, just like Netflix, it has licensing agreements to stream content in the United States.

VPNs change your IP address and spoof your location. As a result, Hulu tries to block VPN traffic to enforce the licensing agreements it has with content owners.

As Hulu states in its terms and conditions:

“Content may be limited to distribution in certain geographic locations. For that reason, we may use different technologies and methods to verify your geographic location.”

How does Hulu know you’re using a VPN? It monitors and blacklists (bans) IP addresses it associates with VPN services.

For example, if thousands of Hulu users are using the same IP address, there’s good reason to think it’s a VPN IP address.

Also, Hulu uses GeoIP databases to discover the IP addresses of VPN servers. Moreover, many VPNs make their IP addresses public, making them easy to identify.

Finally, Hulu checks for mismatches between a user’s IP address and DNS (Domain Name Server) servers, usually caused by VPN DNS leaks.

If your visible IP address is a US one, but your DNS credentials place you somewhere else, Hulu will likely block access.

To identify the very best VPNs that work with Hulu from outside the US, we tested 62 VPNs in accordance with our Hulu-specific VPN review process.

The highest-rated VPNs for Hulu can stream the geo-blocked content platform easily, reliably, and at HD/4K global speeds.

In fact, our recommended VPNs for Hulu operate streaming-optimized servers in several US states, ensuring very high picture quality.

We also test for access to Disney+ Star, which offers access to an international version of Hulu available outside the United States.

Another important factor is a VPN’s compatibility with streaming devices such as Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, gaming consoles.

In particular, we look for an effective native Firestick and Samsung TV app, Smart DNS functionality, and router compatibility. The latter are necessary to stream content on devices that don’t support VPN applications.

We also take into account if the VPN’s customer support is helpful and knowledgeable about unblocking Hulu.

We calculate the overall Hulu VPN rating based on the weighting of each Hulu-specific category we test for:

• Reliable access to Hulu: 25%
• Reliable access to Disney+ Star: 20%
• Speed: 15%
• US Server Locations: 15%
• Streaming Device Compatibility: 25%

Hulu VPNs: Summary Test Ratings

The table below shows how the best free and paid VPNs for Hulu performed in our key Hulu testing categories: