The Best VPNs That Beat HBO Max VPN Blocks

Unblocking HBO Max on your PC or Mac is by far the most straightforward of methods.

The difficulty in using a VPN with HBO Max on mobile, tablet and TV streaming devices varies depending on whether you’re in a country where the streaming service is available or not.

That’s because the HBO Max app is only available in the app stores of countries it serves.

If you’re not in one these countries, you simply won’t see the app listed. You’ll therefore have to change your device’s app store region. Here are useful links to do this: Apple, Android (Google Play)), and Fire TV.

If you’re in a country served by HBO Max, or you’ve successfully changed your device’s app store country, then follow the instructions below:

If you’re trying change HBO Max region on your Roku Stick, you’ll hit a wall: the device doesn’t allow you to add a VPN app, or to change DNS settings.

This leaves you with only two workarounds: either setting up the VPN at the router level to bypass the restriction, or AirPlaying HBO Max from an iPhone or Mac that has the VPN running.

Changing the VPN server you’re connected to is the quickest way to regain access to HBO Max.

It’s possible that HBO Max has blacklisted some your VPN’s IP addresses, but not all of them.

The more servers the VPN offers, the better, as this gives you a greater chance of finding one that still flies under the radar.

That being said, top-rated VPNs for HBO Max work most of the time without you having to spend time cycling through servers until you find one that works.

If the VPN protocol your VPN app is using isn’t working with HBO Max, try switching to a different one from your VPN’s settings.

Because HBO Max also uses DPI technology to sniff out VPN traffic, it’s worth trying out your VPN’s stealth protocols, if it offers them.

Stealth protocols are designed to bypass stricter VPN detection methods, such as DPI, in high censorship countries.

Some VPNs, like ExpressVPN, automatically use stealth technology in these circumstances without you needing to tweak settings.

Typical VPN IP addresses are shared among many users, sometimes hundreds or thousands.

If many HBO Max customers are found using the same IP address, there’s a strong chance it will be flagged and blacklisted.

More and more VPN services now offer dedicated VPN IP addresses, which are assigned uniquely to you. ExpressVPN and Surfshark both offer this type of VPN address.

The issue with dedicated IP addresses is that they cost extra, and they still belong to data centers. If they get blocked by HBO Max, you’ll have to use a standard (shared) VPN IP address once again.

If your VPN is leaking your real IP address, HBO Max will see it and block you from signing up or watching the content you’re after.

Use our VPN leak test tool to understand if your real IP location is being exposed or not.

If your VPN is leaking your IP data, then check that you have both the kill switch and IPv6 protection settings enabled.

If that doesn’t solve the issue, then you’ll need to switch to a more secure VPN service.

After using a VPN with HBO Max for some time, we’ve experienced the platform blocking us from logging in, saying that our login details are incorrect even though we hadn’t changed them.

This is as a security measure HBO Max employs when it detects a number of different IP addresses logging into the same account.

We easily fixed this by resetting our password in our HBO Max account settings.

If all else fails, you have no choice but to get to a better VPN that actually gets round HBO Max geo-blocks.

The reality is that many VPN services lack the necessary technology and resources to unblock HBO Max. This is why most free VPNs simply don’t work.

Your safest best is to choose one of our tried and tested recommendations.

Using a third-party virtual card service is the easiest and fastest way to subscribe to HBO Max USA from a country where HBO Max isn’t available.

Some of the most reputable include StatesCard and USUnlocked.

These card services allow you to obtain a US-registered payment method and sign up to American content platforms that require it.

You can easily fund these cards through your credit/debit card or PayPal account.

Another option is to first create a US Apple ID or Google Account on your iOS or Android device. Then, signing up to HBO Max by purchasing a gift card connected to your account.

Be careful because there’s false information online that will make you lose time, and potentially money.

Below is a list of commonly-cited methods that no longer work, and the reasons why:

We test each VPN with HBO Max over many months to see if it can evade VPN detection consistently, not only in the US but also in other HBO Max regions, such as Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Mexico, and Spain.

Fast and stable download speeds allow you to stream content at the maximum resolution without buffering, blurriness, or pixelation.

We collect download speed results from multiple locations around the world, on an ongoing basis, to determine each VPN’s average international speed slowdown.

Having hundreds, if not thousands, of US servers helps to prevent server congestion (and IP blocks) while using HBO Max USA.

It also allows you to switch to a new server that works, if HBO Max suddenly identifies and blocks your current VPN IP address or range of IP addresses.

Since HBO Max is available in many countries, each with its own selection of content, it’s important that a VPN unblocks these other regions, too.

Offering servers in countries like Brazil, France, Germany, Mexico and Spain gives you an even wider choice of movies and TV shows to watch.

A good VPN for HBO Max has to be easy to use on most devices, including Android TV, Apple TV and Fire TV Stick. This allows you to stream HBO Max however you want.

The most streaming-optimized services cover all popular devices, and offer web browser extensions, a Smart DNS proxy and the option to use the VPN on your home router.