How to Unblock Netflix with a VPN

Most VPNs (especially free ones) won’t unblock Netflix. That’s because Netflix actively blocks many VPN connections, so if you ever see the error message below you know that Netflix has detected your VPN:

Screenshot of the image that Netflix displays when it detects a VPN or proxy service

If you don’t want to see the above message, you’ll need to use a top VPN that still works with Netflix. You can have any of these VPNs up and running in minutes, and they’ll easily change your IP location to another country.

Spoiler: our current number one pick for Netflix is ExpressVPN.

To unlock Netflix from anywhere in the world, especially the American library, here’s what to do:

  1. Choose a working Netflix VPN

    Select one of the VPNs that we’ve verified to unlock Netflix in the US, and in other countries too. Or, just choose ExpressVPN, which works great.

  2. Download and install the software

    Download the VPN onto your preferred device(s) and set it up follow the onscreen installation prompts. It’s as easy as installing antivirus, or any simple piece of software.

  3. Connect to a Netflix server

    Once the VPN is set up, launch it and select a server from the list of locations. To stream US Netflix, select a US server. ExpressVPN’s New Jersey, Washington DC and San Francisco servers worked well in our tests.

    Screenshot of ExpressVPN's server list

  4. Clear your web cookies

    Clear your web cookies from your browser so that any trace of previous visits from your device to the Netflix website are wiped. Sometimes cookies from previous non-VPN visits to Netflix can affect how well the VPN unlocks the service.

  5. Stream US Netflix!

    Visit the Netflix website or launch the Netflix app. As long as you’re using one of our recommended Netflix VPNs, start streaming all that new video content you couldn’t access before!

If for whatever reason the VPN isn’t working with Netflix, contact the VPN service’s support agents on live chat. In our experience, they quickly fix any Netflix-related issues.