There are numerous online video services that only work inside U.S. and a handful of other countries. Still, the best selection of content on these sites is only available to U.S Subscribers. Netflix is a good example, as its selection of movies and TV shows is bigger for U.S users than in any other parts of the world. If you are in a country where Netflix is not supported at all, or where the choice of content is not as good as the U.S edition, then you should either change your country of residence or use a simple trick to access the U.S. version Netflix. Many U.S resident also travel abroad and simply want to watch their usual shows.
There are a couple different ways to access region-locked services like Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, etc. One of the most popular method is using a VPN service like Tunnelbear, BlackVPN, etc. However, the downside of using a VPN service is the fact that it is difficult (and sometime impossible) to set-up on a non-PC device like your Xbox, Apple TV, Smart TVs, etc without investing in a VPN-enabled router. Even then, it’s not always convenient since you may not want VPN for all Internet accesses.
Even if you did manage to setup a VPN perfectly, there are a couple of services blocking access to VPN users. We’re going to use a simple method to access Netflix or any other region-locked service from anywhere in the world. This is called SmartDNS or DNS Redirector and what it does is fool the websites in thinking that you’re from U.S. or any other country depending on your choice. It’s also very easy to setup DNS redirector on any device at all without having to invest in any individual hardware.
Prerequisite
- Active Netflix (any other region-locked service) Subscription
- Internet connectivity
- Working email address
Steps Overview
- Signing up for a SmartDNS service
- Setting up your devices (routers, consoles, streaming boxes, etc)
Signing up for a SmartDNS service
There is a large number of SmartDNS services out there and you can do a quick Google search to find out the best service for yourself. However, the ones we’ve tried so far, and have been satisfied with, are SmartDNSProxy and UnoTelly.
Both these websites offer high quality service, very friendly customer support, and a very reasonable pricing plan. Both services also offer free trials, so you can easily decide which one is the best for you.
To sign-up for either of the above mentioned services or any other SmartDNS service, just open their website and click sign-up. It should take just a few minutes to get a free account.
Setting up your device
This step depends on what device you want to setup for streaming Netflix. You can either setup a single device like your smartphone, gaming console, TV box, etc individually or you can just setup your Internet router, so all your devices (connected to that router) automatically get SmartDNS.
Setting up a router
To setup your router, you need to log-in to your router’s Admin panel. You can find the instructions of accessing the Admin panel on your router’s instruction manual but most routers use one of the following IPs for accessing admin panel.
- 192.168.1.1
- 192.168.0.1
- 192.168.2.1
Once you enter the required IP in a browser (Chrome, FireFox, Internet Explorer, etc), you will be required to enter the username and password which can also be found on the instructions manual. However the most common username/password combination for routers is the following. If you are still using a default admin login and password, you should REALLY change the password for security reasons…
Username: Admin
Password: admin
Now, when you’re inside the settings panel, look for the DNS settings tab and change the Primary and Secondary DNS IPs to the IPs provided by your SmartDNS service. The DNS servers for SmartDNSProxy are as following.
Primary Server : 23.21.43.50
Secondary Server : 54.229.171.243
The DNS servers for UnoTelly are following.
Primary DNS: 103.250.184.116
Secondary DNS: 46.45.136.211
Once, you’ve changed the DNS servers, click Save or Apply and Reboot your router for the changes to take effects. When the router is turned back on, you will be able to use Netflix, Spotify, Hulu, etc on all your devices. Below is a picture of Netflix working on Xbox 360.
Every time your router is turned off and then turned on again, you’re assigned a new IP so make sure that you log-in to your SmartDNS service provider and activate the new IP.
Setting up an Individual device (Phone, Console, etc)
You can also set up a single device for accessing region-locked services without having to change your router’s settings at all. For this step, we’ll be using an Android tablet (Nexus 7) but you can do this on almost all devices including your gaming console.
On the Nexus 7, go to Settings>Wi-Fi, now press and hold the network you’re connected to. A new option will pop-up with “Forget Network” and “Modify Network” options.
Tap Modify Network and then Check the box which says “Advanced Options”. Change the IP Settings to Static and you’ll see new options open up below. Don’t change any other option except for DNS 1 and DNS 2. Put the DNS IPs provided by your SmartDNS service in these fields and tap Save.
Now you will need to reboot your Android device and once, it’s turned back on, you’ll be able to enjoy Netflix on your device without a problem.
You will have to change the settings for each Wi-Fi network you connect to including office, home, or friend’s Wi-Fi. Just repeat the steps for each network.
Conclusion
This is one of the most simple and easy methods for accessing any region-locked service. SmartDNS services don’t slow your internet speed at all, so you can stream the content as if it were available for you locally.
That said, you should always be cautious and only use the services that are reputable because there are many shady services that can actually redirect you to a scam site and steal your personal information including your name, emails, and worst of all, credit card information. Although I have some hands-on experience with the services mentioned in this article, I can’t vouch for them and have used them only for educational purposes.
Always stick to the well-known services and don’t fall for free scams. Most top services like SmartDNSProxy and UnoTelly offer their services for a very reasonable price which is better than using unknown free services because that’s risky business. Do your own research, but beware: Netflix is cracking down on DNS based workarounds.
Don’t forget to comment below, if you run into any problems using this method or if you know a better way of doing things. Thank you!
Filed in . Read more about Netflix.