If you’ve been watching Amazon Prime with a VPN and it’s stopped working, if you’re coming across errors like “Your device is connected to the internet using a VPN or proxy service. Please disable it and try again.” Then Amazon has managed to block the IP address that you’re using with your VPN.
This can be frustrating, but fortunately, there’s some fixes you can try to resolve this issue.
This article will explain how you can fix Amazon Prime not working with VPN and how you can prevent these problems from happening again.
See also:
- ExpressVPN not working with Amazon Prime? There’s an EASY way to fix that! (September 2021)
- How to watch Hulu in Australia: The EASY way! (September 2021)
- How to watch The CW outside the US: It ONLY takes 2-minutes! (September 2021)
Amazon Prime not working with VPN: Quick Fixes
Delete Cookies
You may have noticed some websites ask you to accept Cookies. Cookies aren’t dangerous files. They’re designed to make your online experience more streamlined. However, they sometimes contain information about your location.
Amazon can potentially scan these Cookies to determine if you’re inside Primes broadcast zone. It can do this regardless of if you’re using a VPN or not.
If Amazon scans your Cookies and determines you aren’t inside its broadcast zone, it’ll block your connection, and you’ll receive errors like “Your device is connected to the internet using a VPN or proxy service. Please disable it and try again.”
Change to a different server
If your VPN was working with Amazon Prime and it suddenly stopped working, try changing to a different server on your VPN.
Your VPN isn’t working because Amazon has blocked the IP address you’ve been given. The good news is Amazon doesn’t have that capacity to block a VPN in its entirety.
Changing to a different server will give you a different IP address and if Amazon hasn’t blocked this one, you’ll be able to watch the streaming service again.
Change to a different protocol
Check and see if your VPN supports multiple protocols. Protocols are the set of rules that define how your VPN reroutes your data via its own servers.
Not all protocols are created equal, some prioritise speed, some prioritise security and others try and achieve a mixture of both.
The reason your VPN may have stopped working with Amazon Prime could be because the protocol you’re using is no longer compatible with the streaming service
If possible, try changing to a different protocol and see if that resolves the problem.
Update/reinstall your VPN
It’s important you ensure you have the latest version of your VPN.
The reason for this is because problems that could be causing your issues with Amazon Prime will often be fixed by the VPN itself.
These fixes will be released in an update, so to ensure you have them, make sure your version is updated to its latest version.
If you want a completely clean VPN installation, it can also be a good idea to reinstall the VPN as well. This will not only get rid of any bugs or errors that you may have inadvertently downloaded, it will also give you the latest version of the VPN.
Upgrade to a VPN that’s compatible with Amazon Prime
If you’ve made it this far on the list of fixes and the above fixes didn’t resolve Amazon Prime not working with VPN, Amazon has managed to block all of the IP addresses your VPN has available at this time.
You can wait for your VPN to release new IP addresses that Amazon hasn’t blocked. However, IP addresses are expensive, and this could take a long time. Also, since you’ve run into this problem already, your VPN doesn’t have measures in place to stay ahead of Amazon’s blocks and inevitably, the new IPs will get blocked as well.
The best way to fix Amazon Prime not working with VPN is to upgrade to a VPN that’s still compatible with the streaming service.
The best VPN for Amazon Prime is ExpressVPN ($6.67/month). ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) has fast servers all over the world, and most importantly, it has measures in place that will stop all of its IP addresses from being blocked by Amazon.
On the off chance your IP address is blocked by the streaming service, ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) closes that IP address and opens a new one ensuring you can use the VPN to watch Amazon Prime reliably wherever you are.
This will stop you from running into the same problems you’re coming across with your current VPN and it will prevent you from running into the “Your device is connected to the internet using a VPN or proxy service. Please disable it and try again” error, and it will allow you to watch Amazon Prime reliably anywhere in the world.
Why Amazon Prime doesn’t work with VPNs?
Your VPN isn’t working with Amazon Prime because the streaming service has blocked the IP address your VPN has given you.
Although Amazon Prime is available in a number of countries around the world, it’s library changes depending on geographic location. For example, Amazon Prime in the US has different content to Amazon Prime in the UK or Australia.
This has happened because content creators determine where their content can be broadcast and streaming services like Amazon Prime need to purchase the rights to broadcast said content in each location. If Amazon Prime has purchased the rights to broadcast a film or TV show in the US, it doesn’t necessarily mean it owns the rights to broadcast the same show in other locations. That might belong to a different streaming service.
Because a VPN can potentially allow you to get around these geographic restrictions, Amazon Prime tries to block VPNs from accessing its service.
If it didn’t do this it could face severe fines for copyright and licensing breaches.
Why am I getting the “Your device is connected to the internet using a VPN or proxy service. Please disable it and try again” error?
You’re getting the “Your device is connected to the internet using a VPN or proxy service. Please disable it and try again,” because Amazon has managed to identify that you’re using its service with a VPN, and subsequently has blocked the IP address your VPN has given you.
The reason Amazon does this is all to do with broadcast rights. Amazon doesn’t have the rights to broadcast all its content anywhere in the world. It has strict copyright and licensing agreements with its content partners that disclose where certain content can be broadcast in the world. This is why you’ll find some content on the US version of Prime, but it won’t be available in the UK. It’s cause Amazon doesn’t have the rights to broadcast that content in the UK.
If Amazon was to breach these broadcast agreements, it could face severe financial repercussions. Because VPNs are a well-known way of watching Prime outside of its zones, VPNs could be the reason Amazon faces these punishments. To prevent that from happening, Amazon tries to block VPNs from accessing its service.
How does Amazon Prime block VPNs?
Amazon Prime blocks VPNs using three main techniques:
- The most common technique is to do with the IP addresses that your VPN can provide. VPN providers have more customers than the number of IP addresses they can provide; this means that customers can use the same IP addresses. Usually, only a household with a few devices uses the same IP address. When Amazon Prime sees hundreds or even thousands of connections coming through on the same IP address, it knows that it is a VPN, and it blocks it.
- Amazon Prime monitors for IP, DNS and WebRTC leaks that can tip the service off you are using a VPN.
- Amazon Prime teams up with GeoIP databases like Maxmind to identify IP addresses. If the IP address your VPN provides is on one of these databases, Amazon Prime will be able to find out where in the world you are connecting to the internet from, and it will block you.
Lesser VPNs, especially free VPNs, find it very hard to get around these blocking methods. If you’re coming across the “Your device is connected to the internet using a VPN or proxy service. Please disable it and try again” error, then your VPN isn’t good enough to stay ahead of Amazon’s blocks.
Does Amazon Prime still work with VPNs?
Amazon Prime still works with VPNs. However, you need to use a VPN that can stay ahead of Amazon’s VPN blocks.
You need a VPN like ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) and Private Internet Access ($2.03/month).
Inevitably Amazon Prime will sometimes identify an IP address provided by ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) and Private Internet Access ($2.03/month) however, the way these VPNs react to that is what sets them apart from lesser VPNs. When IP addresses provided by ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) and Private Internet Access ($2.03/month) are blocked, these VPNs will close them and open a new one.
This means there will always be an IP address for you to connect to, allowing you to stream Amazon Prime from anywhere in the world reliably. It will also prevent you from running into the “Your device is connected to the internet using a VPN or proxy service. Please disable it and try again” error.
The best VPNs to watch Amazon Prime
1. ExpressVPN 🥇
Why You Should Use ExpressVPN? It’s the fastest and MOST reliable VPN of 2022
Pros
- ✅ Fast servers
- ✅ Thousands of IP addresses
- ✅ 10-simultaneous connections
- ✅ 24/7 Live Chat
- ✅ Easy-to-use app
- ✅ 30-day money-back guarantee
Cons
- ❌ Expensive
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Get 3 extra months free when you sign up for a 12-month ExpressVPN plan. That’s 15 months in total for the price of 12.
Number of servers: 3,000+ | Speed: >80% | Bandwidth: Unlimited | IP locations: 160 in 94 countries | Devices supported: 5 | Live chat: Yes | 30-day money-back guarantee: Yes
- $6.66/month for 15 months
- $9.99/month for 6 months
- $12.95/month for 1 month
ExpressVPN ($6.66/month) is still the best VPN. And importantly, it ALWAYS has servers that are open with major streaming sites such as Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, Paramount+, Amazon Prime Video, etc.
ExpressVPN is usually very good at playing Cat and Mouse with online streaming sites. Meaning, whenever one of its servers is blacklisted it creates a new one – giving its users a constant stream of servers that aren’t blocked. Needless to say, this is a valuable attribute if you’re looking for a VPN to unblock streaming sites.
Its app is easy-to-use and free to download on pretty much any device you can think of. Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, FireStick, Android TV, Roku, PS4, Xbox, Linux, even Apple TV (with a workaround). It’s got it all covered.
The app is another main reason this VPN is so good at unblocking TV streaming sites (that claim they block VPNs) is that its software takes a pragmatic approach to user management. While other VPNs tempt customers by promising them access to hundreds/thousands of servers in multiple countries, ExpressVPN does things differently.
With ExpressVPN you only have a handful of server locations to choose from. Once you select your location the app takes care of the rest. Assigning you to the fastest available server that’s not oversubscribed. This simple technique is so important, as it keeps ExpressVPN’s servers operating at lightning-fast speeds and prevents its IPs from getting blacklisted for “abnormal” usage in the first place.
Check out our full ExpressVPN review.
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2. Private Internet Access 🥈
The BEST low-cost VPN for streaming!
Pros
- ✅ Fast and reliable servers
- ✅ Thousands of IP addresses
- ✅ 10-simultaneous connections
- ✅ 24/7 Live Chat
- ✅ 30-day money-back guarantee
Cons
- ❌ Only 48 server locations
Special Offer for you!
Sign up for a 3-year plan with Private Internet Access and save 83% + 3 months free. That works out at $2.03/month.
Number of servers: 25,000+ | Speed: >75% | Bandwidth: Unlimited | IP locations: 70 in 74 countries | Devices supported: 10 | Live chat: Yes | 30-day money-back guarantee: Yes
- $2.03/month for 3 years
- $7.50/month for 6 months
- $11.99/month for 1 month
Private Internet Access is one of the leading no-log VPN services with over 1-million paying customers.
This VPN is one of the best in the industry at beating streaming sites’ VPN bans. It provides reliable connections with US Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, HBO Max, Disney+ Amazon Prime Video, etc. It also allows 10 simultaneous devices to be connected to its servers at the same time, so you can share the account with your close friends.
If – for whatever reason – you’re not happy with Private Internet Access, there’s a 24/7 live chat support available to assist you with your problem. PIA also offers the industry-standard 30-day money-back guarantee.
From my tests (from New Zealand) I was able to get download speeds of 70 Mbps while connected to a UK server using the Private Internet Access VPN (my non-VPN speed is 100 Mbps).
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3. NordVPN 🥉
A very quick and trustworthy VPN
Pros
- ✅ Fast servers
- ✅ No logs
- ✅ Thousands of IP addresses
- ✅ 6-simultaneous connections
- ✅ 30-day money-back guarantee
- ✅ Easy-to-use app
Cons
- ❌ No refunds for purchases from iTunes/App store
Special Offer for you!
Sign up for a 3-year plan with Private Internet Access and save 83% + 3 months free. That works out at $2.03/month.
Number of servers: 5,000+ | Speeds: >80% | Bandwidth: Unlimited | IP locations: 62 countries | Devices supported: 6 | Live chat: Yes | 30-day money-back guarantee: Yes
- $3.49/month for 2 years
- $6.99/month for 1 year
- $11.95/month for 1 month
NordVPN is the most widely-used VPN in the world. And it’s easy to see why. It’s a polished app that delivers fast connections (more on this later) to a massive network of VPN servers.
It’s the most reliable at unblocking popular streaming services too – US Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, etc. This is because NordVPN hired a full-time technical team (that’s responsible for monitoring its servers’ connections with popular TV streaming services) and has been aggressively investing in its network of IP addresses in key locations.
Another interesting thing to note is that NordVPN is an industry leader in its development of Nordlynx technology. Nordlynx is built using the WireGuard, a new VPN tunneling protocol designed to outperform current standards (OpenVPN and IPSec). The benefits, according to NordVPN, are dramatically faster transfer speeds while connected to a VPN. My tests – New Zealand to London – confirm that Nordlynx is currently the fastest VPN on the market. However, the difference isn’t dramatic, a few Mbps is all.
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4. Ivacy
A very quick and trustworthy VPN
Pros
- ✅ Fast servers
- ✅ Thousands of IP addresses
- ✅ Dedicated streaming servers
- ✅ 5-simultaneous connections
- ✅ 30-day money-back guarantee
- ✅ 24/7 Live Chat
Cons
- ❌ Only 5 devices
- ❌ Sometimes runs slow
- ❌ Occasionally block by streaming sites for several days
Special Offer for you!
Sign up for Ivacy and enjoy a 7-day trial with no strings attached
Number of servers: 1,000+ | Speed: >65% | Bandwidth: Unlimited | IP locations: 275 in 100 countries | Devices supported: 5 | Live chat: Yes | 30-day money-back guarantee: Yes
- $1.16/month for 5 years
- $3.50/month for 1 year
- $9.99/month for 1 month
If you’re looking for an excellent VPN, with an even better price tag, Ivacy ($1.16/month) is a great option.
This VPN has all the features you need to stream BBC iPlayer, in HD, from any country in the world. I’ve been testing the app recently on Mac, PC, Android, iOS and FireStick and the results have been impressive – unlocking BBC iPlayer, US Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, etc. with ease.
The Ivacy app is a little different in regards to its UX (user experience). Instead of just selecting a UK server, you need to select the specific BBC iPlayer server. Don’t worry, this isn’t a bad thing – by connecting to a dedicated BBC iPlayer server, it simply means that you’re connecting to an IP address that Ivacy knows works with BBC iPlayer.
For an extra $1.99/month (£1.74) you can add-on a dedicated IP. This will buy you sole access to an IP address in a country of your choice, meaning you won’t have to share your IP (and speeds) with any other use. I don’t recommend this though, using the regular Ivacy servers is enough 95 per cent of the time.
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5. CyberGhost
A very quick and trustworthy VPN
Pros
- ✅ 1-day free trial
- ✅ Reliable servers
- ✅ Thousands of IP addresses
- ✅ 7-simultaneous connections
- ✅ 30-day money-back guarantee
- ✅ Easy-to-use app
Cons
- ❌ Expensive
- ❌ Average speed scores
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Number of servers: 1,000+ | Speed: >65% | Bandwidth: Unlimited | IP locations: 275 in 100 countries | Devices supported: 5 | Live chat: Yes | 30-day money-back guarantee: Yes
- $2.75/month for 3 years
- $3.69/month for 2 years
- $5.99/month for 1 year
- $12.99/month for 1 month
CyberGhost is one of the more established VPNs on the market. It has a well-established, and well-tested global network of servers that perform well.
From my tests over the past several months, CyberGhost has no trouble at unblocking major streaming services – US Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max etc. This VPN performed well at maintaining download speeds, well above 65 per cent of my regular (non VPN) ISP speed.
That said, there’s nothing really unique about the service. Which forces you to look at its price-point. And there’s nothing special here. Its short-term $12.99/month price tag puts is well above the industry average of $10.10/month. Similarly, its long-term $2.75/month for 3 years deal isn’t much of a “deal” either.
Oddly, CyberGhost’s most unique feature is its a 1-day, no obligations, free trial. This is an appealing offer to customers who are new to VPNs. However, it’s important to remember that most reputable VPNs will offer customers a 30-day money-back guarantee, so try not to be too seduced by the offer.
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