ExpressVPN not working with Amazon Prime? There’s an EASY way to fix that! (September 2023)

If you’ve been watching Amazon Prime with ExpressVPN and it’s stopped working, the streaming service has managed to block all of the IP addresses ExpressVPN can provide.

This can be frustrating but don’t panic. This article will explain some fixes you can try to resolve this problem. So you can watch Amazon Prime with a VPN again.

See also:

• ExpressVPN not working with BBC iPlayer? Here’s an EASY 2-minute FIX! (September 2023)
• ExpressVPN not working with Hulu? Here’s an EASY fix! (September 2023)
• ExpressVPN not working with Netflix? Here’s how to fix that! (September 2023)

ExpressVPN not working with Amazon Prime: Fixes

Below is a list of fixes you can try to resolve ExpressVPN not working with Amazon Prime. Try each fix in order, if one doesn’t work, move on to the next, and you’ll be watching Amazon Prime with a VPN again in no time:

Why does Amazon Prime block ExpressVPN?

Amazon Prime tries to block all VPNs from accessing its service. 

It does this to protect itself from potential copyright and licensing issues. 

Amazon doesn’t have the rights to broadcast all of its content worldwide. Some content can only be broadcast in certain geographic areas. This is because Amazon has a content distribution agreement with content creators that stipulates where the content can be broadcast. For example, the US Amazon Prime library differs from the UK library due to these agreements. 

Because VPNs are a good way to watch Amazon Prime libraries outside of their broadcast zones, Amazon tries to block them. If it didn’t, it could breach its content agreements and face financial punishments. 

This is why ExpressVPN is no longer working with Amazon Prime.

How does Amazon Prime block ExpressVPN?

Amazon’s VPN blocks are all to do with the IP addresses ExpressVPN can provide.

ExpressVPN is a popular VPN, and because of that, it has more customers than IP addresses. Because it cannot keep up with the high customer numbers, ExpressVPN users are forced to share IP addresses. 

When Amazon Prime sees an abnormal amount (more than an average household) of connections coming from the same IP address, it knows it’s an IP address provided by ExpressVPN, and it blocks it. 

Does Amazon Prime still work with VPNs?

Although ExpressVPN has stopped working with Prime, the best VPNs won’t run into these sorts of problems. 

Private Internet Access ($2.03/month) has measures in place to get around Prime’s VPN blocking techniques. Not only does it have a large amount of IP addresses, meaning you will have less chance of sharing an IP address with other customers, its also capable of staying ahead of Prime’s blocks. 

When Amazon Prime blocs an IP address provided by Private Internet Access ($2.03/month). This VPN will close that IP address and open a new one. This will allow you to watch Prime anywhere in the world reliably. 

The best VPNs to watch Amazon Prime

1. Private Internet Access 🥇

The BEST low-cost VPN for streaming!

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

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).

2. NordVPN 🥈

A very quick and trustworthy VPN

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

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.

3. Ivacy 🥉

A very quick and trustworthy VPN

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

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.

4. CyberGhost

A very quick and trustworthy VPN

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

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.

Is it legal to use Amazon Prime with a VPN?

In most countries, using a VPN is legal. There are only a handful of countries (spot the authoritarianism link) where using a VPN is illegal; these are: China, Russia, Iran, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, North Korea, Iraq, Belarus, Turkmenistan, Egypt, Eritrea, Seychelles, Suriname, Namibia, Slovenia, Nicaragua and Tajikistan.

If you’re outside these countries and are using a VPN, you’re legally allowed to do so. However, it’s important to know that using a VPN with some streaming services may breach that service’s terms of use.

If you subscribe to a streaming service, you automatically accept its terms of use. If we look at Amazon Prime’s terms of use, it states, “Due to technical and other restrictions imposed by content providers, the Service is available only in certain locations. The Digital Content (including subtitled and dubbed audio versions of Digital Content) and how we offer Digital Content to you will vary over time and by location. Amazon will use technologies to verify your geographic location. You may not use any technology or technique to obscure or disguise your location.”

This means, Amazon Prime can stop your subscription and ban you from the streaming service if you try to access its content with a VPN turned on.

However, given the wide-spread use of VPNs, plus the many legitimate and legal use cases for VPNs, it’s fair to suggest that banning customers for using a VPN would be a heavy-handed and financially costly policy for Amazon Prime (and other streaming services) to enforce.

In theory, if you’re trying to watch a streaming service (that you pay for) in a region where it does not traditionally operate, you risk having your account banned. However, the best VPNs for Amazon Prime Video use military-grade encryption, it’s impossible for streaming services to trace where you’re physically accessing its content from.

There’s one final thing to note on the subject: Amazon Prime has never banned anyone for using a VPN to access its service.