Pandora is currently only available to users in the US. Which is a problem for subscribers who want to use the service while on holiday or working overseas. In this article, we show you how you can stream Pandora from any country (even if you’re not a US citizen). Follow the steps below to find out how to listen to Pandora abroad.
See also: BBC iPlayer not working with VPN? Here’s how to fix that!
Pandora is a great music streaming alternative to Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer et al. Its uniqueness is its algorithm and customer data that helps you discover new music based on the music you, and others with similar tastes to you, also like. Unfortunately, Pandora only has a licence to stream content to users who are inside the US.
If you’re not a US citizen, but still want to subscribe to Pandora, or just listen to an ad-supported version for free you can use the method below to sign up too. Just use Google to find a random ZipCode in the US and then pay with your credit card or PayPal for the premium subscriptions.
How to listen to Pandora abroad?
If you want to stream Pandora from outside the US you’re going to need to spoof your device’s location. Pandora is only available in the US, so you’re going to need to spoof your location to make it appear as if you’re in the States. The best way to do this is to buy a VPN.
I’ve been using PureVPN ($2.88/month) to listen to Pandora since early May (from New Zealand) and have experienced zero downtime. Other VPNs will work with Pandora too but I recommend using PureVPN for two reasons.
Firstly, PureVPN is really competitively priced. You can pay a lot more for some VPNs that offer few or no extra features. Some more expensive VPNs offer better privacy and security options, but these features are superfluous for just streaming Pandora while overseas.
The second reason I recommend PureVPN is because it’s one of the few VPNs – along with NordVPN ($3.29/month) and ExpressVPN ($8.32/month) – that’s beating the Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Amazon Instant Video (et al) VPN ban. This suggests you’re future proofing yourself with PureVPN as it’s only a matter of time before all streaming services start implementing similar VPN blocks.
Continuing on the VPN ban topic… You can also purchase a dedicated IP from PureVPN for just $1.99/month. This means you won’t be sharing your VPN connection with other users, which will prevent it getting blocked from streaming services (including Pandora) in the first place. See below for why this is important.
Note: VPNs work by encrypting data on your device and rerouting it to a server at a location of your choice. This combination of encrypted data and a network of servers allows you to successfully spoof your location and access a country’s internet as if you were physically there.
See also: Netflix not working with VPN? Here’s how to bypass proxy block!
How do streaming services block VPNs?
Internet users from all over the world have been successfully using VPNs to ‘location spoof’ for years. It’s become so popular on video streaming services such as Netflix and BBC iPlayer they’ve had to put extra security measures in place to detect, and block, the use of VPNs.
The way Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Amazon, HBO Now, etc block VPNs is pretty simple. VPNs direct a large number of customers through just a handful of servers in any given country. This creates an abnormal amount of internet sessions coming from the same server IP addresses.
Steaming services recognise this and blacklist IP addresses with abnormal levels of traffic. When too many of VPN users connect to a service such as Netflix from the same server its IP address is blacklisted by Netflix and BBC iPlayer etc.
Some VPNs fight back by playing a game of Cat and Mouse with these streaming services. When one of its IPs is blacklisted it opens a new one. PureVPN is one of the best VPNs at doing this. It’s also the only service that lets you connect to a server based on “Purpose”. And while there’s not a specific section for “Pandora” there is for Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Amazon, HBO. And loads of other services. There’s also a helpful Live Chat feature on its website. Customers can use this to find an open connection if there is ever a problem.
Read next: How to watch Amazon Instant Video abroad.
