If you’re on holiday or working overseas, you can still watch your favourite shows on Amazon Instant Video. However, you will need a VPN. Here we show you how to watch Amazon Instant Video abroad.
Why can’t I watch Amazon Instant Video abroad?
Every internet connection has a unique IP address. IP addresses are a lot like dialling codes as they are region-specific. If you’re connecting to the internet from overseas, websites know this based on your connection’s IP address. The workaround for this is to use a VPN that lets you connect to the internet from one of its server’s IP addresses.
Amazon uses the above method to police its video content and will only let you watch content in your home country. The exception is when you want to watch content that’s made by Amazon itself – think The Grand Tour, or Sneaky Pete.
Licensing is the reason for this. Amazon has different licences for each country it operates in. Which means if you’re outside of your home nation, you’re likely to experience problems watching your favourite shows on Amazon Instant Video.
BBC iPlayer not working with your VPN? Here’s how to fix that!
How to watch Amazon Instant Video abroad
- Get PureVPN with dedicated IP
- Install VPN on your device
- Connect to UK server (your dedicated IP)
- Enjoy Amazon Instant Video abroad
If you want to watch your home country’s Amazon Instant Video library while overseas, you’re going to need a good VPN provider. The reason for this, as we explain above, is because website’s use your IP address to determine where you’re internet connection is coming from. A VPN will let you spoof your connection by letting you access the internet from one of its server’s IP addresses.
Until recently, any VPN provider was good enough to let you stream content from Amazon Instant Video. However, those days are over. Amazon, Netflix, BBC iPlayer and all major online streaming services have started blacklisting IP addresses they suspect belong to VPNs (for licencing reasons).
Jump to: How does Amazon detect a VPN’s IP address?
Best VPNs to watch Amazon Instant Video abroad
1. PureVPN (with dedicated IP)
The best VPN for watching Amazon Instant Video abroad is PureVPN (with a dedicated IP). This gives you, and just you, encrypted access to an IP address in the UK which you can connect to from anywhere in the world.
Get PureVPN with a dedicated IP (£3.43/month)
2. ExpressVPN
The next best VPN provider we recommend it ExpressVPN. This app plays Cat and Mouse with Amazon Instant Video, opening new IP addresses when old ones are blocked. ExpressVPN also provides a 24/7 live chat service which you can use to find out which of its many servers is currently working with Amazin Instant Video.
3. NordVPN
NordVPN also comes highly recommended. This is because of the volume of IP addresses and servers it offers its customers. With 100+ servers common in several major countries. However, NordVPN doesn’t offer customers any special assistance to help them connect to an IP address that isn’t blacklisted. Which might lead to you spending considerable time cycling through connections searching for one that works
How does Amazon detect VPN’s IP address
It’s all to do with normal usage. A typical IP address would be a single household’s internet connection, which means an average of four people using the internet. Which means only four people streaming content from Amazon Instant Video. As VPNs share the IP addresses with all their customers, this creates a bottleneck with potentially thousands of people watching Amazon Instant Video from the same IP address (as they have far fewer IPs than they do customers).
This makes it easy for Amazon to detect and blacklist VPNs.
Read next: How to watch BBC iPlayer abroad.
