If you’re trying to watch HBO Max outside the US, you’ll notice you can’t access the streaming service. You’ll come across an error saying “Sorry, HBO MAX isn’t available in your region yet.”
This is happening because of licensing and copyright restrictions, and even more frustrating, even if you’re already an HBO Max subscriber, you’ll still run into this error.
But, don’t panic. There’s an easy way to fix this problem. All you need to do is make HBO Max think you’re watching it from within the US.
To do that, you need a reliable VPN.
This article will explain how to watch HBO Max outside the US with a VPN. Read to the end to find out the best VPNs to watch HBO Max anywhere in the world.
See also:
- HBO Max not working with VPN? There’s an EASY workaround!
- How to watch HBO Max in Mexico: The EASIEST method! (March 2023)
How to watch HBO Max outside the US: Quick Guide
To watch HBO Max outside the US, you need a US IP address. Follow these simple steps to get one:
Create a new account with ExpressVPN ($6.67/month)
Download and install the new VPN app
Select a server in the US
Watch HBO Max outside the US
How to create an HBO Max account outside the US
Using a reliable VPN like ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month) will remove the “HBO Max is not available in your region,” error that you’re coming across when going on the streaming service. However, if you don’t already have an HBO Max account, there is another slight hurdle you’ll have to get over before you can watch HBO Max outside the US.
To create an HBO Max account, HBO only accepts US forms of payment.
Don’t panic though, if you don’t have a US credit card or a friend living in the US, there’s a very easy way to create an HBO Max anywhere. All you need is an Android or Apple phone. Follow the steps below to create an HBO Max account:
Android
- Create a new Google Play account and login to it on the Google Play store
- Download and install ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) on your Android phone
- Connect to a US server on ExpressVPN ($6.67/month)
- Open up your Google Play Account
- Click Settings
- Click General
- Click account and device preferences
- Change your location to the US
- Put in your credit card details
- Close Google Play and open it again (you should be on the US version of the Google Play Store)
- Download and Install HBO Max
- Create an HBO Max account (you can use your local credit card)
Apple
- Download and install ExpressVPN ($6.67/month)
- Connect to a US server
- Create a new iCloud account
- Login with your new iCloud account
- Go to settings and click media and purchases
- Click view account
- Change country to the US
- Download HBO Max on the App store
Why can’t I watch HBO Max outside the US?
HBO Max is only available in the US. It only has the rights to broadcast its content in the States. It doesn’t have international broadcast rights.
Similar to other streaming services like Hulu, and Paramount+, HBO Max is subject to its licensing agreements. If it made itself available to customers outside the US, it could face serious copyright and licensing repercussions.
To prevent these issues arising, HBO Max uses geo-blocking technology that prevents anyone outside of the US from accessing its content. These geo-blocks are the reason you’re running into errors when trying to connect to HBO Max.
How does HBO Max block my connection?
HBO Max uses geo-blocking technology that determines your physical location via your IP address.
Whenever you go on the internet, your device is given a unique IP address. This IP contains information about your location.
When you connect to HBO Max, it scans your IP address to figure out where you’re located.
Once it does this, you’ll only be able to access the shows that HBO Max has the rights to broadcast in your location.
How can I get around HBO Max’s blocks?
To access the more extensive HBO Max libraries like the US one, you need to change your IP address to a US IP address. This will make HBO Max think you’re in the US when you connect to its service.
When you connect to HBO Max with a US IP address, the streaming service will think you’re inside its broadcast zone, and the shows you weren’t able to access will now be available for you.
The best way to get a US IP address is using a reliable VPN. VPNs make the process easy, and the best VPNs will allow you to watch HBO Max anywhere in the world reliably.
We recommend ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month).
How does a VPN work?
VPNs are very good at allowing you to watch HBO Max anywhere in the world because they provide two essential things.
First, they encrypt all your online data into an unreadable code. This encryption process provides you with an anonymous internet connection, so HBO Max can’t determine your location.
Second, they reroute that data through their servers, where it’s decrypted and sent to a local internet service provider in a country of your choosing.
This will allow you to trick HBO Max into thinking you’re in the US. And you’ll be able to watch any HBO Max library anywhere in the world.
Will any VPN work with HBO Max?
Because VPNs are a well-known way to watch HBO Max outside its broadcast zone, the streaming service tries to block VPNs from connecting to its service.
It cannot block a VPN completely; however it can block the IP addresses the VPN provides.
It does this 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 IP addresses; this means that customers are forced to share the same IP addresses. Usually, only a household with a few devices uses the same IP address. When HBO Max 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.
- HBO Max monitors for IP, DNS and WebRTC leaks that can tip the service off you are using a VPN.
- HBO Max teams up with GeoIP databases like Maxmind to identify IP addresses. If the IP address your VPN provides is on one of these databases, HBO Max will be able to find out where in the world you are connecting to the internet from, and it will block you.
For free VPNs, these methods are challenging to get around.
The good news is, the best VPNs can get around these blocking techniques. When HBO Max blocks an IP address provided by a VPN, ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month) will close that IP address and open a new one. This keeps them one step ahead of HBO Max, and most importantly, it allows you to watch HBO Max anywhere in the world reliably.
How to watch HBO Max outside the US
The process is simple. First, you need to make HBO Max think you’re accessing it from within the US. To do this, you need a US IP address and the easiest way to get one is with a VPN. We recommend ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month).
Once you’ve downloaded one of these VPNs, select a US server, and you’ll be automatically given a US IP address.
Now you’ll be able to access HBO Max outside the US.
The best VPNs to watch HBO Max outside the US
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
Special Offer for you!
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).
Special Offer – Save 83%
(30-day money-back guarantee)
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.
Special Offer – 7-day FREE trial!
(30-day money-back guarantee)
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
SPECIAL OFFER – 1-DAY FREE TRIAL
Take advantage of CyberGhost’s 1-day FREE TRIAL!
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.
SPECIAL OFFER – 1-DAY FREE TRIAL
(30-day money-back guarantee)
List of VPNs Blacklisted by HBO Max
All VPNs are technically blacklisted by HBO Max. However, the good ones – like ExpressVPN, Ivacy and NordVPN – have workarounds in place. The VPNs that don’t will remain blacklisted. From our tests, the following VPNs are currently blacklisted by HBO Max and do not have reliable workarounds in place.
- TunnelBear
- PureVPN
- IPVanish
- HideMyAss
- Windscribe
- HotSpot Shield
- VyprVPN
- Buffered
