If you’ve been watching Showmax with a VPN and it’s no longer working. Your VPN has had all of its IP addresses blocked by the streaming service.
This has happened because Showmax constantly tries to block VPNs from accessing its service, and you’re VPN is no longer getting around those blocks.
Don’t panic though, there’s several fixes you can try to resolve this issue.
This article will explain how you can fix Showmax not working with VPN so you can continue watching all of your favourite content outside South Africa.
See also:
How to watch Showmax outside SA: The EASY way! (2023)
Showmax not working with VPN: Quick Fixes
Total Time: 3 minutes
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Delete Cookies
Cookies are small files used to streamline your online experience. You may have noticed some websites ask you to accept them.
Even if you don’t accept Cookies or don’t remember accepting Cookies, there’s a strong possibility you have Cookies stored on your browser or device.
These aren’t malicious files, however, they sometimes contain information about your physical location.
Showmax can potentially access this information whether you’re using a VPN or not.
To make sure Cookies aren’t causing any issues, it’s a good idea to delete them, and this could fix Showmax not working with VPN
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Change to a different South African server
If you’re still struggling to watch Showmax with your VPN. The IP address your VPN has given you has been identified and blocked.
Try connecting to a different South African server.
When you do this, you’ll be given a different IP address and Showmax may not have blacklisted this one. This will fix Showmax not working with VPN.
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Upgrade to a better VPN
If Showmax still isn’t working with your VPN, all of your VPN’s IP addresses have been blocked.
This has happened because your VPN is no longer staying one step ahead of Showmax’s blocking techniques.
You can wait for your VPN to release new IP addresses that the streaming server hasn’t blocked. However, this could take a long time and seeing as your VPN doesn’t have measures to get around these blocks, these new IP addresses will be blocked as well.
The best way to fix Showmax not working with VPN is to upgrade to a better VPN. We recommend ExpressVPN ($6.67/month).
This VPN has measures in place to get around Showmax’s blocks. These measures will prevent you from running into the same errors you’ve been coming across when trying to watch Showmax with your current vpn.
Why has Showmax blocked my VPN?
Showmax blocks VPNs because the streaming service doesn’t have international broadcast rights Showmax only has the rights to broadcast its content in South Africa.
These broadcast rights are expensive and to protect its investment Showmax prevents anyone outside its broadcast zone (South Africa) from using its service.
Because VPNs are a well-known way of watching Showmax outside South Africa, the streaming service blocks them.
How does Showmax block VPNs?
Showmax blocks VPNs by monitoring the IP addresses that connect to its service.
When you connect to Showmax, it scans your IP address. Usually, only a household of devices (8-10) will connect to Showmax via the same IP.
VPNs, have more customers than IP addresses. This forces users to share IPs. When Showmax sees more than an average household worth of connections connecting to its service via the same IP address, it knows this is a VPN connection, and it blocks it.
Does Showmax still work with VPNs?
Although your VPN may have stopped working with Showmax, other VPNs like ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) and NordVPN ($3.19/month) still work.
To continue watching Showmax with a VPN, you need a VPN that has measures in place to stay ahead of Showmax’s blocks. ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) and NordVPN ($3.19/month) are the best at this.
Whenever Showmax blacklists an IP address, these VPNs will close that IP address and open a new one.
There will always be an IP address for you to connect to, meaning you won’t run into the same problems you’ve come across with your VPN, and it allows you to watch Showmax reliably anywhere in the world.
The best VPNs to watch Showmax
1. ExpressVPN 🥇
Why You Should Use ExpressVPN? It’s the fastest and MOST reliable VPN of 2023
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. 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.
Read our NordVPN review.
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3. 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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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
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.
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Is watching Showmax with a VPN legal?
There’s only a handful of countries 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 trying to watch Showmax with a VPN in one of these locations, you could run into some legal issues and we don’t advise it.
The good news is if you aren’t in one of these countries, using a VPN to watch Showmax is perfectly legal. However, it’s important to know that using a VPN to watch Showmax in a location where the streaming service is blocked, does go against Showmax’s terms of service.
In here it states “we reserve the right to implement Technologies, including geo-blocking technology. This includes any Technology that is able to limit, restrict or block any access and/or use by a person of any Content, product or service based on the geographical location of that person, and other measures in order to verify your geographic location and monitor that you are not accessing restricted Content from restricted geographic locations.”
This means that if Showmax figures out you’re using a VPN to watch its content, it is within its rights to block or ban your account.
With that said there are many legitimate and legal use cases for VPNs, like online privacy and anonymity. It’s fair to suggest that banning customers for using a VPN would be a heavy-handed and financially costly policy for Showmax (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, as the best VPNs use military-grade encryption, it’s impossible for streaming services to trace where you’re physically accessing its content from. And there’s one final thing to note on the subject: Showmax has never banned anyone for using a VPN to access its service.
For more information you can check out our article answering Is streaming with a VPN legal?
