If you’re watching, or are trying to watch, Paramount+ with a VPN and it isn’t working, don’t panic. There’s a number of fixes you can try to resolve this issue.
The reason your VPN isn’t working is because Paramount+ has been able to block all of its IP addresses and your VPN probably doesn’t have measures in place to ensure it can get around Paramount+’s VPN blocking techniques.
Fortunately, there are a number of ways you can fix this. And you’ll be able to watch Paramount+ with a VPN again in no time.
See also:
- How to watch Paramount+ outside the US: The EASY 2-minute method! (May 2023)
- How to watch Paramount+ in the UK: The EASY method! (May 2023)
Paramount+ not working with VPN? Quick fixes
To fix Paramount+ not working with your VPN, try these fixes.
Perform them in order and check if it fixes this issue. If not, move onto the next step until the problem has been resolved.
Total Time: 3 minutes
Delete Cookies
Deleting your cookies is a good place to start when trying to fix Paramount+ not working with your VPN because cookies can contain information about your location.
You may have noticed some websites ask you to accept cookies. To make your online experience better, they contain information about your location.
Paramount+ can scan this information, and if it sees you’re outside of the US (its broadcast zone), it will block your connection.
Deleting your cookies may resolve this.
Change to a different US server
Paramount+ cannot block your VPN in its entirety, but it can block the IP addresses it provides.
Paramount+ is constantly trying to stop VPNs from connecting to its service, and the blocking techniques it use have identified and blacklisted the IP address your VPN has provided.
This doesn’t mean that its managed to block all of the IP addresses. Changing to a different US server will give you a different IP address. If Paramount+ hasn’t blacklisted this IP then the service will work with your VPN again.
Change to a different protocol
VPN protocols are a set of rules or instructions that determine how your VPN diverts your online data through its server.
Have a look and see if your VPN supports multiple protocols. They all differ, some are fast some are more secure and it may be a case that Paramount+ has identified the protocol your VPN is currently using.
Try changing to a different protocol and see if that fixes the problem.
Update your VPN
Always try and keep your VPN software updated.
The reason Paramount+ not working with VPN is happening might be because of an error or bug you’ve picked up.
This error might have been fixed by your VPN provider in an update, so make sure you update to the latest version of your VPN software.
Upgrade to VPN that works with Paramount+ reliably
If the above steps didn’t fix Paramount+ not working with VPN, then unfortunately the streaming service has been able to block all the IP addresses your VPN can provide.
This has happened because your VPN doesn’t have measures in place to stay one step ahead of the streaming services blocking techniques.
The best VPN for Paramount+ is ExpressVPN ($6.67/month).
ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) has fast servers all over the world, and most importantly, it has measures in place that will stop all of its IP addresses from being blocked by Paramount.
On the off chance your IP address is blocked by the streaming service, ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) closes that IP address and opens a new one ensuring you can use the VPN to watch Paramount+ reliably wherever you are.
This will stop you from running into the same problems you’re coming across with your current VPN.
Why has my VPN stopped working with Paramount+?
Your VPN has stopped working because it has failed to get past Paramount+’s VPN blocking methods. All of its IP addresses have been identified and blacklisted by Paramount.
Paramount+, just like other streaming services, tries to block VPNs from connecting to its service. It does this to protect itself from potential copyright and licensing issues.
Paramount+ only has the rights to broadcast its content in the US. If it broadcasts its content outside of the States, then it could run into some serious repercussions. VPNs are a well-known way to watch Paramount+ outside of the US, and if Paramount did nothing about this, it could mean Paramount is breaching its licensing agreements.
To prevent this from happening, Paramount tries to block all VPNs from accessing its service. And with your VPN, it has been successful in doing so.
How does Paramount+ block VPNs?
All VPNs have more IP addresses than customers. This is the only way they can work as a business.
The problem with this model is it means customers are forced to share IP addresses. Paramount knows this and monitors for an abnormal number of connections coming from the same IP address.
A normal number of connections sharing the same IP address, is usually the number of devices in a single household, so around 8-10. When Paramount sees hundreds or thousands of connections coming from the same IP, it deems it as an abnormal amount. It knows that it’s a VPN IP address, and it blocks it.
For lesser VPNs, this can be hard to get around. Generally, lesser VPNs don’t have as many IP addresses as the best VPNs like ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month). This means there’s more of a chance you’ll be sharing an IP with hundreds of other customers.
You can wait for your VPN to get more IPs; however this is expensive and can take some time, meaning you won’t be able to watch Paramount+ outside of the US for who knows how long.
To fix the issue quickly, you need to use a better VPN to get around Paramount+ VPN blocking techniques.
Why is Paramount+ saying I’m using a VPN?
Paramount+ is saying you’re using a VPN because it has managed to identify the IP address your VPN has given you as one provided by VPN software.
Even if you’re using a VPN for legitimate reasons, like online safety, Paramount+ will still stop you from connecting to its service via a VPN.
If you want to get around this, you need to use a VPN that won’t get identified by Paramount+. You need a VPN with lots of IP addresses and measures in place to stay one step ahead of Paramount+ and its VPN blocking techniques.
We recommend ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month).
Do VPNs still work with Paramount+?
Yes, VPNs still work with Paramount+. There’s even a possibility your VPN will work with Paramount+ again. It just needs to purchase more IP addresses that Paramount hasn’t blocked.
This isn’t a resolution to the problem, though. Even if your VPN purchases more IP addresses, inevitably, they will be blocked again because your VPN doesn’t have measures to stay one step ahead of Paramount’s blocks in the first place.
The VPNs that work best with Paramount+ are the ones that stay one step ahead of its blocks. ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month) are the best at this. When Paramount+ blocks an IP address, these VPNs will close it and open a new one. It sounds simple, but it works.
This simple measure means you can avoid running into your VPN not working with Paramount+ problems in the future.
The best VPNs to watch Paramount+ 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).
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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.
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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
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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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