If you’ve been trying to view Hulu using VPN Unlimited and it has stopped functioning, the streaming service has detected and banned all of VPN Unlimited’s IP addresses.
This can be inconvenient if it works one day and doesn’t the next, but there’s no need to panic. There are a few quick fixes you can try to remedy this problem.
This article will show you how to fix VPN Unlimited not working with Hulu, so you can watch your favourite Hulu content wherever you are again.
See also:
- Surfshark not working with Hulu? Try these EASY fixes! (2023)
- Tunnelbear not working with Hulu? This is how I FIXED that! (2023)
- CyberGhost not working with Hulu? Try these EASY fixes! (2023)
VPN Unlimited not working with Hulu: Quick Fixes
To fix VPN Unlimited not working with Hulu, follow these fixes in order. If one doesn’t work, move on to the next until the problem has been resolved.
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Delete Cookies
If you’re having trouble getting VPN Unlimited to function with Hulu, consider deleting your Cookies first.
Some websites and applications ask you to allow Cookies whenever you go online. These are little files that are there to make your online life easier. However, in order to do that, they sometimes your actual location.
Hulu may be able to access your Cookies even if you’re hiding your location using VPN Unlimited. When this happens, Hulu will reject your connection if the location of your Cookies differs from the location you’ve chosen on VPN Unlimited.
Delete your cookies to make sure this isn’t happening.
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Change to a different US server
Hulu’s no longer working with VPN Unlimited because the streaming service has detected and banned the IP address you’ve been given by VPN Unlimited.
Changing servers will give you a new IP address, and if Hulu hasn’t banned that one, VPN Unlimited will work again.
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Upgrade to a more reliable VPN
If steps one and two don’t work, Hulu has blocked all of VPN Unlimited’s current IP addresses.
You could wait until VPN Unlimited is able to resolve the problem on its end (which could take a long time), or you could fix the problem yourself.
Using a VPN that is still compatible with Hulu is the fastest and most efficient way to fix VPN Unlimited not working with Hulu. VPN services like ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) come highly recommended by our team.
If you upgrade to ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) you won’t have the same problems you’ve had viewing Hulu with VPN Unlimited, and you’ll be able to watch Hulu reliably anywhere in the world.
Why does Hulu block VPN Unlimited?
Seeing as you’re already using a VPN, you probably know that Hulu isn’t able to broadcast its programming internationally due to a lack of international broadcasting rights. Hulu only has the rights to broadcast its content in the US.
Because VPN Unlimited is a popular way of watching Hulu outside of the US, using this VPN could be the reason Hulu violates its content agreements. And if this happens, Hulu could potentially suffer significant financial punishments because of.
Hulu tries to block VPN Unlimited from accessing its service in order to avoid these fines from happening.
How does Hulu block VPN Unlimited?
The main way Hulu blocks VPN Unlimited is by monitoring IP addresses connecting to its service. In particular, an abnormal number of the same IP address connecting to Hulu at the same time.
In order for a VPN to work as a business, they need to have more customers than IP addresses. Hulu knows this, and it uses it to its advantage. This business model means that customers using VPN Unlimited have to share IP addresses. When Hulu notices a significant amount of connections coming from the same IP, it knows that that is an IP that has been provided by a VPN Unlimited, and it blocks it.
This isn’t specific to VPN Unlimited. This happens to all VPNs. What’s important is that the VPN has measures in place to get around this. ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month) do have these sorts of measures.
Does Hulu still work with VPNs?
Yes, Hulu does work with VPNs. You just need a VPN that still works with the service.
The VPNs that reliably work with Hulu are the ones that have measures in place to prevent Hulu from blacklisting all of their IP addresses. ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month) are very good at this.
ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month)play a game of cat and mouse with Hulu. When Hulu identifies and blocks an IP address provided by these VPNs, ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month) will close that IP address and open a new one. This ensures that you don’t run into the same errors as you have with VPN Unlimited, and it also allows you to stream Hulu reliably from anywhere in the world.
The best VPNs to watch Hulu
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.
Special Offer for you
(30-day money-back guarantee)
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).
Special Offer – Save 83%
(30-day money-back guarantee)
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)
Is watching Hulu with a VPN legal?
In most countries, using a VPN is legal. There are only a handful of countries (spot the authoritarianism link) 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 outside these countries and are using a VPN, you’re legally allowed to do so. However, it’s important to know that using a VPN with some streaming services may breach that service’s terms of use.
The Hulu terms of use state, “bypass, modify, defeat, tamper with or circumvent any of the functions or protections of the Services, including using any technology or technique to obscure or disguise your location when you are accessing the Services.”
This means, Hulu can stop your subscription and ban you from the streaming service if you try to access its content with a VPN turned on.
However, given the wide-spread use of VPNs, plus the many legitimate and legal use cases for VPNs, it’s fair to suggest that banning customers for using a VPN would be a heavy-handed and financially costly policy for Hulu (and other streaming services) to enforce.
If you’re trying to watch Hulu outside the US, you risk having your account banned. In theory. However, the best VPNs for Hulu use military-grade encryption it is impossible for streaming services to trace where you’re physically accessing its content from.
There’s one final thing to note on the subject: Hulu 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?
