How to unblock streaming sites and services

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Remove geo-blocks for free

There are plenty of reasons why site owners, providers, governments, schools, and anyone else might want to restrict access to their content. Here at StreamLocator, we’re primarily concerned with accessing all of the wonderful restricted TV and movie content, to give unbiased global access to our customers and friends.

We’ve created a system that can unblock streaming content from all over the world, allowing you access to more channels’ international viewing catalogues than ever.

We want you to have access to all the great movies and TV shows you can’t find in your country, but who are the services streaming those programs? And how hard is it to access the shows once you’ve cracked the geo-restriction? With access to unblocked streaming sites, you also need to register and pay for international services. That in itself can be quite the challenge.

Different geo-location unblocking methods

Unblock by VPN

A virtual private network routes your traffic through a server in another country, giving the appearance that that’s where you are. VPN services also encrypt your connection to make you as invisible as possible, creating a safe and secure method of accessing the Internet.

Unblock by web proxy

A web proxy can help users unblock restricted content on public machines where downloading and installing software isn’t possible. You connect to the proxy before visiting the blocked site, and you have to do it with every tab in every browser. As you can imagine, it’s long-winded, impractical, and annoying.

Unblock by proxy extension

A proxy extension is a little less annoying, but only marginally, as it works as part of your browser. That means it’s ready to go whenever you need it.

Unblock by Smart DNS

Smart DNS works similarly to VPN but changes your device DNS to reroute through the proxy server. Smart DNS is often faster than VPN, but without the added security of data encryption.

Unblock by URL shortening

Some security systems don’t recognize alternative shortened URLs providers create to look less clunky than excessively long links. It’s not much of a method though, as it only works on selected systems.

Unblock by browser

There are a few browsers, Tor, for example, with the built-in means to navigate restriction blocks. They sound like an ideal solution, but in practice, they’re often very slow, and impractical.

The streaming services StreamLocator unblocks

After our quick look at how to unblock sites, we’re now going to outline the different type of content we can help you get access to, and provide examples of channels and services for each.

US-based free services

These services don’t need you to pay for a subscription, but with most, you’ll still have to register with them. They aren’t too tricky to crack for the most part, but you’ll still need to provide a virtual US location.

  • IMDb TV
  • Tubi TV
  • Pluto TV
  • Crackle
  • Pandora
  • FilmRise
  • Xumo
  • The CW
  • Adult Swim
  • Roku Channel

UK-based free services

Again, these providers require no payment, but registration is a must to unblock video and soak up all of those shows.

  • BBC iPlayer
  • All 4 (Channel 4)
  • My5 (Channel 5)
  • iTV
  • UKTV Play

International paid services

With a Netflix subscription, you can access any of their international catalogues with the same logins. However, you do have to be in the country of the catalogue you’re trying to access.

But of course, you can unblock streaming for full access to every location, wherever you are, with StreamLocator.

  • Netflix USA
  • Netflix CAN
  • Netflix UK
  • Netflix France
  • Netflix Brazil

US-based paid services

These services are a little trickier, as registration and subscription payment is usually required to be a method based in the US. We’ve got some clever workarounds though, and we’ll get to those a little further into this article.

  • HBO MAX
  • HBO Now
  • Hulu
  • Disney+
  • Amazon Prime USA
  • Sling TV
  • AT&T TV Now
  • CBS All Access
  • Showtime
  • NBC Sports Gold
  • ESPN+
  • Starz (Cable login available)
  • Shudder
  • Epix NOW (Cable login available)
  • FuboTV

Canada-based paid services

  • DAZN

US cable subscription-required services

  • NBC (NBC profile login available)
  • NBC Sports
  • CBS Sports
  • FX Now
  • TBS
  • TNT
  • Showtime Anytime
  • USA Network

The challenges of unblocking an international service

So, you unblock a site by VPN or any other method, but you still can’t watch your program because you need to register for the service, and even pay for it.

Registering an account in a foreign country

Many services require you to hold an account in that country. Amazon Prime, for example, will require you set up a new account for every location you want to access shows from.

Generally, registrations only require an email address to get started, and later a location-appropriate payment option to activate the subscription.

Making a payment in a foreign country

Via credit card – If you’re asked for a US address and US-based credit card, there are ways of manipulating your card details to appear as though any card is based in the US. Follow our instructions to get around the system here.

Via gift card or pre-paid card – Alternatively, one of the simplest ways to get around the US payment card system is to buy US-based service gift cards. You have to be sure that they’re US-based and not affiliated to the credit card used to pay for them, but using affiliate online stores or specialist gift card vendors will make sure you get the right ones.

Via Android or Apple app stores – You’ll need to make sure, again, you buy a location appropriate gift card for iTunes/App Store or Google Play Store from a US affiliate, but they work just fine once applied to your account. Many of the streaming services you’re likely to use, have smartphone and tablet apps with in-app payment options to cover their subscriptions.

If you need a helping hand, StreamLocator has got you covered

We don’t just provide the most ingenious way to get around the geo-blocks put in place by these providers; we’re also here to help you get inside each service.

Visit our support page

You’ll have already noticed a link to our support site, showing you how to get around the US payment card block. If you take a look around our support site, you’ll find all sorts of incredibly useful information. We can walk you through the technical details of how StreamLocator operates, how to use our Fire TV App, and even finding content without having to sign in to services.

We’ve created a wonderful piece of tech kit that finds the easiest way into all kinds of restricted content, but more than that, we’ve got the service to back it up. We believe that there shouldn’t be restrictions to online content, and if that means you need a little extra assistance to get your hands on it, then we’re happy to help.