How to Access HBO Outside of the US

HBO has become world famous for bringing us some of the most iconic shows of the 20th and 21st Century from Game of Thrones to The Sopranos, The Wire and Sex in the City.

They have consistently released fantastic long time series. But what if you want to watch the latest episode while your travel outside the US?

Currently users are restricted to only being able to use the HBO Now streaming application when they are based in the US. Otherwise HBO is blocked.

In this guide we give a brief history of HBO and explain why you can’t watch HBO outside of the US. We will give you 4 ways to watch HBO Now as you travel outside the States. Plus our round up of the 3 best VPN’s to never miss out on your favorite episode on HBO.

A Brief History of HBO

Home Box Office (HBO) first started in 1972 and is the longest running pay television service in the US.

Since April 2015, customers have been able to access HBO à la carte using their HBO Now application which has over 5 million US. HBO Go is the streaming version of the service for customers who subscribe to HBO through their cable company.

HBO delivers content to over 150 countries and has 140 million subscribers worldwide. Making it one of the largest channels globally. It’s the second most subscribed channel in the US.

Why Can’t I Access HBO Now Outside of the US?

HBO Now is a web application to stream HBO on the go, so you can watch it anywhere.

Unfortunately, due to licensing HBO Now won’t work in any country apart from the US. The application will check the originating country of your IP address when you try to access content. If your IP is shown as originating from outside the US, it will block the content.

This is known as region restricted content which is Geo-IP locked. Much like you can’t watch US Netflix from another country without a VPN.

Another big problem is to get an HBO account you need to have a US Bank account to begin with. So, for non-US residents the only way to access HBO may be through a reseller in your country rather than from HBO directly

4 Ways to Watch HBO Outside of the US

There are quite a few ways to watch HBO outside of the US though they are declining. HBO blacklisted their service on Sling TV in 2018. Amazon Prime users in the US have to pay $14.99 per month in addition to their Prime subscription.

Using a Gift Card + Fake US Address + VPN (Preferred Method)

HBO Now gift cards are sold all over the Internet. When you use a gift card, you can make up a fake US address and the system will accept it. This allows you to purchase the account from anywhere in the world.

If you need a gift card, first check Ebay for the best price. Egifter and MyGiftCardSupply are two other options although we don’t like that MyGiftCardSupply jacks up the price above retail to sell it.

You will still need a VPN, like IPVanish to access the content, but it is pretty straightforward. To access HBO Now with the VPN, pick the fastest server in the United States. HBO hasn’t traditionally been as strict as Netflix when it comes to VPN usage. You will still want to access the service through a browser as opposed to the app. The app can force their DNS and allow HBO to know where you are actually located. Using the browser to access the content circumvents this problem.

Concerns – HBO has sent users in the past notices saying they know they are using a proxy service and to call a 1800 number to explain themselves or their accounts will be cancelled. Fortunately, most of these are several years old at this point. It really is a bonehead way for HBO to handle things since there are numerous ways to access their content for free if they want to play that way.

Sky Atlantic

If you are in the UK, then Sky Atlantic is the only channel that can air HBO shows in the UK. You can also gain access to HBO box sets and catch up TV, which is ideal if you want to get a Sky TV bundle. Sky Atlantic comes with all the packages.

The big drawback is the cost. Even for a basic Sky package you would pay £31 per month, which is steep if you just want to get access to HBO

You can also access it on move as you travel with Sky Go.

Now TV

This is a good choice if you don’t plan on visiting or spending enough time in the UK to warrant a 12-month fixed subscription to Sky.

Now TV is Sky’s digital streaming offering and can be had for as little as £7.99 a month, you gain access to a wide range of channels including in the Entertainment Package as well as box sets and movies.

Fair warning, the Entertainment Package doesn’t contain everything you would get on Sky Atlantic. There are numerous programs which are only eligible to Sky subscription users who pay more money for the full TV package.

You do get a lot of great other content and a good mix of TV Shows, Movies and box sets from across the Sky channel range.

Not to be confused with Sky Go.

Hulu

The popular American streaming application Hulu is one of the few providers of HBO. You can get a subscription for as little as $5.99 per month and get HBO free for a week. Afterwards just like Amazon Prime users you will need to pay $14.99 per month.

Of course, the drawback with Hulu is that it’s also region restricted so you can’t access it outside the US without using a VPN.

Using a VPN to Access HBO Anywhere

Even with the services mentioned above, you’ll likely need a VPN if you are on the go since they still only allow you to watch HBO. 

A Virtual Private Network sets up an encrypted tunnel between your device and the VPN’s DNS. Which basically means that you can remain anonymous online as all your data is encrypted with 256-bit AES encryption. Giving you the same security used by the US military.

We suggest you use Tier 1 VPN which owns all their own infrastructure like IPVanish. This will give you access to thousands of servers and IP addresses across the world including in the US. Meaning that wherever you are in the world all you need to do is set your VPN to connect to a US Server. Then open your HBO Now application which will register a US IP address and connect you automatically.

In addition, you can also use your VPN to access other content in the US like Netflix, and anything else which is region restricted.

As well as keeping your identity safe online, staying anonymous, avoiding censorship by local Internet Service Providers and protecting your device when it’s connected to unsecure public Wi-Fi hotspots.

Best VPN’s

IPVanish

IPVanish is our number one recommended VPN service. For those who like to trust a homegrown company then IPVanish would be the one for you. Renowned for their American style customer service and high ratings from their customers. IPVanish is based in the US and one of a handful of companies counted as a Tier 1 provider. They own all their own infrastructure and manage every part of their VPN. Which gives reassurances over third party servers which may sell on your data unknown to you.

You can choose from 40,000 IP addresses based across 1,500+ servers in over 60 countries, which means you are never far away from a super-fast connection. IP Vanish uses IP Pooling which means your IP address may be used by hundreds of other users, meaning traffic can never be traced to any one user.

The wide range of countries gives you a big selection to connect to and means there is too much distance for your data to travel. The greater the distance the slower it gets.

Their customer service is on offer 24/7 through chat, ticket and a rarity of having a toll-free US number which you can call anytime.

Annual subscriptions start from as little as $6.49 per month, allowing you to connect all your families devices up to a maximum of 10, and you get 30 days to get a refund if you change your mind.

Cyberghost

Cyberghost boasts well over 30 million users and has been a big player in the VPN industry for some time. For those who are bit suspicious of the US’s data retention laws you can rest safe in the knowledge that this Romanian based company keeps zero logs, nor does it have any legal obligation to do so based upon its country of origin.

The team is also highly transparent with an 80 strong development team and is one of the only companies where you can see the names and faces of the people behind the company.

With over 3,500+ servers, they also have 1,000 of those servers specially configured to deliver a high-speed Peer 2 Peer connection which is specially formulated to give you a quick connection for the transfer of data. Very useful for watching HBO outside of the US.

So, you can be sure wherever you are that your connection will be fast from the server they have in 65+ countries. They also have a wide range of additional service including a sophisticated ad and malware blocker, as well as an easy to use mobile application which has clear icons to access big streaming service like Netflix.

Cyberghost are also well know for their seriously low prices. Due to their size they can over multi-year subscriptions for as little as $2.10 per month, allowing you to connect to 7 devices at a time.

They are also one of the few companies to offer an extra-long 45-day money back guarantee period.

Nord VPN

NordVPN is probably the most recognized name in the VPN industry. They are consistently are on the cutting edge of innovation. Like their recent release of Nord Lynx which gives its users access to the super-fast Wire guard VPN protocol. Wire guard is still in the testing phase but offer much faster connection speeds and latency than the current OpenVPN industry standard.

They have the most servers of any VPN provider in the world, almost 6,000 servers across 60+ countries. And they regularly come almost top for the speed of their connections and low latency. Meaning HBO is always going to stream well through Nord VPN.

What sets them apart is the sheer range of additional services that they offer along side their VPN. You can route your connection through 2 VPN servers using DoubleVPN which makes your connection almost untraceable. For those who like to surf the dark web or are particularly concerned about privacy you can use their Tor over Onion feature to use the VPN to connect to the Onion Router.

In addition, you also get a nice Ad and Malware blocker in the form of Cybersec.

Like Cyberghost you can also access well over a thousand super-fast P2P servers for watching media and torrenting. Also, the company is based in Panama and has been audited by PwC to guarantee to its users that they are safe using their service.

With the most servers of any VPN provider globally, NordVPN is a monster of a service with 5,500+ servers across 60+ Countries. More servers mean a better choice for the user, and generally faster speeds and greater coverage.

You can get multiple year subscriptions from as little as $2.99 per month. A subscription covers 6 devices, as well as a 30-day money back guarantee.

How to Watch Sony Crackle Abroad

Sony Crackle can only be described as a nostalgic collection of TV shows from before the turn of the Century. It has morphed into a strange representation of classic shows after losing some pitched battles with Netflix and Love Film.

If you want to watch Sony Crackle though you’ll either need to be on a flight watching in through inflight entertainment. Staying in a hotel or living in the US. Otherwise you are out of luck.

What is Sony Crackle?

Sony Crackle has only been known by that name since 2018. It was first known as Grouper when the company first started in 2004. Grouper was then acquired by Sony in 2006 to become their own in house on demand TV streaming application for their old and new content.

Sony Crackle features notably the following genres:

• Crime
• Horror
• Sci-Fi
• Action
• Comedy
• Anime

Several popular series from the Anime producer FUNimation can be found on the platform. But most of the content looks decidedly dated, with the film of choice being advertised being Alien!

Why Can I Only Watch Sony Crackle in the US?

As a portal for Sony’s content, Crackle is only registered to deliver content in the US. Their servers will automatically try to detect the originating country for your IP address. Ff it’s found to not reside within the US then you’ll just get a black screen saying “Sony Crackle is not available at your location”

Previously Son Crackle was available in the UK and Australia. But the applications have since been pulled from the App Stores due to lack of demand and increasingly stiff competition from home grown streaming providers as well as Netflix.

What is a VPN?

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) allows you to anonymise your internet connection by encrypting your access point through a tunnel.

The VPN client is downloaded onto your device, and once activated creates a connection to your chosen country’s server. This connection is encrypted using an OpenVPN connection with 256-bit AES encryption. This encryption means that no one, not even your Internet Service Provider can detect where your traffic is bound to, they can only see it appearing and disappearing into your VPN’s DNS.

Using a VPN enable users not only to anonymise and keep their data private, but also to change their IP address and give themselves the appearance of being in a different country from their physical location.

Many VPN providers offer connections across the globe in thousands of servers.

How to Use a VPN to Watch Sony Crackle Abroad

To watch Sony Crackle using a VPN provider you need only find a VPN that has servers which are based in the US. Believe us, if they don’t have US based servers get rid of them!

All you need to do is connect to those servers first and then click to access Sony Crackle and your connection will be valid.

Now, you might think it would be a good idea to just use a free proxy or a free VPN, but these methods have a few drawbacks.

First, if the product is free then generally the payment is your data. Free proxies also have no encryption and you have no guarantee as to what is being done to your data at the end point that its emerging from.

Also, many VPN’s and proxies no longer work with large streaming providers who have invested in security and detection software which will block low grade VPN’s from accessing region restricted content.

Best VPN’s for Sony Crackle

We’ve tested all these VPN’s to make sure they will work with Sony Crackle wherever you are in the world.

IP Vanish

IP Vanish leads the market when it comes to fantastic service and customer support. Based in the US IPVanish is another Tier 1 provider that owns all its own DNS servers. Which enables it to deliver great service without potentially compromising your security of data to third parties.

They are the only company in our list who on top of a live chat system and email tickets, also offer a 24/7 toll free number to an English-speaking US agent.

They offer over 1,000 servers and 40,000 IP addresses across 75 locations spread around the world. Giving you the ability to access a quick connection wherever you are on holiday. Their IP Sharing service means that multiple users can use the same IP. Meaning that no traffic or action can be attributed to any individual user.

They offer great speeds and up to 10 simultaneous connections starting from as little $6.50 a month with a 30-day cooling off period.

Nord VPN

If you want to go big, then go Nord VPN. The Panama based VPN provider has risen over the years to become one of the largest VPN companies in the world. With millions of users and 5,500+ servers based in over 60 countries. Nord VPN offers the greatest coverage of any provider in terms of the sheer number of servers on offer. More servers mean a bigger spread of traffic and the ability to maintain high performance and stability even with many users.

Nord also differentiate themselves from their competitors by offering many additional features on top of their enormous server park and great connectivity.

With streaming they promise you don’t have to worry about buffering and IP blocking, by accessing several their high-speed Peer 2 Peer servers which have been specially configured to allow you to connect to Sony Crackle at high speeds. They even have a Smart Play function with modified servers just for popular streaming websites.

On top of that you also get their Cybersec feature. Imagine an internet without an annoying advert? How peaceful would that be, well dream no more because Cybersec turns that into a reality. The software blocks ads, malware and malicious websites.

If you need additional security or are particularly concerned about privacy you can choose their Double VPN service where your connection is routed through not one but two VPN connections. Making it impossible for anyone to trace your connection. Or perhaps you want to be highly secure browsing the internet and use their Tor over Onion feature and access The Onion Router over a VPN connection.

Price for multi-year passes start from as little as $2.15 a month, allowing you to connect 6 devices and a 30-day money back guarantee.

Cyberghost

Cyberghost is run by a 70 strong team from Romania. Their 30 million users affectionately call themselves “Ghosties” and Cyberghost offers one of the biggest and most comprehensive VPN’s in the world.

With 4,900+ servers in 59 countries. Cyberghost rates as one of the fastest VPN’s in the world with over 1,000 of those servers configured to deliver high speed P2P connections.

Cyberghost is loved because of their speed. They have some of the fastest connections in the industry as well as some of the lowest price. Their mobile application is incredibly easy to use. Alongside the web client and has been specially modified to use icons to access your favourite streaming channels.

You can get a multi-year subscription starting from as low as $2.10 per month. Allowing you to connect 7 devices and a whopping 45 days to get your money back no questions asked if you change your mind.

Surfshark

Surfshark is pegged to be the fastest growing VPN in 2019. Though they currently have a small user base compared to the previous big 3-4 players in the industry they are fast expanding their servers. They currently have over 800 servers in 56 countries. Though this is set to keep expanding.

What impressed us with Surf Shark is the sheer number of additional services provided with the VPN. Clean Web acts like Nord VPN’s Cybersec and provides an ad and malware blocking service. You can also Whitelist programmes to bypass the VPN if you want to use your regular network.

In addition, they have some cool additional security features. Camouflage Mode and No Borders Mode which enable your meta data to be scrambled and operate successfully in high censorship countries like China. You also have a Multi-Hop feature to bounce your connection through 2 VPN servers.

But what is really stimulating growth are their low prices. You can get a 2-year plan for $1.99 a month which is one of the lowest prices in the industry. Plus, you can connect an unlimited number of devices simultaneously. A promotional offer that we are sure will be pared back over time, as well as a 30-day money back guarantee.

Express VPN

Last but not least is Express VPN which has been awarded multiple times as the best VPN in the industry. You don’t get bells and whistles like several other providers, but it just works, all the time every time.

You can speed test local connections within the application. As well as enable scrambling through Express VPN’s DNS servers, which has served it well in the China market. Plus, they are fast, really fast. Express VPN has one of the fastest connections in the industry and that’s consistent from servers across the world.

Their no logs policy has been tested in an international criminal case and not been found wanting. They don’t keep logs even when their servers were confiscated.

They offer over 3,000 servers in 90+ countries giving it the biggest geographical reach of any VPN provider. Also the ability to choose between different levels of security if you want to eke out some extra speed.

Annual plans start from $6.67 a month, connect 5 devices and get a 30-day money back guarantee.

How to Watch Hulu Abroad

Taking a trip outside of the States is great. But what happens when you must leave the comforts of home behind.

Hulu may not work abroad if you just try and start the application without having a VPN.

In this guide we look at what Hulu is and why you can only watch it in the US. We explain how you can use a VPN to watch Hulu abroad, Rounding off with our top picks for the best VPN providers

What is Hulu?

Hulu is a completely subscription-based US service for on demand television first hitting the US in 2007. You can watch a wide range of TV Shows and Films offered by Disney and Comcast. As well as their recent offering of 50+ live TV channels which started in 2017.

Subscriptions start from $5.99 a month and Hulu has over 28 million subscribers in the US alone.

Hulu offers a tremendous range of channels including ABC, CBS, ESPN, Disney, Fox, and NBC. Get HBO for an extra $14.99 a month and Cinemax for another $9.99 a month.

Probably their most famous original TV show is the “Handmaid’s Tale” which won critical acclaim and a worldwide audience.

Why Can I only Watch Hulu in the US?

Hulu only has distribution rights for the US. So will be locked for any IP addresses outside the States.

When your device tries to access Hulu, their servers will first check you have a subscription to watch. Then match your account to the IP address on your device.

If that IP address cannot be located within the United States, then Hulu’s servers will block access.

Hulu has plans to expand internationally, and has been much slower than Netflix. But the content would certainly be altered by country in the same way as Netflix. Many countries with Netflix only display at most 35% of the content which is streamed in the US version.

What is a VPN?

A VPN is a Virtual Private Network. It works through software you’d download from a reputable company like IPVanish.

Once installed on your device you connect your VPN to their local DNS (Domain Name Server) this connection creates an “encrypted tunnel” for your data.

This means that all the data sent through the tunnel is made safe using 256-bit AES encryption. The exact same technology as used by the US military to maintain top secret documents.

A VPN also gives you access to thousands of servers across the world including in the US as well as many countries abroad. This means you can change your IP address and appear to be in a different country than your physical location.

How Can I Use a VPN to Watch Hulu Abroad?

Say you go on holiday to France, if you try to access Hulu through your device, Hulu’s servers will recognise that you are trying to log on from a French IP and say Hulu is not available in your country.

If you connect a VPN before logging onto Hulu, then you can connect to a server in the US first. This will give the impression that your IP is based in the US and you can access Hulu.

Be warned not all VPN; s will unblock Hulu. Similarly, to Netflix and BBC iPlayer Hulu has become more sophisticated at blocking people logging in from countries outside the US using a VPN.

In fact, they state explicitly in their user agreement, that people caught may have their subscription cancelled and service withdrawn. Though there has never been a public case of this happening.

Many VPN’s and free proxy services won’t be able to access Hulu and will be blocked.

Which is why we have picked out a few top-rated VPN providers which have been proven to work effectively with Hulu.

Best VPN’s for Hulu

We’ve tested all these VPN’s to make sure they will work with Hulu wherever you are in the world.

IP Vanish

IP Vanish is based in the US, and is another Tier 1 provider, owning all their own servers. They are well known for having fantastic customer service, high approval rating from their customers and good retention. Once you start using IPVanish you won’t want to go back!

They have some of the fastest servers in the industry and have over 1,000 servers in 70+ locations. Along with 40,000 IP addresses for you to choose from. They also use an innovative technology called IP Pooling which means that one IP can be used by multiple users. Making it impossible to attribute traffic from that IP to any one user.

More advanced and security conscious users can access the Socks5 Proxy. You can also choose the level of encryption depending on the speed of the connection you want. The rule of thumb is that, the more secure the connection is, the slower it is.

What really sets them apart though is their attention to detail and having customer service agents available on a toll-free US Number 24/7. Where most other companies only provide a live chat or ticket system.

Annual packages start from $6.67 a month, with a 30-day money back period and you get to connect to 10 devices at the same time.

Cyberghost

Cyberghost are a very public face of the VPN industry, and one of the few companies to put names and face to their 70 strong staff based in Romania. 

Like IPVanish though offer the same IP pooling service through their 3,000+ servers in over 60 countries. With 1,000 of those servers specially configured for P2P file sharing giving you blazing fast speeds.

The mobile application is incredibly easy to use, with links directly to Hulu as well as connecting you to the best server based upon your needs. You also get an ad blocker to block ads and Malware which is a lovely bonus.

They are about the same price as NordVPN coming in around $2 a month for a multi-year pass, allowing you to connect 7 devices at the same time and an industry leading 45 days to get your money back.

Express VPN

ExpressVPN is often ranked as the best VPN provider in the world and has been a market leader for years. Downloaded and used by millions of users worldwide, in China where government censorship has rendered many top VPN’s useless, ExpressVPN continue to thrive.

They offer 3,700+ server from 90+ countries in the world, and probably have the widest geographic country for any VPN in the world. This means that you are never far from a super-fast server. The further a server is from your location and the longer its going to take for data to go back and forth. Many smaller VPN’s don’t offer anywhere this type of coverage so have much slower connections.

ExpressVPN also have a solid zero logs policy based in Panama, which means they will never disclose details of what you do on their service to anyone, not even the government. As has been tested twice in 2 international criminal cases.

They rank as Tier 1 Provider as they own all their own DNS which means you never have to worry about your data being compromised or passed onto a third party. You can also decide the level of encryption you want, choosing LPTP or PPTP if you need a faster but less secure connection.

Express VPN are also extremely fast. Most VPN’s will slow down your connection speed by 30%, with Express VPN this drops to 5% or less.

Packages start from $6.67 per month for 12 months, with a 30-day money back period, and you can connect to 5 devices at the same time.

Nord VPN

If you are looking for sheer size and number of servers, then look no further than Nord VPN, with over 5000 servers in 60 countries, they have the biggest server park in the world and are another Tier 1 provider.

They also offer an impressive range of features, including Cybersec which lets you block adverts online, malware and other malicious websites. You can use their Double VPN feature to send your connection through 2 VPN servers making it impossible for anyone to track your connection. Or for the most security conscious use Tor over Onion to access The Onion Router via VPN, but not advised for streaming!

They offer several Peer 2 Peer servers which have been specially modified for fast data sharing, making them ideal for streaming, and have a solid zero logs policy being based in Panama.

With size comes great prices and you can get a multi-year subscription for around $2 a month, connect 6 devices and a 30-day money back guarantee.

Surf shark

Surf shark is a new kid on the block and currently has 800 servers in 56 countries but expect this to continue to grow rapidly. What makes them appealing is the 2-year plan which comes in at just under $2 a month, making them one of the cheapest VPN’s in the industry.

As a brand-new provider, they also provide a wealth of extra functions including Clean Web for ad and malware blocking. Camouflage Mode to further hide your traffic from your ISP. No Borders Mode to work in China and high censorship areas and Multi-Hop which allows you to connect through 2 VPN servers.

A great company with a bright future. You can also connect an unlimited number of devices on annual plans and get 30 days for a refund if you change your mind.