By Thomas Fals onGuide Highlights
- In order to unblock a US only service you need to use a VPN Connection such as Hide My Ass
- Lastly you need to sign up for Netflix. Simply connect to the VPN server in the US and then use a 5 digit zip code once you need to enter your credit card info.
It is no longer a secret that Netflix will launch a Brazilian version of Netflix within the end of 2011, but the US version will always have the best content. Just ask the Canadians who were the first to get a local version of Netflix. Now over a year later, the service is still inferior to the original US counterpart and tons of Canadians are unblocking the US version of Netflix – read on and learn how you can unblock Netflix in Brazil too.
How to Hide From Netflix that you are in Brazil
Just like many other online services Netflix will take a look at your IP address when you connect to the service. This will be a dead give away that you are located in Brazil. Don’t worry if you don’t know what an IP address is. Basically it is a number that you inherit when going online via your ISP.
So in order to make Netflix think we are in the US and not Brazil, we need to get an American IP address. We need to connect to a Virtual Private Network also know as VPN. This will allow your computer, phone, iPad or whatever device you are watching Netflix on to send all data via a server located in the US. This will fool Netflix into thinking you are in the US too.
Setting up a VPN from Brazil
When streaming video you should be looking for a VPN provider that can ensure that you get plenty of bandwidth. Unfortunately this is easier said than done, and I had to go trough quite a few providers before settling with Hide My Ass VPN. They gave me the best results, and the setup was far simpler than any other solution I came across. All you have to do is install the PC or Mac app and then select in what country you want to connect. Besides you can get 60% of when ordering the 12-month package, so the price point is also the best in the market. That is all there is to it, and then afterwards you can go register a Netflix account. Just remember to be connected with the VPN when you do this or the sign up will fail.
If you want to watch Netflix on the iPad, iPhone or Android phone just use the manual settings from Hide My Ass and you will be good to go. I used this method myself when I lived in Ipanema, Brazil for 6 months. What a great country Brazil is – estou com saudade 