With an efficient healthcare system, an outstanding educational system, and 4 of the 50 most delightful foods in the world, Singapore is one of the top countries in Asia. Not only that, but it’s also an advanced country, with its internet penetration rate standing at 83.6 percent. The country has everything and a lot going for it, except access to American Netflix, unfortunately.
Thankfully, all hope is not lost as regards access to the US Netflix. And we’re certain this will come as a relief to most Singapore residents. Like most streaming services out there, Netflix enforces geo-restrictions, blocking non-US residents from accessing the largest catalog on the platform. If you’re living in an Asian country, this article aims to teach you how to watch US Netflix in Singapore. So, follow us to the end as we discover all the best VPNs for unblocking Netflix.
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Our Top VPN Recommendations for Netflix USA
The market is not short on options when it comes to VPNs. But which ones are capable of handling this task efficiently? Look at them below.
NordVPN
NordVPN is the gold standard in the Virtual Private Network industry. Having spent over 10 years in this super-competitive business, the lofty standards that the company maintains are clear to see. To guarantee total anonymity, the company maintains a zero-logging policy. This means you don’t have to be ever worried about your information getting leaked.
What’s more, the VPN provider operates 5400+ servers over 60 countries globally, with some servers being optimized for video streaming. Apart from that, some servers are also optimized for Tor over VPN, double VPN, and anti-DDoS, which should be sufficient for all your needs. Out of their 5400+ servers, 62 are located in Singapore. Thus, it’s also easy to stream Singaporean content from foreign countries.
This provider has infrastructures in place to get past Netflix’s geo-restrictions and to unblock content from other streaming services. It’s also worth mentioning NordVPN offers budget-friendly plans that won’t harm your pocket.
ExpressVPN
Combining a minimalistic, functional, and neat design with flawless service, ExpressVPN completely deserves its spot on our list. The provider operates more than 3,000 VPN servers dispersed over 94 countries around the world, including the US and Singapore. With all these servers, it won’t be a problem to find an adequate connection.
The provider also has a dedicated Netflix page, where it recommends the servers that can unblock Netflix at different times. While these servers can change sometimes, you can always chat them up with the 24/7 live chat for advice on which server is currently working. Also, all the subscriptions come with a 30-day money-back guarantee, allowing you to test it out risk-free.
In terms of speed, we also found the speed ideal for HD streaming. In fact, ExpressVPN is the fastest in the world, so you can expect to stream your favorite movies without buffering. For device compatibility, the VPN works with all the major platforms and operating systems.
PureVPN
PureVPN is another solid choice if you want to get US Netflix in Singapore, albeit behind our first two recommendations. Performance-wise, this VPN deserves some credit, boasting a large server network, a stable network, and a high-speed connection.
In terms of the server network, the company operates 6000+ servers across about 180 locations. In fact, the company claims that they will never run out of new IP addresses. So, even if Netflix blocks one of their IP addresses, you can get another one by connecting to another server.
And of course, customer care is sublime, as they have representatives who are always willing to help. There’re helpful articles on their knowledge base as well, so you can independently solve your problems. Lastly, the available plans are budget-friendly, so you don’t have to break the bank.
How to Watch US Netflix in Singapore with a VPN
To set things up and running in the Asian country, you need to follow our step-by-step guide below. Therefore, follow the steps below and you will be able to enjoy US Netflix in a couple of minutes.
- Subscribe with one of the VPNs we recommend for US Netflix.
- Download the VPN app and install it on your chosen device.
- Launch the application and log in with your credentials.
- Find a US-based server and connect to it.
- Open the Netflix website and sign in to your account.
- Watch Netflix USA in Singapore
Why is the US Netflix Library Blocked in Singapore?
It’s because of the contract Netflix signed with content producers and owners. As you probably know, the streaming company doesn’t own the bulk of their content. So, they buy the broadcasting license so they’d be able to broadcast the content.
However, this restricts them in two major ways. Firstly, these content producers usually have restrictions that prevent the company from broadcasting their content outside of the United States. This often happens because of different copyright and content licensing laws in various countries.
Secondly, the content producers may have sold the distribution rights to broadcast the movies in some other countries to some other streaming services. Therefore, while Netflix may have the rights to broadcast a movie or TV show in the US, they can’t broadcast the same content in Singapore. That’s because another streaming service may have bought the exclusive rights to broadcast the content in the country.
Besides, if a movie doesn’t have much demand in a country, it doesn’t make sense for Netflix from an economic point of view to purchase the license for that country. Thus, such a movie will be available in the American catalog but unavailable in the Singaporean catalog.
Lastly, different countries often have different laws, and that may affect the availability of some tiles in some countries. For instance, an episode of the Patriot Act – a popular comedy show – was believed to have violated some cybercrime laws of Saudi Arabia. So, the episode was blocked in the country.
Is it Illegal to Unblock Netflix with a VPN?
No, it is not. Unblocking Netflix with a VPN is against the terms of service of the streaming company, but you are not likely to get arrested for that like you would for engaging in video piracy. While Netflix may decide to close down your Netflix account, that would even be too severe. Rather than doing that, they have created a system that detects VPN users and blocks their connections.
To regain your access, you would need to turn off the VPN. This means you won’t be able to access US Netflix from Singapore any longer. This ban has affected many VPNs and some of them have even given up the idea of unblocking Netflix completely. So, we hope you now understand why it’s dangerous to choose just any VPN.
How a VPN Enables Access to American Netflix Content
The ability of a VPN to spoof helps open access to American TV shows and movies in the manner below. Once a user opens his application and picks a US-based server, he’ll appear as though he’s connecting from the US.
On seeing his IP address, the streaming service will believe he is connecting from the US. Thus, he will automatically direct his connection to the US library. We know that sounds as easy as pie, right? Well, it was easy for a long time. Then the company became aware and began to block VPN access.
They became so good at detecting VPN connections, chasing many VPN providers out of the business of unblocking Netflix, even. They started blacklisting the IP addresses popular with servers owned by different VPN providers. While bigger VPN providers can match their effort because of their unlimited resources, smaller providers aren’t so lucky.
Some providers still hang in there even today, although they can sometimes be slow to react when Netflix blocks them.
Till today, some VPN companies are still successfully bypassing Netflix. That’s despite the continued efforts of the streaming company to make life difficult for them. Luckily, the VPN providers we have recommended here are always quick to reach when Netflix blocks their servers.
Should I use a free VPN?
There are many free VPN providers on the internet and they are not even difficult to find. It’s always tempting to sign up with them since you don’t need to make any advance payment. But the harm they do is way more than their benefits.
Free VPNs aren’t charity organizations, so they look for ways to generate income for maintenance and some overhead costs. Since they can’t generate any money from payments made by customers, they start generating money off the unsuspecting customers.
For example, tons of free VPNs insert tracking cookies into their customer’s browsers, mine their information, and sell the information collected to third parties. This way, they don’t guarantee anonymity and privacy. Even if they don’t end up selling your information, you’re not prepared for the invasive ads that may likely follow.
The premium VPNs in our recommendation provide a wide range of servers so you can watch American Netflix in Singapore or anywhere else. On the other hand, free VPN services give you a part of the same standard but expect bandwidth throttling, data caps, and limited server options. Stay away from these traps in any way possible.
Final Thoughts
Boasting the world’s most exciting movies and TV shows, including blockbuster series that are hardly out of the oven, the US Netflix is truly incredible. If you have ever had a taste of it, it’s difficult to get used to another inferior catalog. This explains why Singapore residents are always looking for ways to get past the geo-restrictions imposed by the streaming company.
Our aim at the beginning of this article was to enlighten you on how to watch US Netflix in Singapore. And we believe you now know exactly how to go about it, especially with our detailed explanations. Henceforth, we hope you will never miss any of your favorite movies because of geo-restrictions again.
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