Netflix Not Working With Private Internet Access? How To Fix it (2024)

At a Glance

“Whoops, something went wrong…Streaming Error. You seem to be using an unblocker or proxy. Please turn off any of these services and try again.”

UGH! This is what you definitely don’t want to see displayed when you’re vacationing or working in another country and are in the mood to settle in and do a bit of binging of your favorite Netflix content.

Can My VPN Provider (PIA) Help Me Watch Netflix?

While a Virtual Private Network (VPN) continues to be a practical way to view Netflix, many VPN providers no longer claim Netflix compatibility, due to Netflix blacklisting their IP addresses.

While Private Internet Access does provide access to Netflix in some countries (The United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, Denmark, Germany, and Sweden), it doesn’t work in all Netflix countries. So, what can you do if you’re looking to connect to content in a different country?

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How Netflix Prevents a VPN Provider From Providing Access to Its Content

VPN users make use of their encrypted connections for many reasons, including privacy and for accessing content from other countries. Many users simply keep their VPN turned on whenever they’re online no matter what they’re doing, be it browsing Amazon, checking their bank balances, or viewing streaming video from providers, such as Netflix.

When a VPN customer connects to their VPN provider of choice, the user is assigned a new IP address. The VPN-assigned IP address is shared by other customers of the same VPN provider.

IP address-sharing allows for two things: economy of use and protection of your anonymity (due to other users’ activity coming through that same address).

However, that same shared IP address makes it easy for Netflix and other streaming services to detect when a viewer is accessing their servers via a VPN provider. Netflix can then blacklist that particular address from accessing their servers, which results in the VPN’s users no longer being able to view their favorite movies and television show episodes.

Once customers begin to complain about no longer being able to access Netflix via a particular server or servers, the VPN provider checks to make sure the address(es) have indeed been blacklisted and sets up a group of new IP addresses allowing their users to once again view Netflix content.

Then, Netflix discovers the fresh IP addresses, blacklists them, and the whole vicious cycle begins anew.

While this may be aggravating, Netflix is within its rights in doing this. The video-streaming provider has contracts with content providers, such as movie and television studios, which require them to stream the licensed content only in certain geographical areas. ​Learn how to change Netflix region.

This results in situations where your favorite movie might be available for viewing in the United States, but not in the United Kingdom.

VPN Alternatives

Before January 2016, I’d hazard to say that most VPN services would have done a good job of unblocking geographical restrictions on Netflix’s streaming content.

However, when Netflix began blocking VPN and proxy service customers from accessing their servers, many VPN providers, Private Internet Access included, began to believe they might be fighting a losing battle.

Over the last few years, many VPN providers have pulled their claims of Netflix-unblocking support from the features page of their websites.

However, there are still some VPN providers that are willing and able to continue waging a battle against the Netflix blockade.

While Private Internet Access has made a bit of a comeback when it comes to providing access to Netflix and other streamers, it still strikes out from time to time.

Best Blocked-Netflix Workaround: NordVPN

One VPN provider that continues to promote and offer reliable access to blocked Netflix content is NordVPN.

Global Server Coverage

NordVPN has more than 5,600 VPN servers located in 60+ countries, providing an excellent way to access geo-blocked content – such as that offered by Netflix – around the globe.

​Connection Speed

In addition to comprehensive global server coverage, NordVPN offers top-notch connection speeds, providing more than enough horsepower to easily stream Netflix content – even 4K HDR content – to your heart’s content. (Depending on how fast your usual ISP speeds are, of course.)

NordVPN delivered average download speeds measuring in at 196.4 Mbps in my most recent connection speed tests.

​Privacy and Security Protection

NordVPN also supplies excellent privacy protections, keeping no user activity logs of any kind. The provider never logs browsing history, destinations visited, accessed data content, IP addresses, or DNS queries. Therefore, they do not know where you traveled, or what your online activities were while you were connected to their VPN servers.

In addition, this provider accepts Bitcoin as payment for their services. Bitcoin is arguably the most privacy-friendly online payment service available today, completely protecting the identity of the Bitcoin user.

Additionally, NordVPN’s owned-and-operated servers prevent third-party contractors from having access to your personal information. Not only that but all NordVPN servers are run solely from volatile RAM, with no data whatsoever written to a physical hard drive. What this means for the user is that they can be assured that all data is automatically and completely wiped from the provider‘s servers whenever they are rebooted or shut down.

NordVPN protects your internet connection with banking-grade encryption, a kill switch, DNS/IP leak prevention, and more. The provider’s proprietary NordLynx connection protocol is based on the open-source WireGuard protocol. NordVPN also offers malware protection, along with ad and tracker blocking.

​Multi-Platform Support

As Netflix is available on most popular connected device platforms, multi-platform support is an important consideration for any VPN provider. NordVPN provides native apps for Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Amazon Fire, Linux, and Android TV devices. (The macOS app offers native support for M1 and M2 chips.) Plus, the provider allows up to six simultaneous connections under one account.

Also available from the provider are browser extensions for the Chrome, Edge, and Firefox browser platforms.

Users looking to protect and enhance their online activities on every connected device in their home or small business can also use NordVPN with their router, thereby protecting the internet connection of every device that connects to the router. In addition, ready-to-go routers can be purchased from FlashRouters.com.

​Customer Support

While I wouldn’t wish technical or billing issues on any of my readers, it’s entirely possible you’ll need to contact your VPN provider’s customer support department at one time or another. When an issue does arise, you’ll want to feel confident that you’ll receive a prompt, informed response to your support inquiry.

NordVPN offers customer support that is some of the best in the VPN industry. The company offers multiple types of support to its customers, including online support text chat, a trouble ticket submission form, and an easy-to-search support library.

I always receive quick and informed responses whenever I have questions, and the support library is an excellent resource for “do-it-yourself” answer searches.

​Pricing

NordVPN offers monthly, one-year, and two-year subscription options. While the provider’s month-to-month subscription offering is a bit expensive, costing you about the same as a Netflix subscription, the provider’s one and two-year options reduce the price considerably, dropping the price down somewhere in the range of a large and medium cup of coffee from your favorite fancy coffee shop.

Roll ’em!

My experience with NordVPN in accessing Netflix’s geographical content was mostly positive. However, it was not trouble-free. Occasionally, a VPN server that worked well in accessing a foreign Netflix streaming server would suddenly stop working (likely due to Netflix having discovered the IP was being used by a VPN provider.)

When I was met with such a failure, I was many times able to simply disconnect and then reconnect to the same server, thereby securing a different virtual IP address, which apparently hadn’t as yet been outed as a VPN address.

In some cases, I needed to select an entirely different VPN server location.

There’s no telling how long NordVPN will continue to be a reliable way of accessing Netflix servers, but as of this writing, they are still fighting the good fight and staying firmly engaged in the IP address chess game.

Netflix VPN FAQs