Beat the Hola Netflix Block With These Tips

Despite raves about Hola, one thing dampens most people’s experience: it doesn’t let you access US Netflix despite claims. This isn’t really surprising; most free VPNs don’t have topnotch features and capabilities that can unblock Netflix or other geo-restrictions.

The inability to unblock US Netflix is not the only issue with Hola VPN. The provider is clouded with many controversies about its security and the way it operates. You will find out more about these issues later. We will also give you great Hola alternatives, so read on.

Why can’t Hola bypass Netflix geo-block

Netflix makes use of sophisticated technology that doesn’t only help the site implement geo-blocking, but also aid in blocking VPNs. The easiest VPNs to block are those that are offered for free (like Hola) since they don’t have advanced capabilities that can bypass a VPN blocker. Most of them can’t even get around geo-restrictions.

I used to use a VPN called Hola to use the American version of Netflix as it’s 1000x better than the UK version, but now Netflix have blocked most free VPN’s and I’m not ready to buy one lol. I wish we had Hulu in the UK. Maybe with the Disney acquisition we’ll be able to soon.

— Jack ? (@jack_thfc_) March 27, 2019

If you’re like the Twitter user above who want to access the US Netflix library but is not yet ready to pay for a VPN, keep in mind that signing up for a paid VPN service is more effective and ultimately worth the cost. After all, you can get a premium VPN service for as low as under $3 per month if you sign up for a longer term. Aside from giving you access to the Netflix US library, you will enjoy the security and privacy that come with VPNs.

We tested many VPN providers, and found these two VPNs to work with Netflix:

[affilioProvider max=”2″ top=”n” cat=’netflix’]

How do VPN providers get around the Netflix VPN ban?

We have tested each of the VPN providers above, and we can attest that they are effective in bypassing VPN blockers and geoblocking. Read our detailed review of these providers to see speed test results, the number of server locations, and expert assessments of their logging policy, customer support, and features.

These recommended VPN providers have the following characteristics in common:

• Wide network of servers: A provider with more than 2,000 servers is a good choice. Apart from the quantity, you also have to look at the server locations. If you’re looking to unblock US Netflix, then make sure that the VPN has multiple servers spread throughout the US. The same is true if you want to access content specific to other countries.
• Fast streaming experience: There are instances when a VPN can improve the speed of your Netflix connection by bypassing ISP speed throttling. We observed this when we tested the VPN providers listed above. The short video below proves that the right VPN can improve connection speed:

There are also VPN providers that have a feature that automatically detects the fastest VPN server for you, which is very helpful. Also, take a look at the fastest VPN provider here.

• Thousands of IP addresses: One method by which Netflix blocks VPNs is IP address blocking. Netflix blocks IP addresses that are known to be assigned to a VPN provider. It can also detect IP addresses that are consuming more than the normal bandwidth. This is the main reason why free VPNs are easily blocked—when thousands of people use the same IP address, this raises a red flag that the IP address is associated with a VPN and needs to be blocked.

Top VPN providers have plenty of optimized servers and tens of thousands of IP addresses, making it hard for Netflix to block them all. Also, since these VPNs are paid, only a few users are on the same IP address, ensuring that bandwidth usage is well within the normal range.

Alternatives to Hola

Hola is a free VPN service; the reason why it’s free is quite innovative. Unlike other free VPN services that earn from ads, Hola users get the service for free in exchange for their bandwidth. While Hola’s collaborative P2P system is an unconventional idea where the idle resources of its users are shared, it can have negative effects such as the following:

• You become a proxy server: While on the Hola P2P network, each user is a proxy server used to forward someone else’s traffic. This means that you could be held responsible for illegal activities that other people within the Hola network are doing. Check out the video below to know how Hola sells your IP address and bandwidth to Luminati, Hola’s sister VPN service.

• Logging policy: Hola logs and stores a lot of user information, as stated on its privacy policy page. Here’s a quote from this policy: “Personal information is information that may be of a private or sensitive nature, and which identifies or may identify you. The Personal Information we may collect and retain includes your IP address, your name and email address, screen name, payment and billing information or other information we may ask from time to time as will be required for the on-boarding process and services provisioning.” Furthermore, although Hola does not sell or rent personal information, but it may disclose them to trusted third party service providers, subsidiaries, and affiliated companies.
• No encryption: VPNs are characterized by the secure encryption tunnel they create for their users’ connections. According to research done by Trend Micro, Hola doesn’t encrypt traffic at all. For this reason, it’s unfair to call Hola a VPN service when it fails to secure and anonymize its users.

• Questionable security: Because of the lack of encryption, Hola is susceptible to man-in-the-middle attacks and other threats to online security. True enough, Hola has a history of being used for botnet attacks, and there’s no reason this won’t happen again.
• Slows down your connection: You will be sharing your bandwidth with other users, so your connection will naturally slow down.

With these items making Hola an unattractive VPN service provider, you will be better off with the recommended VPN providers we listed above. However, if you’re looking for free alternatives to Hola, you can take advantage of the free trial period of these Netflix VPN providers. Most of them also offer a money-back guarantee period. You can get the feel of their services, and see for yourself how these VPNs let you access the US Netflix library.

Hopefully this works ok, but if not I have a 30 day money back guarantee on my VPN 🙂 Some Italian streamer is already live on Twitch though??

— Jason Balfour (@_oO_Ghost_Oo_) March 11, 2019

There are also free VPN providers that we’ve tested and are proven to be reliable and effective in bypassing geo-blocks and VPN blockers. These are real VPNs in every sense of the word since they encrypt your traffic, though they have limits of some sort (time, data, or servers).

Whatever VPN service provider you choose, make sure that it is secure and reliable by researching about it first. You can read our reviews and VPN comparisons before finally signing up. Online privacy and security should be your top priority especially if you constantly use the Internet for work, business, and even entertainment, like watching US Netflix’s shows and movies.