I recently traveled to China on a business trip and I found Hotstar didn’t work there. It seems Hotstar didn’t let me stream any Indian entertainment content including Sports (Cricket) outside India. Whenever I tried to watch movies, shows, and sports content on Hotstar, I just received a message saying: “This content is not available in your region.” My friend told me hotstar is meant to be used within India due to copyright problem. But I am still wondering if there is a way to bypass this restriction and watch Hotstar outside India? If you are facing the same problem in accessing Hotstar content outside India, just keep reading. This article is going to provide you with options on how you can bypass the geo-restrictions placed on the HotStar app from abroad. The solution is very simple and straightforward.

About Hotstar

Hotstar is India’s largest premium streaming platform launched in 2015 that allows people to watch their favorite TV shows, movies, sports & live news on-the-go. On this video-on-demand streaming website, you can watch Indian TV shows, Bollywood movies, and live sports streaming for IPL, Formula 1, Motorsports, Kabbadi, Cricket, Tennis etc. In addition to the website, Hotstar is available as an application across mobile devices which are running on Android, iOS and Apple TV platforms. As for now, Hotstar provides more than 100,000 hours of drama and movies in 17 languages, and it covers every major global sporting event.

Hotstar comes with two unique subscription packages, Hotstar VIP and Hotstar Premium. Hotstar VIP will offer live sports, web originals (Hotstar Specials) and Star Indias local content at Rs 365 per year, making it cheapest among paid video OTT services. With that price, you can get an ad-free content consumption experience. However, it doesn’t offer access to uncut Hollywood movies and American TV shows. If you need that, there is also a ‘Hotstar Premium’ subscription plan priced at Rs 129 a month or Rs 999 per year, which grants you access to all their premium content including the latest American TV shows and blockbuster Hollywood movies.

Actually, Hotstar is not only available in India. It has extended its services in USA and Canada too, but the content available online in these regions is limited. The FAQ page mentions that the membership is not transferrable between the countries Hotstar is available in, so US Hotstar users are entitled to watch videos in the US only. Similarly, an Indian user in the US will not be able access any content either. This geo-restrictions placed on Hotstar service make lots of Hotstar fans outside India are not able to access the stream from abroad. So, how to gain unrestricted access to the content available on Hotstar India from anywhere in the world? VPN is a good tool that helps users from anywhere in the world access Hotstar without any hassle.

What Happened if You Access Hotstar Outside India?

Owned by Novi Digital Entertainment, Hotstar is one of the best streaming platforms that offers users the latest in Indian reality TV, movies, and soap operas. You can watch television series, latest movies, and live sports events on your PC, Smartphones and tablets with this service. However, Hotstar is geo-blocked. It uses geolocation technology to block viewers outside India. So, if you’re located outside India, streaming all the great Indian content is going to be a bit of a challenge.

Whenever you try to stream online, you will be presented with a Content Unavailable message saying that “This content is currently not available in your region“.

Also there is country based content filtering started on hotstar. When you watch Hotstar from USA, you will see a different content library from what you can see in India. And also, if you access Hotstar from Canada, it will present you see a limited content library as well. With a large number of Indians living abroad, accessing Hotstar from outside India is quite necessary.

VPN is The Best Tool to Watch Hotstar Outside India

Internet users from time immemorial have been using proxies and SmartDNS services to access content/websites that are unavailable in their own region, but nothing can beat a good VPN service. For internet users who are outside India, VPN service provides easiest and safest way for them to unblock Hotstar website & app.

A VPN stands for Virtual Private Network which connects your device to a remote server in the location of your choice, masking your IP address to make it look like you’re accessing the internet from another location. With a VPN, it will geo-locate you virtually to India by connecting you to one of the Indian servers. Once connected, you will get full access the Indian version of Hotstar no matter what country you are in. As a bonus, VPN also hides your online activity and makes sure your internet connection is safe. There are hundreds of VPN tools available on internet. Choosing the right VPN to watch Hotstar outside India is not easy because Hotstar can use anti-VPN technology to compare your IP address with a list of known VPN servers. Once it finds a match, it stops you from watching your favorite content by displaying an error message like this:

The best VPNs for Hotstar can help you bypass the VPN block by regularly refreshing their servers’ IPs to avoid detection. They also gives you secure, fast, and anonymous internet access. More importantly, they should offer unlimited bandwidth and high-speed servers in India – after all, there’s nothing worse than sitting around in silence while your stream buffers. Here we recommend some best VPNs for you to let you watch Hotstar even if you’re travelling or living somewhere else in the world. All of them offer 256-bit encryption, a strict no-logs policy, and an automatic kill switch to prevent unprotected data from leaving your network in the rare event that your VPN connection fails.

Our Recommended VPNs:

1. ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is the best VPN for streaming your favorite content from any location without compromising speed or your privacy thanks to its fast speeds, a high level of security, and the ability to view content from all over the world. The VPN operates 3,000+ VPN servers in 160 VPN server locations in 94 countries. Their blazingly fast servers are excellent for HD streaming and speedy downloading. With ExpressVPN, you not only can watch Hotstar abroad, but also unblock streaming video on sites like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, HBO, BBC and others. ExpressVPN apps are available on Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android, Amazon Fire TV, Linux, and certain wifi routers. With a single account, you can connect up to five devices at once. ExpressVPN provides excellent features like Split tunneling, Kill switch, DNS/IPv6 leak protection, Zero-knowledge DNS, No Logging Policy, 256-bit AES encryption to ensure your online anonymity, so you’ll never have to worry about monitoring or logging. Its support is top-notch, fast and knowledgeable.

The price of ExpressVPN starts with $12.95 per month, which is a bit higher than their competitors. However, the service is offering a flat 49% discount on its yearly plan with further 3 months free now. Concisely, ExpressVPN is offering 15 months package at the price of $99.95, equivalent to paying $6.67 per month. Even better, ExpressVPN offers a 30 days money-back guarantee. If you are not satisfied with the service, you can always get a refund. No questions asked. Get fast, throttle-free access to Hotstar streaming with ExpressVPN Now!

2. NordVPN

NordVPN is another good choice to unblock Hotstar when you are outside India. It combines high speeds, unlimited bandwidth, and top-of-the-line security features to bring you the smoothest Hotstar streaming experience possible. NordVPN is based in Panama which has some of the best privacy laws in the world, ensuring the no-logs policy can be adhered to. The network of servers covers over 5400+ servers in 59 different countries, including India, so you can use this service to unblock Hotstar, Netflix, Hulu, and many other streaming sites. Compared to other VPNs, NordVPN has an unique feature. Its SmartPlay technology combines the best features of the VPN and Smart DNS technologies that will make streaming geo-blocking content quiteeasy. It automatically detects the server you need to bypass a geoblock and makes the switch for you, so you can go from Netflix US to Hotstar in a single click without having to change any of your settings. Other advanced security features include Kill Switch, CyberSec, DNS Leak Protection, Double VPN, Onion Over VPN, and more.

NordVPN pricing is quite flexible. Their 1-month plan is available for $11.95, but if you pay a year upfront, you will get a significant discount. NordVPN also offers 2-Year Plan and 3-Year Plan. The longer you pay, the better value you get. You can get its 3 years plan with a price of $3.49 per month. That means you can enjoy online anonymity for 3 years by paying $125.64 only. NordVPN offers a 30 day money-back guarantee. This gives you plenty of time to test if Hotstar can work when you are outside India. Try to unlock Hotstar Geo-restrictions and watch it anywhere with NordVPN now!

3. PureVPN

To get the convenience of streaming Hotstar from anywhere in the world, PureVPN is helpful as it can give you a completely buffer-free streaming experience by offering you more than 2000 servers that are optimized for streaming. The service is not just available on Windows, Mac, iOS and Android. It is also compatible with gaming consoles, BoxeeBox, Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, all major browsers and more than 20 other OSs and devices. PureVPN masks your real IP address and conceals your actual location, making it impossible for ISPs and streaming service providers to restrict your streaming activity. No matter where you are, you can stream Hotstar with complete privacy. The service also ensures that you get the best speeds while getting complete access to your favorite sports content. With ultra-fast HD streaming, dedicated servers, unlimited bandwidth, and 5 simultaneous connections, you have no reasons not to use its service.

Pure VPN offers three subscription plans, with 1 month, 3-months, or 1-year subscription. The 1-month plan is usually $10.95 a month while the 3-month plan reduces the price down to $8.00/month. To get their customers to commit to longer-term subscriptions, PureVPN is now offering up to 82% discount if you pay for one year upfront, which works out to be $23.88 a year with 31 days money back guarantee. This discount brings the price down to $1.99 a month. Enjoy Cricket all around the year with PureVPN!

How to Use a VPN to Watch Hotstar outside India?

  1. Register your preferred VPN service and get your account.
  2. Download and insteall the VPN app to the platform of your choice.
  3. Connect to a VPN server that is located in India since you want to watch Hotstar outside India.
  4. Now, you are virtually in India and you can access Hotstar or complete content library of Hotstar from anywhere in the world!

Top 10 + Best VPN Services Worldwide

Ratings Jurisdiction # of Connections Price(USD) WebSite
ExpressVPN Review British Virgin Islands 5 $6.67/Month (Save 49%) Best Deals
NordVPN Review Panama 6 $3.49/Month (Save 70%) View Deals
VPNArea Review Bulgaria 6 $4.18/Month (Save 50%) View Deals
IPVanish VPN Review USA 10 $6.49/Month (Save 46%) View Deals

View More Top 10 Best VPN Services Here »

Conclusion:

Can’t wait to catch up on all your favorite Hotstar shows and movies when you are outside India? Still getting error message telling you “This content is not available in your region”? Well, accessing Hotstar outside India is pretty easy if you have the right tool to work around the restrictions. The above recommended VPNs enable users just like you to watch Hotstar outside India from any corner of the globe. They can help you unlock geo-blocked and censored content from around the world safely and anonymously, while protecting your online activities against hackers and attackers in a comprehensive and robust way. But please remember one thing: if you are trying to watch Hotstar in highly censored countries like China, you should set up your VPN before you go to China because most VPN company websites have been blocked in China now.

Published by Tony Shepherd & last updated on January 17, 2020 8:06 am

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