Can’t watch a video because of a YouTube block? The best way to unblock YouTube videos is to use a VPN connection. It only takes a couple of minutes to set up a VPN. Just follow these steps:
- Subscribe to the VPN provider of your choice. We recommend NordVPN, since it’s one of the fastest VPNs around and can unblock anything.
- Download the VPN software from the NordVPN website.
- Log in with your account and connect to the VPN.
- Select a server in a country where the YouTube video isn’t blocked.
- Watch your YouTube video!
You can get started with NordVPN right away and make use of the 30-day money back guarantee!
Below, we explain how you can figure out in which country a YouTube video is still available, as well as some other ways to get around YouTube censorship.
If you spend a lot of time on YouTube, chances are you’re familiar with the “This video is unavailable” notification. Due to copyright restrictions or censorship, not all YouTube videos or live streams are available worldwide.
Luckily, you can unblock YouTube videos easily if you make use of a VPN. We tested 25+ VPNs to see how good they were at getting around geo-restrictions on YouTube, and there was a clear winner: NordVPN. Whether it’s listening to your favorite music or tuning in to live sports, NordVPN can bypass geo-blocks with a single click.
In this step-by-step guide, we show you how you can use a VPN to unblock YouTube videos, as well as other tricks to try.
How to Unblock Videos on YouTube: Use a VPN
The easiest and most reliable way to unblock YouTube videos is to use a VPN. By using a VPN, you can change your virtual location to a country where the video you want to watch is available. Since your real IP address remains hidden, you can unblock the YouTube video from anywhere you like.
Whether you’re at school, work, or traveling — NordVPN bypasses YouTube restrictions easily. An added bonus is NordVPN’s built-in ad blocker that will keep YouTube’s incessant ads at bay.
If you find a YouTube video unavailable, follow these three steps:
1. Get a VPN: NordVPN
Are your favorite YouTube videos blocked? The first thing you need to do is subscribe to a VPN provider. A VPN will encrypt your internet traffic and redirect it through an external server. When we subscribed to NordVPN, the provider changed our virtual location and gave us a different IP address.
NordVPN has 5,000 VPN servers all over the world, giving you countless options to unblock international content. For example, if you want to watch live streams of US sports, all you need to do is connect to a VPN server in the United States.
To get started with NordVPN, visit the NordVPN website and choose a plan. There’s always a great deal you can make use of!
Follow the sign-up steps to create a NordVPN account. You’ll be asked to submit an email address and password and select a payment method. If you make use of NordVPN’s 30-day money-back guarantee, you can try the VPN out for a month before committing.
2. Download the NordVPN software
Next, you’ll need to install the NordVPN software on your PC or mobile device. NordVPN has apps for all major operating systems. You can even install this VPN provider on your Wi-Fi router or Smart TV if you want to optimize your YouTube viewing experience.
If you’re on a PC, go to the “Download VPN” tab and run the installation wizard.
Once the installation has been completed, log in with your NordVPN account.
The VPN client will get you set up. Make sure you’ve got Threat Protection and the kill switch enabled. This will make it much easier to unblock YouTube videos, keep your IP address hidden, and protect you from connections that can be unsafe.
After that, you’re ready to unblock any YouTube video you like.
3. Connect to a server and unblock YouTube!
Getting blocked by YouTube can be very frustrating. Luckily, a good VPN with multiple servers around the world can help. All you have to do is connect to a server in a country where the YouTube video you want to watch is available, and that’s it.
For example, we tried to watch a sports live stream, but the video was unavailable. So, we got a notification like the one below:
Before we could unblock the YouTube video we wanted with a VPN, we needed to figure out in which countries the video wasn’t blocked. This would later help us determine which VPN servers we could connect to.
You can use a website like Unblockvideos or the Watan Network tool for this. All you need to do is copy the link of the YouTube video you’re trying to watch and take a look at the world map.
For the live sports stream we wanted to watch, the map looked like this:
As you can see, one of the countries where the stream wasn’t blocked was France. NordVPN has a VPN server in France. We connected to it in the NordVPN client by clicking on the server.
We then went back to the live stream on YouTube, and the error message had disappeared. NordVPN unblocked the YouTube video we wanted to watch with a single click!
You can do this for any video you want to unblock on YouTube.
Which VPN Is Best to Unblock YouTube Videos?
Several VPN providers will help you unblock YouTube videos, but we always look for the following features for the best VPNs for YouTube:
- Speed: A slow VPN won’t make streaming possible, no matter which videos you’re trying to watch on YouTube. That’s why speed is a necessary requirement for a good YouTube VPN.
- Obfuscation: Obfuscation is a type of technology that hides your VPN use and disguises it as regular internet traffic. This makes unblocking videos on YouTube a lot easier.
- Privacy and security: The best VPNs have 256-bit AES encryption that is impossible to crack. Thereby, your data remains secure. While it’s not a necessity for unblocking YouTube videos, subscribing to a good no-logs VPN is always recommended, as your sensitive information is not recorded by the VPN.
- Server network: The number of servers a VPN has is very important, as the bigger the server network, the more locations you can connect to.
Best VPN for YouTube: NordVPN
NordVPN is a true unblocking powerhouse. In our most recent tests of NordVPN, the provider managed to unblock all major streaming services, as well as YouTube.
Whether we wanted to stream the best Netflix shows or access international news websites, NordVPN could easily bypass geographical obstacles. It has 5,000+ VPN servers that provided us with a fast and stable connection every time we used it.
On top of that, it’s one of the most secure VPNs in the world. You can use obfuscation to mask your VPN traffic and make use of NordVPN’s Threat Protection feature to keep trackers and malware at bay.
Since YouTube’s ads have become increasingly incessant, NordVPN’s ad blocker ensured we could watch videos without interruptions. This makes it one of the best VPNs for YouTube.
Want to see what NordVPN is all about? All plans are very affordable, but you can make use of the 30-day money-back guarantee and use it as a free trial.
- Fast and large worldwide network of VPN servers
- Perfect for privacy and streaming
- Trusted by many, with over 14 million users
If you’re interested in other VPNs for YouTube, we also recommend Surfshark, the fastest VPN of the moment, and ExpressVPN, which has been at the top of the VPN game for many years.
Other Ways to Unblock YouTube Videos
For a variety of reasons, you might find yourself seeing a message that says, “This video is not available in your country.” If this error message pops up, it can be due to licensing restrictions.
Other times, your school or university might set up network filters or a firewall that will prevent you from accessing the content you want.
With YouTube videos blocked or unavailable in your country, using a VPN is the most reliable way to unblock YouTube videos.
However, you might not be able or be allowed to install a VPN on your school computer or work phone. That’s why there are other methods to bypass YouTube blocked videos.
1. Use a proxy server for blocked YouTube videos
Instead of using a virtual private network, you can use a proxy server as a video unblocker for YouTube. As with a VPN, a proxy server allows you to change your IP address to that of the proxy. To use it, all you need to do is plug in the link to the blocked video onto a good proxy site, and you’ll be redirected.
Although proxies are similar to VPNs in some ways, the two are not the same. The key difference is that a VPN encrypts your private data, making it much safer to browse the web. Moreover, (public) proxy servers tend to become overloaded fairly quickly. This can prevent you from viewing videos.
YouTube proxies
Some web proxies are specifically designed to access blocked videos on YouTube. All you need to do is copy/paste the link into the proxy. It’s not the safest or most sustainable option, but it can be a quick fix. Some popular YouTube proxies are:
These free YouTube unblockers are a quick way to bypass YouTube bans. However, do make sure you don’t accidentally expose yourself to malware by having a good antivirus scanner installed.
2. Connect to a mobile hotspot
Dealing with a school or workplace restriction? Try using your mobile hotspot as a YouTube video unblocker.
If you’re able to watch videos using your data (without connecting to a Wi-Fi network), you should be able to unblock videos by connecting your device to your personal hotspot. This turns your phone into a wireless access point, so you’ll be able to access all websites that are blocked by the Wi-Fi network you were using before.
On iOS, go to Settings > Personal Hotspot and make sure you toggle on “Allow Others to Join.”
On Android, go to Settings > Network & Internet > Tethering, then toggle on the Wi-Fi hotspot setting.
Although this trick doesn’t work for nationwide censorship, it can be a solution for bypassing restrictions on networks in schools and offices.
Pro Tip:
Some companies and schools manually set up restrictions by using an http:// link instead of an https:// link. Simply adding an “s” to the URL might help you unblock the video you’re trying to watch.
3. Use Google Translate
In certain cases, Google Translate can help you watch blocked YouTube videos. You’ll have to use the actual Google Translate web page rather than the app. All you need to do is copy/paste the video URL of the blocked video into the input box.
It doesn’t matter which language you’re translating from, but you’ll have to choose English to translate to. If you click the link in the output area, the video will be successfully unblocked.
This method is not nearly as successful as using a VPN, though. With NordVPN, you’re guaranteed access to blocked YouTube content.
4. Download YouTube videos
If you are wondering how to watch blocked videos on YouTube, you can try downloading the videos you want to view. Here’s how:
- Go to a third-party YouTube downloader like Loader (Be careful not to click any ads you might see!).
- Paste the link to the video you want to watch in the text field. The platform will convert it to a downloadable .mp3 or .mp4 file.
- Press “Download” to download videos on your device and watch them.
If the process seems unclear, read our full guide on how to download YouTube videos.
Of course, the one downside to this is that you need to know the video URL of the restricted YouTube video. If you’re simply browsing YouTube, the platform won’t display restricted videos, so you won’t be able to find their links as easily.
5. Access YouTube with Tor
Tor (The Onion Router) is an encrypted browser that lets you access the dark web. However, that is not its only use. You can also unblock YouTube videos with Tor.
The Tor browser is a system of connected nodes that offers its users triple-layered encryption. Since you can change your IP address with Tor, you can access blocked YouTube content.
Unfortunately, Tor isn’t a perfect solution. There’s a high chance you will experience speed delays. This is because Tor sends your connection through multiple nodes. Moreover, you can’t simply choose your exit node. That is, you can’t decide on the exact location for your new IP address.
Why Is YouTube Blocked? 4 Reasons You Can’t Watch YouTube Videos
There are several reasons why you might not be able to watch a particular video on YouTube. Here are the most common explanations:
- Broadcasting rights/copyright infringement: When it comes to content such as music videos or movies, certain YouTube content can be made unavailable in your country due to the fact that broadcasting rights in that country or region are limited or don’t belong to the channel that uploaded the video.
- Network blocks: Your school or workplace might have banned YouTube for a variety of reasons, including screen time limitations and specific content bans.
- Age restrictions: For specific content on YouTube, you need to be 18 years or older. Content may become age-restricted if it features violence, nudity, substance use, or profanity.
- National censorship: YouTube may be blocked for political reasons. In a censorship-heavy country like China, for example, YouTube is permanently banned. Iran also banned YouTube altogether. In South Korea, certain content is very much restricted.
Get Access to Blocked Videos on YouTube
There are several ways YouTube can restrict your viewing, including geo-blocks and using network filters. Fortunately, there are also many ways you can get around these types of restrictions and unblock YouTube videos, such as:
- Using a VPN to provide you with online security (which takes only a couple of minutes to set up!)
- Making use of a (web-based) proxy server
- Trying Google Translate
- Downloading YouTube videos
- Accessing YouTube with Tor
The best VPN to watch blocked videos on YouTube is NordVPN. NordVPN has very fast servers, can unblock any content you like, and provides you with top-notch security. It’s an affordable VPN service that also has a 30-day money-back guarantee that you can use to try the software for free.
For more information on how to unblock other popular streaming platforms, check out our articles below:
- How to Watch BBC iPlayer From Outside the UK
- How to Watch Hulu From Anywhere in the World
- How to Watch Paramount Plus in the UK, US, or Anywhere Safely
Do you have any questions about watching blocked videos on YouTube? Check out the FAQ below for some quick answers!
There are several reasons you might not be able to watch YouTube videos:
- Broadcasting limitations or copyright infringement: Most often, the channel that uploaded the video doesn’t have distribution rights in your region.
- Network restrictions: These can be imposed by your school, university, or workplace.
- Age restrictions: Some videos are marked 18+.
- Censorship or political bans: Certain countries prohibit content on YouTube for political, religious or social reasons.
With a VPN, you can unblock videos on YouTube easily.
You can unblock a YouTube video by using a VPN. Here’s how:
- Get a subscription with a good VPN provider. For YouTube, we recommend NordVPN for its fast servers and unblocking capabilities.
- Download the VPN software for your device.
- Log in with your account.
- Connect to a VPN server in a country where the video is still available.
We recommend NordVPN for unblocking YouTube videos. NordVPN is a reliable and fast VPN provider that gives you access to all videos on YouTube in no time. In our most recent NordVPN test, this provider managed to unblock any content we wanted.
A VPN is the best way to unblock YouTube on your phone. Great VPN providers like NordVPN and Surfshark have excellent apps for Android and iOS. Just download the mobile application and enjoy YouTube videos without any restrictions!
