Top 5 VPNs That Bypass Netflix in 2025
Netflix keeps playing whack-a-mole with VPN providers. So I retest them quarterly, because what worked in January might be dead by March.
This spring I streamed from Istanbul, Seoul, and Mexico City—testing U.S., U.K., and Japanese libraries. Five VPNs still work. Here are the exact servers and speeds.
March 2025: Seoul
I'm in a serviced apartment in Gangnam. Two-week client gig. It's 9pm, I just finished a 12-hour day, and I want to collapse on the couch and watch The Last of Us.
Connect to my usual ExpressVPN server (Los Angeles 3). Open Netflix. Hit play.
Error M7111-1331-5059: "You seem to be using an unblocker or proxy."
Weird. LA3 had worked for six months straight. I try four more servers. New York 2. New York 5. Chicago 1. Miami 2.
Same error. Every single one.
Fine. Switch to NordVPN (backup account, $139/year). United States #9425 (Los Angeles). Proxy error. United States #8723 (New York). Proxy error.
I spent 45 minutes cycling through 18 different servers across two providers. 18 servers. Zero success.
I'm tired, annoyed, and frankly just want to watch TV. So I try something different: NordVPN's Meshnet feature. It lets you route traffic through a friend's computer. I ping my buddy in Denver over Signal—he's got NordVPN but has never used Meshnet. I walk him through the setup while he's eating dinner. Takes maybe five minutes.
Then I connect through his residential IP.
Netflix loads instantly. No error. Full 4K. The Last of Us plays perfectly.
That night I learned three things: Netflix is blacklisting entire server ranges now, not just individual IPs. Residential IPs (like Meshnet) are way more reliable than datacenter IPs. And you need multiple providers plus multiple strategies—not just multiple servers on one provider.
Since Seoul, I've tested 11 VPN providers across 34 cities. Paid for all of them myself. Ran tests from crappy hotel Wi-Fi, coworking spaces, gigabit fiber. Documented what actually works.
Here's what still bypasses Netflix in 2025.
Testing Methodology
- Devices: Apple TV 4K, MacBook Air M3, iPhone 15 Pro.
- Connection: 400 Mbps fiber in Seoul, 120 Mbps hotel Wi-Fi in Mexico City, 80 Mbps coworking in Istanbul.
- Tests: Play a Netflix original and a region-locked film (for example, Inception on U.K. Netflix). Record buffering, quality ramp-up time, and any proxy errors.
1. NordVPN (NordLynx + Meshnet)
$139/year if you commit to their 2-year plan. Monthly is $12.99 but honestly just get the annual—you'll save money.
Best use case: Meshnet. Route traffic through a friend's computer for a residential IP that Netflix can't block without pissing off actual customers.
Servers that work: Meshnet (obviously). If you don't have a friend to leech off of, try Nord's "United States #9425" (Los Angeles)—worked for me in Q1 2025. Also #9426 and #9427. UK servers #4721-#4724 (London) worked for BBC iPlayer. Japan servers #521-#523 (Tokyo) handled Japanese Netflix fine.
Speeds I got: 180 Mbps in Seoul on 400 Mbps fiber (45% retention). 95 Mbps in an Istanbul hotel on 120 Mbps Wi-Fi (79% retention). Meshnet speeds depend on your friend's upload—my Denver buddy has 50 Mbps upload, so I got 45 Mbps which is plenty for 4K (needs 25 Mbps).
How long setup takes: Standard server? 15 seconds. Meshnet with a friend who's never used it? Five minutes on a Signal call walking them through the settings.
Reliability: Standard Nord servers got blocked 30% of the time. Meshnet? Zero blocks. Residential IPs are basically immune.
Notes: Meshnet is why you'd pick NordVPN over anything else on this list. If you've got a friend or family member in the U.S./UK/Japan who's willing to leave NordVPN running on their desktop, you'll never see error M7111-1331-5059 again. They also have Smart DNS for Apple TV if you can't install the app directly, but it's less reliable.
2. ExpressVPN
Price: $99.95/year (annual plan, billed yearly). Monthly plan costs $12.95/month.
Best use: MediaStreamer smart DNS on hardware devices (Apple TV, consoles), Lightway protocol on mobile for speed.
Working locations: New York 5, Tokyo 4, London 2. I also had success with Miami 1, Los Angeles 3, and San Francisco 2. These specific servers rotated in and out of Netflix's blacklist—New York 5 was blocked in January, unblocked in February, blocked again in March. You need to test weekly and update your server list.
Speeds: 150 Mbps in Seoul (400 Mbps baseline, 38% speed retention), 70 Mbps in Mexico City hotel (120 Mbps baseline, 58% retention). Lightway protocol is noticeably faster than OpenVPN—I tested both and Lightway gave me 15-20% better speeds.
Reliability: Blocked 40% of the time in my tests. But when it works, it works perfectly—4K with no buffering, fast quality ramp-up (under 5 seconds to reach 4K from SD).
Notes: ExpressVPN's MediaStreamer (smart DNS) is brilliant for devices where you can't install a VPN app (Apple TV, PlayStation, Xbox). You configure DNS settings once in the device network settings, and all Netflix traffic routes through ExpressVPN's servers. No speed penalty since there's no encryption overhead. Automatic obfuscation also helps if you're in China, UAE, or other countries with aggressive VPN blocking.
3. Surfshark (Static IP)
Price: $59.76/year (2-year plan) + $3.75/month for static IP add-on ($45/year). Total: $104.76/year.
Best use: Dedicated static IP add-on for consistent Netflix access without server rotation headaches.
Working servers: Static IP servers: us-stl.static-ip.surfshark.com (St. Louis), us-nyc.static-ip.surfshark.com (New York), uk-lon.static-ip.surfshark.com (London). Standard servers that worked: US Seattle, US Atlanta, UK Manchester.
Speeds: 130 Mbps Seoul (33% retention), 60 Mbps Istanbul (75% retention on weaker hotel Wi-Fi).
Reliability: Static IP blocked 10% of the time. Standard servers blocked 50% of the time. The static IP is worth the extra $3.75/month—once you find one that works, it stays working for months because Netflix is slower to blacklist static IPs (they look more like residential connections than shared datacenter IPs).
Notes: Surfshark's unlimited devices policy is a massive bonus if you're traveling with family or splitting costs with friends. I had 7 devices connected simultaneously (laptop, phone, iPad, Apple TV, partner's laptop, partner's phone, partner's tablet) with no issues. The static IP add-on gives you a dedicated IP address that only you use—it's not shared with thousands of other Surfshark customers, so Netflix is less likely to flag it.
4. Private Internet Access (PIA) Streaming Servers
Price: $39.95/year (3-year plan, billed every 3 years). Monthly plan costs $11.95/month.
Best use: OpenVPN TCP 443 with streaming-optimized servers (clearly labeled in the app).
Working servers: US East Streaming (New York), US West Streaming (Los Angeles), UK London Streaming, Japan Tokyo Streaming. PIA labels these servers with a "streaming" tag in the app, making them easy to find. In my tests, the streaming servers worked 70% of the time, while regular servers only worked 25% of the time.
Speeds: 110 Mbps in Seoul (28% retention), 50 Mbps Mexico City (42% retention).
Reliability: Streaming servers blocked 30% of the time. Regular servers blocked 75% of the time. The "Use small packets" setting in the app is critical—it fragments traffic to avoid deep packet inspection that Netflix uses to detect VPNs. Without it, buffering was constant (5-10 second pauses every minute). With it enabled, streaming was smooth.
Notes: PIA is the cheapest option on this list at $39.95/year, but you get what you pay for—reliability is lower than NordVPN/ExpressVPN. The desktop app is excellent and clearly labels which servers are optimized for streaming. Mobile apps are clunkier. If you're on a tight budget and willing to rotate servers occasionally, PIA is a solid choice.
5. Proton VPN (Plus Plan)
Price: $71.88/year (2-year Plus plan). Monthly plan costs $9.99/month.
Best use: Secure Core disabled, use streaming-labeled servers like "Streaming US #12."
Working servers: US-IL#12 (Chicago), US-NY#18 (New York), UK-GB#7 (London), JP-TYO#21 (Tokyo). Proton recently added streaming-optimized servers (indicated with a "play" icon in the app). These worked significantly better than their standard servers.
Speeds: 140 Mbps Seoul (35% retention), 55 Mbps Istanbul (69% retention).
Reliability: Streaming servers blocked 25% of the time. Standard servers blocked 60% of the time. Critical: you MUST disable Secure Core for Netflix streaming. Secure Core routes traffic through two VPN servers (one in a privacy-friendly country like Switzerland, then to your destination), which adds security but kills speeds—I got 12 Mbps with Secure Core enabled vs. 140 Mbps with it disabled.
Notes: Proton VPN's smart routing automatically switches protocols if one is blocked, which is handy in restrictive countries. The company is Swiss-based with strong privacy policies (open-source apps, no-logs audited by third parties). If you're already in the Proton ecosystem (ProtonMail, Proton Drive), the VPN integrates nicely. However, the iOS app sometimes fails to reconnect after switching networks (e.g., hotel Wi-Fi to LTE), requiring a manual restart.
Troubleshooting Common Errors
| Error code | Fix | | --- | --- | | M7111-1331-5059 (proxy detected) | Switch server, clear cookies, restart VPN | | Buffering | Lower stream to 1080p temporarily, choose less crowded server | | App login failure | Sign into Netflix via browser first, then reopen app | | Wrong library | Confirm DNS override, flush device DNS cache |
Tips for Smooth Streaming Abroad
- Use router-level VPN: Configure travel router with working server; keeps Apple TV and Chromecast consistent.
- Pause background sync: TripMode stops iCloud/Dropbox from hogging bandwidth.
- Keep multiple providers: I maintain NordVPN + ExpressVPN accounts. If one fails, switch instantly.
- Rotate servers: Netflix blacklists IPs in waves. Save your favorite exit nodes and rotate weekly.
The VPNs That Failed My Tests
I tested these providers and they consistently failed to bypass Netflix in Q1 2025:
CyberGhost: Used to work well, but Netflix blocked every single streaming server I tested (US, UK, Japan). 0% success rate across 15 servers. The company claims their streaming servers are optimized for Netflix, but in my tests (Seoul, Istanbul, Mexico City), every attempt resulted in error M7111-1331-5059. I canceled my subscription and requested a refund under their 45-day money-back guarantee.
TunnelBear: Cute interface, terrible Netflix performance. Blocked 100% of the time. Free tier has a 2 GB/month data cap, which isn't even enough for one movie in HD (a 2-hour HD movie uses ~3 GB). Not worth testing.
Windscribe: Worked intermittently in 2024, but completely blocked in Q1 2025. I tested their Windflix servers (dedicated Netflix servers) in 8 locations—all blocked. Customer support acknowledged the issue and said they're "working on it," but provided no timeline.
When All Else Fails
Rent a remote desktop (Shadow PC, Paperspace) in the target country and stream via remote session. Shadow PC costs $29.99/month and gives you a full Windows 10 gaming PC in a U.S. data center. You remote into it, open Netflix, and stream. Latency is 30-50ms from Europe (perfectly usable for video). I used this in Istanbul when all my VPNs failed—worked flawlessly, but the Shadow PC subscription adds up if you're streaming long-term.
Ask friends at home to host a WireGuard server you can connect through. I set up a $5/month DigitalOcean droplet in New York with WireGuard installed. My friend generates a config file, sends it to me via Signal, and I import it into the WireGuard app. Total setup time: 20 minutes. This gives me a dedicated IP that only I use—Netflix never blocks it because it's not a known VPN IP range.
Download content before traveling. Netflix allows offline viewing for many titles (not all—licensing restrictions apply). Before my last trip to Seoul, I downloaded 6 seasons of The Office (43 GB) and 2 seasons of Stranger Things (28 GB) to my iPad. Downloads expire after 30 days or 48 hours after you start watching (whichever comes first), so plan accordingly.
What I Actually Use
I pay for two VPNs. NordVPN ($139/year) as primary, Surfshark with static IP ($104.76/year) as backup. Total: $243.76/year.
Is that overkill? Maybe. But that Seoul night where I cycled through 18 servers and couldn't watch TV after a 12-hour workday? Never again.
I've also got Meshnet set up with three friends—Denver, London, Tokyo. They leave NordVPN running on their home desktops and I can route through them whenever. In exchange, they get access to my U.S. server when they travel. Win-win.
My GL.iNet Beryl AX travel router has both VPNs configured with automatic failover. If NordVPN doesn't connect within 10 seconds, it switches to Surfshark. My Apple TV and other devices never notice.
I also keep a spreadsheet. City, server name, reliability % (blocked vs successful), last tested date. Update it weekly. When I land in a new city, I open the sheet, pick the most reliable server for that region. Works 95% of the time on the first try.
Yeah, it's spreadsheet-level paranoid. But you know what? I haven't stared at error M7111-1331-5059 in months.
The Bottom Line
VPN streaming is whack-a-mole. What works today might be dead by next week.
That's why I retest quarterly. That's why I maintain two subscriptions. That's why I have that stupid spreadsheet.
The Seoul incident taught me: don't rely on one VPN, one provider, one strategy. Have backups. Have Meshnet friends. Have static IPs. Be ready to pivot.
Or just download The Office before you travel. That works too.