How to Watch Netflix in Europe on Mac?

To properly access Netflix as if they are in the USA they will need a VPN service.    I can recommend NordVPN (https://nordvpn.com/download/ios/) but there are plenty of options CyberGhost etc. etc..  The main thing is that I'd not advise a FREE VPN service .. as if the service is FREE then YOU (and perhaps your data) are the commodity ;-)

Much of the US content will be limited because of International copyright nonsense. And you may get answers here to just VPN back into the US and it just works. Well, it used to.

We just got back from France where I tried seversl PAID VPN accounts: Webroots VPN product, a VPN by Ivacy (who lists a Netflix VPN server as a detination), and one other who's name I dont recall.

I'm sad to report I could not use any of them. Both Amazon and Netflix must have a list of VPN output addresses and blocks then. The commercial VPN products were all blocked with a message saying that the content was for US located people and "the use of VPNs was not allowed."

I guess I could have tried other VPN providers but I would expect similar results.

Luckily for me, my Linksys/Cisco router at home has OpenVPN built in. Connecting to my own home network and then to Netflix or Amazon worked very well. Mostly.

I am luck enough to have Gigabit, symmetrical fiber to my home, so I have a lot if bandwidth. Keep in mind that if you do use your home network as a VPN host, that your home network will need sufficient bandwidth both in and out to handle the stream. You will be pulling the stream into your home, and then streaming it out across the VPN to your machine in Europe.

Not only do you need enough bandwidth, but also a router that can handle such traffic in both direction in and out at the same time. Many home routers may have trouble keeping up.

So I'm not sure I've given you anything to go on here but experiences and cautions.

You might Google VPN providers for ones that claim they can do Netflix, but one of mine said they do and it did not work.

Maybe the easiest way is to call Netflix and find out if you can get a 30 day trial in Europe, or even pay for Netflix Europe for one month.

Let us know what you decided to do

Owen .. you highlight a very important issue.  I'd heard that Netflix were targetting/blocking VPN services from many of the major providers and your experience bears it out.
A personal or private VPN is a clear workaround if you've the computer/router/bandwidth (and technical expertise to set it up and manage it)

Alternatively your other suggestions of switching to an EU / Spanish subscription might be an option but the content will definitely be different than the USA account
OR
try a lesser known or non-tracked VPN provider (afraid I cannot advise on this as I've not used Netflix recently)

All VPN access points will be known at some time with the Content providers so what works now won't work a short time later.
(and the VPN Exit point will betray themselves as sources of higher than average number of connections.)

You are better off using a Tunnel  to something in your home that can forward traffic.
IPSEC  or OpenVPN  tunnels to your home address to something like a NAS / Firewall would be best.
You would need to have an upstream on your home connection of 15-30 Mbps to allow for this.  (Watching SD in stead of HD would help a lot)

Thanks Eion. It is a game of cat and mouse with VPN exit points. The Webroot product I used was just finishing a Beta test (I was a tester) and they already knew its exit points.

And thanks Noci for expanding on what I said. I was mobile and couldn't find the bandwidth specs. And remember, unless you plan to transpose  the stream at your home location, you need that bandwidth in both directions simultaneously, which often begs down routersor computers.

And I agree, SD is probably best. Even with Gigabit symmetrical to my house, there were a lot of points along the way back to Europe that can and did slow down the stream. We had trouble with HD streams quite often, and occasionally even SD streams buffered at times.

Netflix have excellent heuristics for VPN, less so with DNS so it might be worth looking for an updated list of valid DNS servers, tunnelling especialy mixing IpV6&4 is something they "shoot on sight".

Bandwidth consumption can be a lot higher when a movie has lots of full frame transmissions in the stream.
Then bandwidth is per  activated stream.

Check out Slingbox.  You can also stream your cable TV from home (sports & other geo specific programming).  View ALL of your TV content when traveling overseas
Many Internet TV services like Netflix, HBO, and others, are unavailable once you leave the United States. But unlike an Internet TV service, your Slingbox is available wherever you are.
For example, have you traveled outside of the United States and tried to watch some Internet TV ... only to see something like this?

To add to MLV CM's comment, Dish Network has Sling built in now. We tried to use it in France with limited results. It worked sometimes, and at other times, it was not so great. But it is a possible solution. It will also require a decent internet to make it work well.

I don't know if NetFlix in Spain is fundamentally different than other European countries. But in most European countries we are able to watch many US series.

Perhaps have a look at this list:

https://www.finder.com/es/netflix-tv-shows

When spending a limited time in Spain, perhaps the user will not find all of his/her favorite series, but there should be plenty US content to watch.  Perhaps there's no need to add the complexity and cost of a VPN.

@robocat: The Extra cost of OpenVPN is exactly $0,-- , EUR0,00 ...
You run the server software part on your own premises using the existing equipment/network connection.
The client can run on your tablet/phone/laptop to connect to your private server.

As noci suggested, "All VPN access points will be known at some time with the Content providers so what works now won't work a short time later."

The only way to get around this is, that I've found, is to bounce your VPN connection through your own server in the US... or preferably your own residential IP address in the US...

Typical setup is to...

1) At some residential US IP, run an ssh reverse proxy with exposes a residential IP + port on some public US server.

2) Setup your VPN to target your public US Server IP.

3) All traffic then flows to your US server + through your US residential connection, so NetFlix (and many other services) see connections coming from the Residential IP.

Note: This is super complex to setup + maintain.

Depending on your country, if torrenting is legal, downloading torrents will be far easier.

Be sure to check your countries laws about torrenting.

You don't need to torrent in the EU.  Laws are different there, so they still have plenty of streaming and download sites.  It's only the USA that has tyrannical laws against any sort of sharing.

Don't torrent in the USA.  You're only asking trouble.  That's the whole reason they removed network neutrality is so they can easily throttle torrents and and throttle streams that aren't their own.

Be careful in Germany there is monitoring of torrent/DL  traffic and one can be call before civil court for "forgetting to get a license to view a movie" if you download one ïn the wild".  The "policing" is done by a Law-firm on request of movie publishers.

No problem if you watch Netflix etc. (using your account).  The license on hindsight is a couple of hundred EUR  (not the millions line in the US of A) / per movie / DL.
Do use a paid for VPN if you want to embark on that trail.

So be carefull using PopcornTime etc.
See also here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/PopCornTime/comments/3cj50z/being_sued_in_germany_for_using_popcorn_time/
https://www.reddit.com/r/PopCornTime/comments/7sfcw4/popcorn_time_fine_in_germany/

FAQ by german lawfirm:
https://www.polishuk.de/2012/12/24/being-accused-of-filesharing-in-germany/