How to Fix HBO’s Not in Service Area or VPN Detected

Ever since streaming services emerged, expats living abroad have turned to VPNs to watch their favorite movies and TV shows online.

While using a VPN wasn’t frowned upon at first, the likes of Netflix, Hulu, and HBO quickly started coming down on users who were spoofing their real location.

This is mainly due to film distribution rights. When these services sign an agreement with Hollywood studios, they are only allowed to show a certain movie or TV show in specific regions.

HBO Max’s Not in Service Area Error

Netflix is mostly known for its Netflix proxy error, while Hulu throws an ‘Anonymous Proxy Error’ message at users who’re connected to a VPN server.

If you’re trying to watch HBO Max while connected to a VPN server, you’ll get the following error message:

“Not in Service Area or VPN Detected. HBO Max is accessible only in the U.S. and certain U.S. territories from your real IP address.”

“If you are in the service area and believe you’ve received this message in error, please follow the steps below:

1. If you’re using a VPN or web proxy, try disabling it so that your actual IP address is not blocked.
2. Contact your Internet Service Provider for assistance.
3. If you still get a service area message, visit our support page.

How Does HBO Actually Know I’m Using a VPN?

Most VPN servers belong to certain ranges i.e. their IP addresses are different than those your ISP provides you with for residential purposes.

Streaming services keep hold of a list of IP addresses that belong to these VPN servers. Then, whenever a user tries to watch their content while using one of these servers, they will be presented with an error message instead.

That basically is how HBO Max detects that you’re using a VPN server and not your real IP address.

How to Fix Not in Service Area or VPN Detected Error

In order to fix the “Not in Service Are or VPN Detected” Error, follow these steps:

• Connect to a different American VPN server. In some cases, HBO only blocks certain US VPN servers and not all of them.
• Make sure that whichever VPN server you’re connected to isn’t actually leaking your real IP/location. You can use our WebRTC tool to do so.
• If none of your VPN provider’s American VPN servers work with HBO Max, contact your VPN’s support team. Reliable VPN services will simply make changes on their end to make things work again.
• In case all of the tips above fail, it’s time to subscribe to a new VPN service.
• If you’re still within your money-back guarantee period, make sure to ask your current VPN for a refund.
• Before signing up with a new VPN provider, check out their refund policy. In case things don’t work out the way they should, you can always get your money back.

Best VPNs for HBO Max in 2023

Due to streaming services deploying a rigid anti-VPN policy, no VPN service will work with all streaming services all of the time. Add to that the fact not all servers of a particular VPN work with all channels. In other words, a particular server might unblock American Netflix but not work with HBO and vise versa.

We tested numerous VPN services to find out which actually unblock American HBO Max in 2023. Here are our top 5.

HBO’s Not in Service Area or VPN Detected – FAQ Section

Final Thoughts

Accessing your favorite multimedia content overseas has certainly become much of a struggle in recent years. Many streamers have canceled their streaming service subscriptions and turned to torrenting instead. Are you facing similar problems with streaming apps other than HBO? Feel free to share your experience with us in the comment section.