The internet is a free entity; it’s a world all of its own, and it shouldn’t have restrictions for others and cater only to their locale; it should be for everyone. The inability (or unwillingness) of a service to overcome geographic boundaries (i.e. geographic restrictions) is one of the reasons why you can’t view videos on YouTube. What can you do when you want to access a blocked site on your Android device? That’s easy. Changing your DNS or using a Tor browser are a few workarounds. I’ll show you how to access blocked websites on Android!
How to access blocked websites on Android phones and tablets
I’m here to tell you about all the different ways you can bypass geo-blocking, or location-based restrictions and access blocked websites on your Android device. Chances are you’ve probably already heard of some of these methods. And I can assure you that I’ve tried and tested all of the following:
Method 1: Bypass banned sites with Orbot – Proxy with Tor
A little known, yet very effective, free proxy app to access blocked websites on Android smartphones and tablets is Orbot. Orbot will encrypt your internet data so you can access blocked websites, messaging and emails without the threat of being monitored or blocked.
Step 1: Install the App
Download Orbot from the Google Play Store and install it. For rooted devices, you can follow these instructions.
Step 2: Start the app
Open the app and power up Tor.
Step 3: Install Orweb
Next, install the Orweb app, the browser supported by Tor. Now you can freely access all previously blocked websites on your Android device.
Method 2: Access blocked sites with VPN – Hola Free VPN
Formerly Hola Unblocker, this VPN app not only can access blocked websites on Android devices, but also compress data being sent over the internet. This compression greatly improves your browsing speed. The best part is, for Hola to work you don’t need to create any kind of account with them that helps you access blocked websites on android. It’s extremely easy to install and use.
Step 1: Install the App
Go to the Google Play Store, download, and install the Hola Android app.
Step 2: Open the App
Open the Hola app and you’re done. Hola comes in with a built-in browser through which you can surf the web. It also lets you open apps that are geographically restricted. Let’s say you’re in China and you want to watch videos on Netflix, Hulu, or BBC iPlayer. You can install the respective apps and open them through Hola. The same goes for any other app like Spotify, YouTube, and Pandora. If you want to download an app that’s not available on the Google Play Store, you can search for the application’s apk file online and you can install and run it through Hola. For an in-depth overview of the best VPN services you can use to access blocked websites on your Android devices, take a look at a couple of handy guides on how to set up VPN and our list of Best VPN Apps.
Method 3: Bypass Blocked Sites with MediaHint
MediaHint is geared toward unblocking video and social media channels. It’s a paid DNS service with the added support of browser extensions, giving its subscribers the power to go around country censorships and geo-restrictions. MediaHint supports a plethora of smart devices from Android to Kindle Fire. For $3.95 a month or approximately $39.50 a year, you can use MediaHint to watch all your favorite, yet frustratingly geo-restricted media on any of your devices. They offer a 7-day free trial. Check out their services here!
Method 4: Access blocked websites on Android by manually changing your DNS
If your country blocks a specific website, you can bypass geo-blocking and location-based limitations by changing your DNS into Google’s Public DNS. But before you do this, get a copy of your current DNS addresses (if any) as you’ll need to revert to this if you have problems with changing your DNS. For Android 9 and below, follow these steps:
Step 1: Open Settings
Enter the Settings menu and then open the Wi-Fi settings.
Step 2: Modify Network
Long tap on the network you are connected to. Then tap on “Modify Network.“
Step 3: Change IP Settings
Check on Advanced Options, then change the IP settings to “Static.”
Step 4: Change the DNS
Note your current DNS1 and DNS2 addresses in a secure place. This way you can revert to these changes whenever you might need to. for IPv4 change the settings respectively:
8.8.8.8 8.8.4.4
for IPv6 use these:
2001:4860:4860::8888 2001:4860:4860::8844
For Android 9 and higher,
Go to Settings > Network and Internet > Advanced > Private DNS Change the private DNS hostname to: “dns.google” then click save. This only works for Android 9 and higher since only these devices support “Private DNS“
Unblocking restricted websites – Unlock the internet
Whether we like it or not, all of us have faced that frustrating message, “This content is currently not available in your location.” With so many services now geo-restricted and websites blocked by governments and other entities, finding new ways to access content that should be available has become a new industry in of itself. There are countless means to access blocked websites, with the most common being the use of VPNs. The methods above are a few of the most popular options. Share your experience with us in the comments section below! How were you able to access blocked websites on your Android device? Featured Image Link
