How to install Amazon Fire TV apps outside their intended country
Chris
Chris, a UK-born media connoisseur, is an expert in watching international TV. Known as "The Global Screen Wanderer", he has travelled extensively across the globe with long stints away from home. With over 10 years of experience he has become the go-to guru for streaming content from home and abroad.
In this guide I’ll be showing you how you can install and use Amazon apps outside their intended country.
If you’ve got an Amazon Fire TV or Fire TV Stick then you’ll know how good they are. There are hundreds of great apps that allow you to stream everything from live TV to catch-up TV and more.
Like the Google Play app store or the Apple app store, the Amazon app store restricts apps by region. If you search on your Fire TV or Fire TV Stick then you’ll only find apps suitable for your region.
It is, however, possible to install apps from other regions and use them. Below I’m going to show you how simple it is.
How to install Amazon Fire TV apps from other regions
This solution works for both the Amazon Fire TV and the Amazon Fire TV Stick.
The first thing you’ll need to do is change the region of your Amazon account and you’ll need to do this on a regular computer. Don’t worry because you can change it back once you’ve finished.
Follow the steps below to change the region of your Amazon account:
- Go to the Amazon website and click on ‘My Account‘.
- Look for the ‘Digital content and devices’ option and then select ‘Content and devices‘.
- Now click on the ‘Preferences‘ tab.
- You’ll see a drop-down arrow next to the ‘Country/Region Settings‘, click this.
- It should say your current region, click the ‘Change‘ button.
- You now need to enter an address from the region you’re changing to. You can use a site like Fake Address Generator to find one. Then press the ‘Update‘ button.
- You will be asked to confirm that you want to change your address. Select ‘Update‘. Don’t worry you can change it back later and delete the newly added “fake” address.
You’ll now be able to access the Amazon store from your new region. You can search for apps available in that region.
For example if you are in the UK you can download NBC Sport from the American Amazon site. Or if you’re in the USA you can download BBC iPlayer from the UK Amazon site.
The app will then install onto your Fire TV or Fire TV Stick.
You should follow the instructions above to change your region back to your original region.
How to use Amazon apps from overseas’ app stores
Even though you’ve now downloaded an app from another region when you try and access it, it will still be blocked.
In this case, you need a further additional app called a VPN.
A VPN allows you to disguise your real region to make use of apps from overseas. There aren’t many VPN services that support the Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick but three I recommend are:
- ExpressVPN – Recommended
- CyberGhost VPN
- IPVanish
I recommend you sign up for ExpressVPN because they’re pretty simple to use and you’re covered by their 30-day money back guarantee just in case you can’t get it working.
Follow the steps to get and use ExpressVPN on your Fire TV or Fire TV Stick to unblock your newly downloaded apps from overseas.
How to use Amazon apps from overseas’ app stores:
- Visit the ExpressVPN website by clicking here and sign up for their service.
- On your Amazon Fire TV or Fire TV Stick search for ‘ExpressVPN’.
- Download and install the app.
- Open the app and login when needed.
- Press Choose Location (1) and then select the country of the app you’re trying to use.
- Press Connect (2).
Connect to any country with ExpressVPN.
Once the app has connected press the Home button on your Amazon Fire TV or Fire TV Stick remote control.
You can now open your newly downloaded app from another region. Rather than it being blocked for being outside the country you’ll be able to access and watch the services available.
It’s worth remembering for apps that require a valid subscription a VPN will not bypass this. You will still need an active subscription to that service plus the VPN app as explained above.
Any streaming app that doesn’t require an account or service will work fine with just the VPN app alone.
30-day money back guarantee
Recap: Install Amazon Fire TV apps outside their intended country
If you want to install Fire TV or Fire TV Stick apps outside their intended country then you’ll first need to change your Amazon account details.
This will allow you to install apps from any other Amazon region.
You will also need a VPN from a provider such as my recommended one, ExpressVPN.
You can get ExpressVPN by clicking the button below and sign up to their service. You can then install the ExpressVPN app on your Fire TV or Fire TV Stick. This will unblock any apps you’ve installed outside their intended country.
What apps have you been wanting to use and from what region? I would love to know so why not post in the comments section below?
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I have a problem I wonder if anyone can help. I’m using a Toshiba fire tv and using express vpn and it’s still saying BBC iPlayer is unavailable why??? Please help
Hi Joshua,
Have you managed to download the BBC iPlayer app or are you having problems watching it?
Try using the web browser and navigate to the iPlayer site, see if it works via that.
Hi Chris,
I recently tried to install a UK Firestick App on my Canadian Firestick, and for some reason it hangs up at the payment option. Even though the App I want to install is free, is still requires credit card information. For some reason Amazon UK is not accepting my Canadian credit card – it has a comment in the payment option saying that my Bank may need to verify – this is not something that has happned in the past. Do you know if there has been recent changes to prevent the downloading of apps in foreign countries? If so is there a work around?
Hi Derek,
We haven’t heard anything in this regard but it’s a possibility that this could be a new development.
You could possibly find the app from an unofficial store but it would depend what app it is on how available that is.