How To Change your Google Play Store Country
Here’s the thing; we’re so used to believing that whatever we see on Google Play Store is also what everyone else also sees. However, this is a common misconception. Whatever you see on Google Play Store depends a lot upon what country you’ve logged in from; which means that the applications available on the platform vary greatly from country to country.
There are several applications that are blocked in several countries because of geo-restrictions and you won’t be able to access them until you log in from a location where these applications are allowed to be accessed.
For example, if you live in the United States and really want to download this game application that all of your cousins back in the Philippines have been raving about, but is blocked in all countries outside of its origin country, you won’t be able to access it.
If you’re moving to another country, Google Play Store will automatically update your location and make sure the right applications are available to you, blocking several others (Google has restricted this country change to once per year) Even though this might make an efficient feature, it can also be quite frustrating because you’re suddenly unable to download the application you’ve been planning on!
If this issue seems to be getting on your nerves, or if you’ve changed your country a couple of times a year and now Google Play Store doesn’t seem to be on your side anymore, there’s a simple way around it. Simply use a VPN to change your IP address; and hence your location!
Confused? Let’s take it one step at a time.
Why a VPN is essential for Google Play Store if you’re travelling
As discussed before, certain geographical restrictions apply on some of the apps on the Google Play Store, which is why their availability may vary from country to country. The best way to bypass this issue is to use a VPN service to change your current IP address to a different one by connecting to the internet through a remote and secure server.
This will help you skid past the geo-restrictions and pose as a citizen of the country your server is sitting in. Let’s say that you want to download an application that is only available in the UK while living in Canada.
With a VPN, you can connect with a UK server, and route your traffic through that server, borrowing its IP address. This will let the internet think you’re actually living in the UK, because of the UK IP address, and unlock the app for you, letting you downloading it stress-free.
How to use a VPN to download apps from Google Play Store
If you feel like changing your location with Google Play Store would be a complicated task, think again. Once you have a high-quality VPN application downloaded and installed, switching locations is as easy as tapping a button on your smartphone.
Here are all the steps you’ll need to follow.
Subscribe to a high-quality VPN
This is a step that will serve you for years. Choosing the right VPN can mean the difference between staying safe and protected from hackers, and losing thousands of dollars worth of data. High-quality VPNs also provide advanced features, a high level of encryptions and typically don’t affect the speed of your internet.
Once you have chosen your VPN, head over to its website and subscribe to it. Next, head over to your Google Play Store and download the app, and log in using your credentials. If you’re looking for a high-quality VPN, try Ivacy.
Clear your Google Play Store data
Once you’ve downloaded the application, head on over to your phone settings. From the settings menu, select ‘apps’ or ‘all apps’ (in some phones, this option may even appear as ‘applications’)
You should see a list of all applications installed on your phone. Scroll down until you find ‘Google Play Store’ and when you find it, tap the option until you see a ‘force stop’ button. Tap it. Once the application has halted, you should now be able to press the ‘clear data’ button.
This will reset your Play Store application without deleting it. This will also get Google Play Store to update your country when you use it with your selected VPN service.
Connect to a remote and secure server
Now, when your data is clear and you have your VPN application installed and connected, go ahead and open it. Choose your country from the list of available servers offered according to what country-specific app you want to unblock.
When you tap the connect button, the application should connect you with the remote and secure server without issues, all on its own.
Now all you need to go is open the Play Store, and check if it has picked up on the country (a good way to quickly gauge that is to check if the prices listed with the apps have changed currencies to the country you’ve chosen to connect from.)
If the prices have changed, you’re all set to download the application that you’ve been wanting to! Good luck!
