Not content with the small Australian Netflix catalogue I set out to look for a solution to get access to the holy grail: the American Netflix catalogue.
Coming in at an almost six times the size of the Australia catalogue, the Netflix US catalogue has everything.
Because I consume Netflix via a set-top box, I set out to find a solution that would work with my Optus supplied Fetch TV box.
I wanted to be able to watch Netflix without compromising speed and being able to use my Fetch TV box.
First there was Turboflix
At first I tried a service called Turboflix. The free trial worked a treat, so I decided to pay for the service.
A few days after paying my Netflix stopped working. As in it wouldn’t load anything. There was nothing to configure in my Turboflix account, nowhere to register an IP just failing DNS servers.
The way Turboflix works is akin to a VPN provider. Your traffic is tunneled through a remote server and back again. This means you get deplorable speeds and your Netflix content streams in low definition, sometimes super-low definition.
I couldn’t find anything to suggest your IP address had to be registered to use Turboflix DNS servers, in the end I gave up. I could have emailed them, but I couldn’t be bothered.
Enter Getflix
Unlike Turboflix, Getflix is not a VPN. As in your traffic is not funnelled through a remote server. What Getflix is, is a DNS spoofer.
Essentially it tricks Netflix into thinking you’re in the US through DNS reconfiguration. This means when you stream content, it is coming straight down through your connection not some slow remote VPN server.
I went through the same process and used the free trial. Then I ended up paying $10.67 USD for 3 months of Getflix access (it’s $3.95 USD for one month).
So far I have had no troubles whatsoever with Getflix and the Fetch TV box.
Configuring Fetch TV for Getflix
The whole process is dead simple, so there won’t be many detailed steps here. The overview page for Getflix has the DNS servers you can choose and then you just need to go into the network settings on your Fetch box, choose manual and enter the DNS settings in the DNS fields.
- To change the DNS on the Fetch box, you go into Menu > Manage > Settings > Network
- You should now see something on the screen which mentions IP settings. Uncheck Automatic and check Manual
- Using the provided DNS values from Getflix you only need to change the: DNS Server 1 and DNS Server 2 settings
Thanks Dwayne. I’m trying to get US Netflix going with Fetch also. As first attempt I’m using Unlocator rather than Getflix, but having troubles getting it working on a simple Windows 10 box at the moment. According to Unlocator Netflix is getting smarter at detecting these workarounds.
Is Getflix still working for you?
Hi Greg,
Sorry to hear. Yes, Getflix is still working fine for me. I think the issue is just keeping up with Netflix’s block. The block is merely a blacklist of IP addresses. For years Netflix have had the ability to tighten account information, things such as matching billing address of credit card to locality and whatnot. However, Netflix are in a tough situation because a moveable account you can use anywhere in the world is part of their strategy, so they’ll keep blocking IP’s until they give up. I did see a VPN/proxy warning using Getflix just once, but it was resolved in a few years presumably by Getflix changing their VPN IP addresses.
Thanks for the info, Dwayne.
Hi Dwayne
I just recently got Fetch TV through Optus, i have setup an account with getflix to unlock all the US content on Netflix
I have set all the right DNS both 1 and 2
it all loads up fine and i see all the programs but then when i got to watch them it say that i am running a Proxy or a DNS blocker
Any Idea what i can do … it all works fine on my Laptop and PC just not Optus Fetch TV
Thank you
I’ve been using Getflix for about a month now with mixed success. The method I use is to update the DNS settings for my entire network by changing the DNS settings on my router. Using this method my Fetch TV is working reliably. However I’ve had to fiddle with Getflix’s region settings, currently set to “United States (TEST 2)”.
I’ve never been able to get Chromecast (which I have on another TV) to work though. I think this is due to limitations on my cheap router preventing me from blocking Chromecast from using Public DNS Servers. See this for more info: https://getflix.zendesk.com/hc/en-gb/articles/200686400-Chromecast
I’m also having problems with the latest version of Getflix on Android 5. However one of my older devices on Android 4 is still works with the old version of Netflix.
So for the moment when I want to view Netflix on one of the Chromecast TVs I use an old Android 4 device or connect a notebook to the TV via HDMI cable.
Getflix support has been responsive, but I get the impression that they’re having trouble keeping up with Netflix changes.
Cheers, Greg.
Just to clarify my previous comment, I have been able to get Chromecast to work on Australian Netflix, but not the US Netflix. The config needed to Block Public DNS (https://getflix.zendesk.com/hc/en-gb/articles/202281524-Block-Public-DNS-Overview) can’t be performed on my router, but Getflix pointed me to a hack. I tied it but as I said it doesn’t work for the US.
Cheers, Greg.
I’m using arcvpn to unblock online TV and content.