So you live outside of the United States and Google Play is limited to just the Play Store for apps and games to you? Would you like to access Play Movies, Music, Books, and so on? There’s a trick for that, and you don’t need to use Proxies or VPN or any of those highly technical and highly annoying solutions. Here’s how to do it.
Disclaimer: Hear me out before I begin. You will be tricking Google into thinking you live in the United States, so the small door we’re going to sneak into might be closed soon if the company gets wind of this. Also, I have only confirmed this method works with a few other users so I can’t 100% guarantee the result. Try to be quick and hope for the best.
The idea behind this trick — and all the credit goes to @elz0oz for sharing it with me — is to convince Google you live in the USA. This involves having a US address and a US credit card on your Google Wallet account. Here are the things you need to do, step by step.
1. Get a US address and phone number
You could use the address of any restaurant or store in the United States, or if you want to be more precise and play it safe, you can sign up for your own US shipping forwarding address on Borderlinx or Shop and Ship for example. I did the latter because that is technically “my” address with “my” phone number.
2. Get a US debit card
In order to do this, you can ask a friend to get you a prepaid card issued in the US and send you its details. Or you could sign up for a virtual card on Entropay and fill it with some money.
3. Change your Google Wallet details
Go to your Google Wallet Payment Methods. There, you will find your current address and card details. Click to add a new credit or debit card and enter the US card information you got in Step 2. Make sure you associate this card with the billing address and phone number you got in Step 1. When you’re done, set this new payment method as the default one — don’t worry, you can switch back to your regular debit card later without losing the access to the US store.
4. Wait and cross your fingers
The changes won’t appear immediately, but after a couple of days — 2 or 3 usually — when you open the Play Store from your computer, you’ll see it has switched to the US version that has the wonderful side menu with Movies & TV, Music, Books, Newsstand and Devices, and access to all the USA-only apps and games. The same switch will happen on your Android phones and tablets as well. You won’t need to use proxies to access this side of Google Play, because your account is now considered a true US account, even if you login from another country’s IP address. As far as Google is concerned, you may be a US citizen who is travelling abroad.
I made the switch several months ago, then flipped back my default payment method to my regular debit card without any issue. I bought a movie, downloaded and uploaded books, signed up for Google Play All Access, and even ordered a Nexus 7 to my Borderlinx address. I am enjoying this freedom quite a lot.
Have you used this trick before to switch your Google Play’s country? If so, did it work for you?
