For many Australians, gaining access to HBO's content has always come with a fair share of problems. For starters, the HBO Now streaming service isn't officially available here, leaving Foxtel as the only legitimate way for Aussies to watch shows like Game of Thrones, Silicon Valley, Westworld, True Detective and more.
Thankfully, Foxtel has now made it a lot easier to stream HBO shows through its Foxtel Now streaming service, and if you're willing to sign up for a full Foxtel cable/satellite package, you can watch them on TV as they air or let the Foxtel iQ4 box automatically record each new episode for you.
(opens in new tab)
(opens in new tab)While Foxtel Now is by far the easier route, if you've got some technical savvy and are willing to put in the extra effort, there are ways of accessing the actual HBO Now service. So if you're dead keen on having access to HBO full content library without resorting to piracy, here's a quick rundown of the process.
1) Get a VPN
To access content that's blocked in Australia like HBO Now, you'll need to subscribe to a Virtual Private Network (VPN) service. This is used to mask your real location, re-routing your online traffic through servers on the other side of the world to make it seem like you're based in a different country entirely.
In the case of HBO Now, using a VPN to change your location to the United States will allow you to stream the service from wherever you happen to be – so long as you have access to a working HBO Now account.
Following instructions from the VPN service of your choice, you should be able to apply these settings to your whole home network or to the device you plan to watch from.
Recently, TechRadar named ExpressVPN (opens in new tab) the best VPN service of 2019. Its speed, security and simplicity makes it an ideal choice for streaming HBO Now in Australia. You can sign up to ExpressVPN or find out more about it below.
(opens in new tab)2) Buy HBO Now gift cards
The second hurdle you'll need to overcome in your quest to access HBO Now from Australia is the fact that the service will not accept non-US credit cards during signup. There is, however, a fairly simple workaround to this problem.
Buying HBO Now gift cards from the US will allow you to pay for the service without the use of a credit card. Admittedly, you can't just walk into your local Coles and buy these cards – you'll need to purchase these online from a website like eGifter (opens in new tab), which sells $30, $60 and $90 gift cards. We haven’t had a chance to try this website for ourselves, so be aware that purchasing these is done entirely at your own risk.
Of course, you'll need to continually purchase these cards if you want to keep your HBO Now subscription going for the foreseeable future – something that may prove inconvenient going forward.
3) Redeem HBO Now gift card
In order to redeem your newly-acquired HBO Now gift card, head over to the service's gift card activation web page (opens in new tab). Note that this can only be accessed if you're using a VPN and you've set your location to the US.
During the activation process, you will be asked to enter both a state or territory and a matching ZIP code. You can easily find this information by visiting UnitedStatesZipCodes.org (opens in new tab).
If you've done all of the above correctly, you should then be able to commence streaming HBO Now's entire content library from Australia.
Admittedly, that's a fair amount of effort to go through to watch the remaining episodes of Game of Thrones' final season. Before you set off on your quest to access HBO Now in Australia, you'll want to make sure the effort is worthwhile. Unless you've got your heart set on watching the entire HBO Now content library, you may find that signing up to Foxtel Now (opens in new tab) is a wiser option in the long run – and you can cancel that subscription at any time if you find you no longer use it.
