How to change the country in the Google Play Store

How many times have you tried to download a certain app from the Google Play Store only to find that the app was not available for your country? Needless to say, this can be quite frustrating.

The reason is that your Google Play Store country determines which apps you are allowed to download and install. Also, some apps are region-locked, which means they are only available in certain countries. If you are not in one of these countries, not only will you not be allowed to download the app from the Play Store, but you will not be able to find it in the first place.

That being said, if you move to another country where said app might be available, you need to change this setting in your Google Play Store app. This article will tell you how.

Things to keep in mind

Before moving on to the main part of the article, let's talk about some things you need to keep in mind. First of all, if you just want to get rid of the "Not available in your country" message while staying in the same country, there is a solution that might work. We will discuss this later in the article.

However, if you have changed country and now want to adjust this setting in your Google Play Store app, there are some restrictions you should be aware of:

1. The Google Play Store allows you to change your country in the app only once a year. In other words, if you change country now, you will have to wait 365 days to change it again.
2. Once you change your country in the app, you will no longer be allowed to use the Google Play balance you had in your old country.

Now that we've covered the important aspects of this change, let's see how you can make it.

Change the country in your Google Play Store app

To change country in the Google Play Store app, you must:

1. Be in this country (the store detects it via your IP address)
2. Set up a payment method from your new country

If you have that covered, you're good to go.

Here's how to change this setting:

1. Open the Google Play Store app on your Android device.
2. Tap the menu icon in the upper left corner (three horizontal lines).
3. Select Account.
4. Scroll down the Settings tab and find the Countries & Profiles section.
5. Tap the country in which you want to set up your account.
6. Follow the on-screen instructions and set up a payment method saved in the country you want to switch to.
   
   

You can add multiple payment methods, but the very first one must be from the country you set. This will create a brand new Google payments profile that will be linked to the new country you entered.

Once you have done this, it may take up to 24 hours for the change to be accepted.

Note that this feature is not available to everyone. The feature will only give you the option to change countries if you have already visited a foreign country. As mentioned, the Google Play Store app has this information because of your IP address.

You also won't be able to switch countries if you've used this feature in the past year or if your account is part of a Google Play family library, which allows up to five people to access apps. and other content purchased from a single account in the group.

Download app without changing country setting

If you can't or don't want to change country, you can try something else if you want to download an app that is not available in your current location. This method requires a VPN service. But how does it work ?

Google's servers can read your IP address and determine where you are currently located. Since your computer or mobile phone is directly connected to their servers, you just need to find a different route.

This is exactly what a VPN does. Essentially, your phone (or computer) will connect to your VPN provider's server in the country of your choice, and that server will then connect to Google's servers impersonating your device.

This way, the app won't be able to determine where you are currently located because it won't see your real IP address. Instead, it will see the address of the VPN server you use to access the service.

So, if an app is not available in your country but you know it is available in the United States, just select the United States as your VPN server location.

You can use tons of different VPN apps to do this, but TunnelBear VPN may be one of the best and easiest to use. Plus, you get 500MB of free VPN traffic at the start of every month. There are other trustworthy VPN providers, but you will have to pay for their services.

Your other option is to search for similar apps in the Google Play Store and use them to find the app you couldn't download. You can try:

1. Amazon Appstore
2. Slide me
3. F-Droïde
4. Humble Bundle

Enjoy your future downloads

After reading this article, you now know how to change your location in the Google Play Store. Remember the restrictions that will occur when you change countries, so if you're only going for a short trip, it's best to wait until you get home to download the app you need.

Do you use VPN services to download apps that are not available in your country? If so, what VPN do you use? Share your top picks in the comments section below.