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How to Watch Sherlock Holmes on Netflix in the US

Sherlock Holmes has one of the best portrayals of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's beloved detective. It's an interesting new take that will leave you wanting more (lucky you because it has a sequel and a third film is due in 2021).

SummaryWhy Netflix US Doesn't Have Sherlock Holmes?How To Unblock Sherlock Holmes On Netflix In USCan You Use Any VPN To Unblock Sherlock Holmes?5 Helpful Tips For Optimizing VPN SpeedsThe Bottom Line

You've probably searched on Netflix before, but were disappointed that you couldn't find it. So does that mean you have to pay for Amazon Prime Video to watch it?

No, you don't need to do something so drastic and expensive. Sherlock Holmes is available on Netflix, but not in the US. Don't take our word for it, though – find out more about it by following the link. It's an online tool called StreamCatcher that tells you where Netflix titles are available. Just search for the movie and you'll see that you can't watch it in the US.

It is available in other countries, but why?

We'll tell you everything you need to know in this quick five-minute article (yes, including how to unlock Sherlock Holmes in the United States).

Why doesn't Netflix US have Sherlock Holmes?

This is mainly due to licensing agreements. Netflix doesn't own the movie, so they had to license it from the copyright holder. Unfortunately, they were unable to obtain rights for the United States, just for the countries you saw above.

Why?

Maybe because the copyright holder has already sold the rights to other streaming sites and/or TV networks. You already know the movie is available on Amazon Prime Video, so maybe they own the US licensing rights.

It's also possible Netflix didn't buy the rights even though they were available. Their analytics may have shown them that most of their target audience in the United States would not be interested in the film. Since they spend a lot of money licensing content, they can't really afford to make big investments that don't generate positive ROI.

Pretty unfair to you, we know, but you have to understand that this is just business. If Netflix were to make such a risky investment, it could lose money. Also, if they were to ignore the license agreement, they could end up being sued.

How to unblock Sherlock Holmes on Netflix in USA

The solution is surprisingly simple:just use a VPN! It is an online service that prevents Netflix (and any other site) from seeing your geolocation. It does this by routing your traffic through a VPN server between your device and Netflix, so the site can't see your IP address.

Basically, instead:

Your Netflix Network ISP Device

Your connection will look like this:

Your Device ISP Network VPN Netflix Server

Netflix will just think your traffic is coming from the VPN server. For this reason, it will only see the IP address of the VPN. Just use a server in a country where Sherlock Holmes is available (like Japan, UK or Belgium) and you can watch the movie.

And using a Netflix VPN is very simple – it only takes a few minutes at most! All you need to do is subscribe to a provider, download the right app for your device, install it, run it, and use it to connect to a VPN server from a list.

Can-you-use-any-vpn-to-unblock-sherlock-holmes?

Not really. Netflix is ​​quite aggressive when it comes to detecting VPN IPs. When it catches you using one, you'll end up on the Netflix Proxy Error page.

How to Watch Sherlock Holmes on Netflix in the US

The only way to get rid of it is to disconnect from the VPN. Or, you know, use a VPN that can evade Netflix's detection algorithms. To do this, a provider must regularly update the IP addresses of its servers. You can learn more about these types of VPNs using StreamCatcher. In addition to telling you where Netflix titles are available, it also recommends the best Netflix VPNs on the market.

How do you know you can trust StreamCatcher's recommendations?

Simple – ProPrivacy owns the tool, so these suggestions are based on their data. Since this is one of the biggest (if not the biggest) VPN review sites on the web, you can fully trust the recommended VPNs that will work with Netflix.

5 useful-tips to optimize vpn speeds

You may experience annoying slowdowns when using a VPN if your original speeds are low (like around 30 Mbps). In this case, it's not unusual for VPN speeds to drop below 25 Mbps. No one wants this to happen as these are the minimum speed requirements to enjoy Ultra HD Streaming on Netflix.

If you need a way to speed up your VPN connection, we've got you covered. We're actually going to show you five ways to do it:

  1. Do not connect to servers that are too far from you. Use nearby servers because data packets will take less time to travel between your device and the server (so you get better speeds). For example, if you live on the west coast, you should use servers in Japan or Hong Kong instead of Israel or the UK.
  2. OpenVPN is a great protocol, but it's very resource intensive. Use faster alternatives like L2TP/IPSec, IKEv2, and WireGuard. SoftEther is also fast, but it requires manual configuration and most vendors don't offer it. Also, avoid PPTP as it is very risky to use (the NSA can break its encryption).
  3. If you get stuck with OpenVPN or insist on using it, make it work over UDP. This network protocol is less stable than TCP, but it is much faster.
  4. If split tunneling is available, use it to have the VPN only route Netflix traffic from the app or browser you use with Netflix. The less data to encrypt and decrypt, the smoother your speeds will be.
  5. Unblock Netflix over wired connections instead of WiFi, as they are faster. Or at least get your device as close to the router as possible to get a strong signal.

The bottom-line

Sherlock Holmes is not available on Netflix in the US, but you can easily unblock it with a VPN. If you know of other ways to do this, please let us know in the comments below.