How to change country and region in Google Play Market – step by step instructions.
The account you need to download and install apps from Play Market has a lot of settings. The user can select the payment method, change their name and set parental control restrictions. In this article, we are going to talk about how to change the country in the Play Market application store, as this procedure is very useful for millions of users around the world.
Why do you need to change the location?
Before you change the country in your profile settings, it’s important to understand why you need to do this. Usually this option is related to situations where the owner of the device moves to another country. At the same time, region switching is also used in other situations.
Most of the time, the change of country in the absence of a change of residence is related to the peculiarities of content distribution. For example, some apps are only available in certain countries. If you change the region, you will be able to access them. Also, changing such settings helps to avoid blocking resources and programs present in the Google Play Store.
How to do it
There are several ways to make a country change. Each option is relevant to the particular situation in which the user finds himself. Not all methods are in demand, so it is important to consider all possible options to choose the one that is right for you.
Change the IP address of the device
Play Market uses different data to select the content, which allows to determine the location of the owner of the mobile phone. For example, if you are in Russia, the list of apps in the store is displayed for that country.
Since changing the country in the account settings has many peculiarities, which we will talk about later, at first it is suggested to do it without changing the Play Market settings. For example, you can use applications that allow you to change your IP address so that the store thinks that you are connecting from another country. In this way, you can avoid the blocking of certain programs in your country.
To change your IP address, you need to install an app of some VPN service (such as Hola Free VPN Proxy) on your mobile phone. You will find it in the Play Store or you can download it using alternative sources, and then you have to do the following:
- Close Play Market and download it from RAM.
- Launch Hola Free VPN Proxy after pre-installation.
- Select the region whose IP address you want to assign to your mobile phone.
- Press the connect button.
Please note that connection to IP addresses in some countries is only possible after a subscription via an established VPN service. However, some IPs are provided for free.
After activating the VPN, you will have to launch the Play Market again and search for the application you are looking for.
Change account settings
Now let’s talk about how to change the region in the profile settings itself. You can do it both on your mobile phone and on any other device, including the computer. To do this, you must follow a few simple steps:
- Tap your profile icon or sign in, if you haven’t already done so.
- Go to “Settings” > “General” > “Account and device settings” > “Country and profiles”.
- Select the desired region.
It is important. The changes will not take effect immediately, but after 48 hours. In addition, you can change the country in the profile settings at most once a year.
If everything has been done correctly, your mobile phone is ready to be used in another country. If you run into any difficulties, we strongly advise you to read through to the end of this material to familiarize yourself with the most common problems and their solutions.
Register an account specifying another country
If you don’t want to wait 48 hours or don’t want to be limited by the fact that you can only change your region once a year, it’s easy to create an account with a different country. You can do it in the following way:
- Open the mobile phone settings.
- Go to “Accounts”.
- Click the “Add New Account” button.
- Select “Google” from the suggested options.
- Press the “Create account” button.
- Follow the instructions that will appear on the screen.
When creating an account, pay attention to the “Country” item. Be sure to specify a different region here, otherwise you’ll have to repeat the operation again by creating another account.
Posible problems
When searching for the way to change the country in the Google account settings, the issue of possible malfunctions cannot be avoided. Below are the main difficulties encountered by users, as well as ways to get out of the situation:
- When using a VPN, you don’t have the right app on the Play Market yet. First of all, you have to make sure that the app is actually in the app store. Next, you need to clear the data and cache of the Google Play app through your mobile phone settings, and then launch the Play Market again.
- After changing the region in the settings, the country remains the same. We remind you that the change is made in 48 hours. The change may not have taken effect yet.
- You cannot change the region in Play Market settings. It can only be changed once a year. If you have already changed your settings in the last 12 months, you must wait or create a new account. In addition, it is often necessary to enter bank card details, as well as the region, for the changes to take effect.
We have tried to analyze the most common problems that can occur during a transaction. If you can’t resolve the issue, we recommend contacting Google Support at support.google.com.