Although Disney+ is still not officially available in South Africa, there is a workaround for accessing the video streaming service in South Africa.
The country and the rest of the African continent are not currently included on Disney’s launch calendar, which means the service will likely only arrive in 2022 or later.
With the second season of the service’s The Mandalorian now in full swing, many local Star Wars fans will be turning to torrent sites to pirate new episodes of Din Djarin and Baby Yoda’s adventures.
Fortunately, VPN experts Wizcase have compiled a step-by-step guide for subscribing to Disney+ in unsupported countries.
The key to getting Disney+ to work is to fool the service into thinking you are accessing it from the US or another supported region, which can easily be achieved by using a reputed Virtual Private Network (VPN).
However, the biggest hurdle is that you have to use a US-based payment method to subscribe to the service as well.
Below are the steps you need to follow to get Disney+ to work on either an Android or iOS device in South Africa.
Choose your VPN
The first critical tool you will need is a VPN with support for US servers.
While there are a plethora of free VPNs available, many of these don’t work properly and often have dodgy privacy policies which allow them to make revenue by selling your data to third parties.
It is therefore recommended that you choose one of the top-rated paid-for VPNs, which include services like:
- ExpressVPN – From $6.67 (R105) per month
- NordVPN – From $3.71 (R58) per month
- SurfShark – From $2.21 (R35) per month
- CyberGhost – From $2.25 (R35) per month
- IPVanish – From $3.25 (R51) per month
In addition, it’s advisable to purchase your VPN subscription directly from the provider’s website, as certain services won’t offer refunds if bought through another platform – like the App Store.
Once you are connected to your chosen US server, you can follow the steps indicated below to get Disney+ in South Africa.
Android devices
1. Buy a US Google gift card
Next, head to Amazon.com and purchase a US Google gift card to be used as your payment method.
Although a Disney+ subscription is priced at only $6.99 (R110), the minimum card value available is $25 (R392).
Alternatively, you could risk using grey market key site G2A.com to buy a $10 gift card, although this offers no guarantee of working.
The code for this gift card can be sent to your chosen email address upon checkout.
2. Create another Google account
In order to use the gift card, you will be required to create a new Google account. You can do this by going to your device’s settings, opening Google Settings and choosing “Add another account”.
3. Redeem the gift card
Redeem the gift card by opening up the Google Play Store while logged into your new account. For this, you will have to enter a US phone number and postcode.
While you could technically use any US number you find on the web, it may be more responsible to use a purchased virtual US phone number.
4. Download Disney+ and start watching
The final step is to download and install the Disney+ app, and create your account. The app will allow you to choose Google Play credit as a payment method.
Ensure that you are connected to the VPN throughout this entire process.
iOS devices
The workaround for Apple devices is slightly more elaborate, but also requires the user to be connected to a US server via a VPN and to log out of an Apple account if it has South Africa or an unsupported region as its location.
From there, the following steps need to be followed:
1. Create a US Apple ID on the Apple website
Go to the Apple website and navigate to the Account Creation page. Create a new Apple
2. Buy a US App Store gift card on Amazon.com
Purchase a US App Store gift card from Amazon and have its code sent to your email address.
3. Log into the new Apple ID account
After agreeing to the Terms and Conditions, you will need to leave the payment option clear and fill in any US address and phone number in the Billing Address window.
4. Redeem Gift Card
Once you’re signed into your new ID, navigate to your account settings and select Redeem Gift Card to enter the card code emailed to you and load your credit.
5. Log into your new Apple ID on your chosen device
Log into your newly created account on the iPad or iPhone from which you want to stream Disney+.
6. Download and launch Disney+
Download and install the Disney+ app from the App Store, open the app and select the “Start Free Trial” option to create your account.
Once your trial week expires, Apple will start to automatically use your credit to pay for the Disney+ subscription.
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