How to Watch Friends Online: A Quick Step-By-Step GuideFriends is available to stream online from a few streaming platforms, including Netflix, HBO Max, HBO Go, Prime Video, and TVNZ. All of them are a good choice, but we think TVNZ is the best. It’s the only one that makes Friends available to anyone for free. Well, as long as you live in New Zealand. If you don’t, here’s what you’ll have to do to watch Friends online for free:
- Subscribe to a VPN service. ExpressVPN is a good all-around choice. It’s got thousands of servers, and it’s incredibly fast.
- Download and install the VPN client. Most VPNs will guide you through this process as soon as you sign up.
- Open the app and connect to a New Zealand server.
- Go to TVNZ and browse for Friends.
- Enjoy the show!
If you want to find out how to watch the show on other sites, read our full article below.
Ready to revisit Central Perk with Monica, Chandler, Rachel, Ross, Joey, and Phoebe?
Friends is one of the most endearing sitcoms from the 90s, which means it’s readily available on most popular streaming platforms, including Netflix, HBO Max, TVNZ, and Amazon Prime Video.
Unfortunately, the availability of shows like Friends depends on the country you’re currently in. Despite its popularity, it hasn’t been syndicated and released in all regions through different streaming platforms. Does that mean you have to subscribe to another streaming service? Not at all!
Because it’s such a massive hit, Friends has been translated into many languages and is available in many parts of the globe. However, it might not be available on your localized version of Netflix or Amazon Prime Video. But, there’s a way to change that. You can easily access the US library of Netflix or any other streaming service with a simple workaround. In this article, we’ll talk about the one tool you need to stream Friends from wherever you are in the world: a VPN.
Where to Watch Friends Online
Warner Bros. currently holds exclusive rights to Friends, but the show is still available from other services. Currently, you can watch Friends on the platforms listed below.
Click on the name of the streaming service to jump to that section of this article.
- Netflix – Availability depends on the country.
- HBO Max – Only accessible from the US.
- Prime Video – An overall good choice.
- TVNZ – Only available for New Zealand.
Note that Friends, or many other shows, may not be available in the country you’re in because of geographical restrictions (also known as “geoblocks”). In order to unblock these restrictions, you need a virtual private network (VPN).
Best VPN to Watch Friends Online
A VPN can make it appear as if you’re accessing a streaming website from a different country. They do this by rerouting your internet connection through a server located in your country of choice.
Here’s an example: let’s say you’re currently in the United States and want to stream Friends on Netflix. Unfortunately, Friends isn’t available on U.S. Netflix. What you can do is connect to a VPN server based in a country where Friends is available on Netflix, such as Australia. Once connected, all the websites you access will see an Australian IP address (instead of your real IP address).
There are different VPN options available, but not all of them can bypass a streaming service’s VPN detection. Our recommended VPN for streaming shows and movies is ExpressVPN. You get a choice of over 3,000 servers in 94 countries, not to mention top-notch speeds.
- Very easy to use VPN
- Perfect for anonymous browsing, downloading, and streaming (i.e. Netflix)
- 3000+ servers in 94 countries
How to Watch Friends on Netflix
For five years, leading streaming service Netflix was home to Friends. Since Warner Bros. acquired the rights to the show, however, the number of countries where Friends is available became much more limited.
If you want to watch Friends on Netflix, all you have to do is activate your VPN and open your Netflix account. Here are step-by-step instructions:
- Sign up for a VPN subscription. For streaming on Netflix, we recommend ExpressVPN. Click the button below to go straight to their website.
- Download and install the VPN software.
- Sign in to your VPN account.
- Connect to a server located in a country where Friends is available on Netflix, such as Australia, the UK, France, or the Philippines. Make sure to stay connected to the VPN during the next steps.
- Open Netflix on your device, whether it’s through your browser or the Netflix app.
- Search for “Friends” on Netflix’s search bar.
- Click play and enjoy!
How to Watch Friends on HBO Max
HBO Max is a tricky platform. Since March 2021, it stopped allowing users to join the platform with gift cards. The only way to watch anything on the platform is with a US card. If you have that, here’s what you can do to enjoy Friends on HBO Max, regardless of where you are:
- Subscribe to a VPN provider. ExpressVPN is a great choice in this case as well.
- Download and install the VPN app. Your computer will guide you through the process.
- Connect to a server in the US. This is the only way you’ll be able to access HBO Max.
- Log in or sign up for HBO Max. Remember that the platform only accepts US credit cards for payment on their service.
- Browse for Friends.
- Enjoy the show!
If you can’t access HBO Max, there’s still hope. HBO Go is a smaller, cheaper version of HBO Max, and it’s available basically everywhere HBO Max isn’t. In most countries, it also streams the most popular TV shows from HBO like Friends, The Big Bang Theory, or Young Sheldon.
How to Watch Friends on Prime Video
Prime Video is another great streaming service where you can enjoy Friends. It recently expanded its reach to include parts of Eastern Europe as well, so it’s more widely available. All you need in order to join the platform is to sign-up for an account. The first month’s free, and then it’s pretty affordable (prices vary based on where you live).
If Prime Video isn’t available in your country, you can follow one of the tutorials above to connect to a VPN and access Prime that way. For instance, ExpressVPN is a great choice for connecting to Amazon Prime Video.
How to Watch Friends for Free (on TVNZ)
Friends is available on Television New Zealand (TVNZ), a TV network that broadcasts through New Zealand and parts of the Pacific region. The show can be streamed for free, as long as you’re from New Zealand.
But if you’re not, you can still enjoy the show. Here’s what you need to do:
- Sign-up for a VPN. You can use ExpressVPN to connect to a New Zealand server.
- Download and install the VPN application.
- Connect to a server from New Zealand.
- Sign-up for a TVNZ account.
- Open the Friends listing on TVNZ.
- Enjoy the show, completely free!
Buying and Renting Friends
If you don’t want a subscription for streaming services, you can purchase individual episodes or entire seasons from a lot of places online. Here are all the platforms where you can buy it from:
- iTunes – $14.99/season.
- Amazon Video – $2.99/episode, $14.99/season.
Amazon Video seems to be the best option if you want to get episodes in bulk. But if you’re willing to spend that money, you’re better off with a Prime or HBO subscription instead.
What is Friends About?
Friends is one of the most popular TV shows from the 90s. The story follows Rachel (Jennifer Aniston), Ross (David Schwimmer), Monica (Courtney Cox), Chandler (Matthew Perry), Joey (Matt LeBlanc), and Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) as they navigate life in New York City.
The Manhattan group of friends experience everything you can expect from life, from love to heartbreak, and everything in between.
Friends is a pop culture phenomenon that most people will have at least heard of. If you somehow missed the show, here’s a trailer for the Friends Anniversary Reunion:
The entire show has 10 seasons, plus the Reunion episode. If you want to binge it, you’ll spend five days and one hour watching this show. Needless to say, we recommend you take a break while you’re at it!
Final Thoughts
Watching friends online is very easy as long as you have a VPN, and access to either Netflix, HBO Max, HBO Go, Prime Video, or TVNZ. If you want more guides on how to enjoy your favorite content online, check out our other articles:
- The 30 Best Netflix Shows
- How to Watch Harry Potter Online
- How to Watch Strictly Come Dancing From Anywhere
Confused about any of these steps? Then check the Frequently Asked Questions section below. We hope it helps you with any queries you might still have.
In 2021, Friends is available on Netflix, HBO Max, Amazon Prime, and TVNZ. Do note that these platforms are not available all over the globe. Even when they are, like in the case of Netflix, they might not make Friends available to stream worldwide. So you might need a VPN to watch Friends online. Read our article to find out how to do that.
Friends is available on Amazon Prime. And the platform is readily available almost everywhere across the globe. But if it’s not available where you live, or if you want alternatives to watch Friends online without a subscription, don’t forget to check our article.
Besides Netflix, fans of the show can watch it on HBO Max, HBO Go, Amazon Prime, and TVNZ. In our opinion, the best option is TVNZ, since it’s completely free to access. If you don’t live in New Zealand and you want to watch Friends for free, read our article.
HBO Max, HBO Go, and Amazon Prime all feature a download service for their paying members. If you’re signed up for the services, you can download episodes of the show. If you want to download Friends from an unlicensed source, you can read our article on the best free streaming sites.
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