A VPN location is the country or city associated with the VPN server you connect to.

To change it, open your VPN app, choose one country or city from the location list, and connect. Your public IP address should then appear to come from the selected VPN server.

Device or setup What to do
Windows or Mac Open the VPN app, select the current location, choose a country or city, then connect
Android or iPhone Open the VPN app, tap Change, Locations or Servers, choose a location, then connect
Browser extension Open the extension and select a country or server
VPN router Change the server in the router's VPN dashboard
Manual VPN setup Import or select a configuration file for the new server

How to Change VPN Location on Windows or Mac

On Windows and Mac, open the VPN app, select a country or city, and connect to the new server.

  1. Open your VPN application.
  2. Disconnect from the current server if the app requires it.
  3. Click the current server name, Selected Location, Locations or a similar option.
  4. Search for a country, city or individual server.
  5. Select the location.
  6. Click Connect.

ExpressVPN lets desktop users open the location list next to Selected Location, search for a country or city, and select a server. Proton VPN provides country and city choices through its Countries tab.

How to Change VPN Location on Android or iPhone

The VPN provider's mobile app normally contains the country and server list you need.

  1. Open your VPN provider's mobile app.
  2. Tap Change, Locations, Countries or Servers.
  3. Choose the country you want.
  4. Select a city or server if the app provides that option.
  5. Confirm the connection.

ExpressVPN uses a Change button below the connection control on Android and iPhone. Proton VPN users can change servers from the Home screen on Android or the Countries tab on iPhone and iPad.

Android's system settings can connect to or edit a saved VPN profile, but they usually do not provide the full location list available in the provider's app.

How to Change VPN Location in a Browser Extension

A browser extension changes the location only for traffic inside that browser. It does not automatically cover other browsers, desktop applications or system connections.

  1. Click the VPN extension icon in your browser toolbar.
  2. Open the country or server list.
  3. Search for a country or city.
  4. Select the location and connect.

Use the full VPN application if you want the location change to apply to email clients, games, messaging apps or other browsers.

How to Choose the Right VPN Location

Choose the server based on what you need:

  • Fastest connection: Select a nearby country or use the app's fastest-server option.
  • A specific country: Search for that country and connect to a server there.
  • A specific city: Select the city when the provider offers city-level locations.
  • Streaming or regional websites: Choose a server in the region associated with the service, then reconnect to the website.
  • Better reliability: Try another server in the same country if the first one is slow or blocked.

A server farther from your physical location usually adds more network latency. Providers also recommend switching servers when a connection is slow, unavailable or under maintenance.

How to Check Whether Your VPN Location Changed

Check your public IP address and country after connecting to the new server.

  1. Search for "what is my IP address" or use a reputable IP-checking tool.
  2. Check the displayed IP address and country.
  3. Compare the result with the VPN location selected in the app.

Connecting to a VPN server normally changes the public IP address. Clear your browser cache and cookies before checking again if the old location still appears.

Why a Website May Still Show Your Old Location

A website can still show your old location because a VPN changes your public IP address, not every location signal on your device.

A website may still detect or remember your original region because:

  • The website has an existing cookie or account region.
  • Your browser has permission to share GPS-based location.
  • Google or another service is using saved region preferences.
  • The VPN provider's IP address is incorrectly classified in a location database.
  • You selected a browser extension when you needed the full VPN app.

If your browser is sharing your physical location, disable location permission for that website or browser. A VPN can hide your IP address, but browser location permissions are separate.

If Google shows the wrong country, reset its search region settings after connecting to the VPN. Google can use information other than the VPN IP address, so a regional mismatch does not always mean the VPN connection failed.

What to Do if You Cannot Select a Country

If you cannot select a country, check your VPN plan, app version, protocol and current server availability.

  1. Update the VPN app.
  2. Search for the country manually.
  3. Try a different VPN protocol.
  4. Restart the app and device.
  5. Select another server in the same country.

Some VPN plans limit which locations you can choose. Proton VPN's free plan may randomly assign the next server and impose a cooldown between changes, while specific country and city selection is available on paid plans.

VPN providers can show different server lists depending on the subscription, device, protocol and current server availability.