Last Updated: Aug 3, 2025 Long story short — if you’re looking for a service that works like a VPN, Shadowsocks is not for you. Built with the sole purpose of helping people bypass censorship restrictions in China, all Shadowsocks does is create an encrypted connection between your proxy server (which you’d have to rent) and the Shadowsocks client on your computer. This somewhat complicated setup would help you get around the Great Firewall quite effectively, however, it’s not much good for anything else. Thankfully, Shadowsocks affords an exceptional chance for unhindered experimentation, as it carries zero costs. Should it prove unsatisfactory, consider other premium VPN providers for reliable performance.
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Consequently, utilizing Shadowsocks for streaming carries a high risk of fruitless server rentals, squandering both time and funds. My recommendation would be to opt for an actual VPN service that has established servers for streaming access.
HBO Max: Unblocked
I managed to unblock my HBO Max account with Shadowsocks and the 2 US-based servers I rented, but I experienced lag and buffering while trying to stream. Both the New York and San Francisco servers accessed the HBO Max site without issues and I could log into my account easily. Then, I connected to the New York server to try and watch an episode of Friends. Generally speaking, servers that are located closer to your true location would give you faster speeds (and therefore less lag/buffering). As the New York server was closer to my actual location in Brooklyn, I expected the video stream to be smooth. Unfortunately, this was not the case. The episode took about 20 seconds to load — which is a pretty long wait compared to the average 4-5 seconds I get when I use a top VPN. Once it started playing, I continued to experience lag and the show would buffer whenever I skipped ahead or tried to go back. Overall, it was a pretty frustrating experience. The Disney+ platform failed to initialize the login page, while the Hulu interface indicated that my login credentials had been prohibited upon attempting to access the service. You seem to be using an unblocker or proxy. Please turn off any of these services and try again. For more help, visit netflix.com/proxy. Error Code: M7111-5059 Given these results, I’d recommend using VPNs if you want to access streaming sites. With just a few clicks, you can set up a VPN and connect to hundreds of servers (without having to actually rent them) and start streaming. Top VPNs like ExpressVPN also offer money-back guarantees so you can try them out with confidence. If you don’t like it, you can always get a refund.
