Buying games from foreign regions: Please read the FAQ in the first post

Dexy

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It appears that the VPN method is no longer working so the only way to buy is using gift cards. This severely limits the choice of marketplaces due to the limited availability of gift cards and sellers.


Xbox One - Buying From Foreign Stores Guide


Before reading these guides please note this is done at your own risk. People have been buying Xbox One Games from other regions since the consoles launch but it could be blocked at any time and I take no responsibility if that happens !


Purchasing Without Using VPN


Getting Started



You can use your existing Gamertag, no need to create another Gamertag. You are going to use your current UK Gamertag and Microsoft Account Details.


You will need your Debit/Credit Card (you can also use Revolut or Paypal) and an address for the region you are going to purchase from.


This guide is for buying Xbox Live Credit and using that to make your purchases from another region this guide does not require a VPN. You can purchase direct with a VPN, see the guide below for this method.


So first things first is you need to purchase some Xbox Live Credit in the currency for the region you require.


This can be done from the MS Store Direct or via Websites like Amazon dot com or PcGamesupply dot com


The MS Store has available credit from UK, Russia, Hong Kong & USA.


Purchasing Xbox Live Credit


To purchase credit from the MS Store you go to the following link - Microsoft Store United Kingdom Official Site – Free Shipping, Free Returns


You then sign in with your MS Account Details.


You then select the region you want to purchase credit from. Russia is very popular at the moment as well as USA & Hong Kong.

Russia =


You select the countries from the bottom left of the website to change the region.

country-select-png.553919



If selecting a non-English site it is worth using a browser like Chrome so you can translate it.


Select the region/country


country-list-png.553921


Now you need to navigate to the Xbox Live Section

xbox-live-credit-png.553922


And now select the required amount of Xbox Live Credit.


Once you have added this to your basket, proceed to the checkout.


You now need to pay for it using your Debit/Credit Card and will need to enter a Billing Address for that region. Please see below - ‘Alternative to using Debit/Credit Card’ if you don’t want to use yours and want to use Paypal instead.


For USA just Google a Delaware Hotel Address as Delaware is Tax Free, for Russia I believe the Hilton in Moscow is very nice all year round. Some Address Details listed below.


Once you have made the purchase you should be taken to a page with the Xbox Live Credit Codes or they may be emailed to you. They will go to the email address that is linked with your MS Account and Gamertag.


Once you receive the codes, they vary from straight away on the website to 4-6 hours over email.


Redeeming Via Xbox.com


You can then redeem the Xbox Live Credit via Xbox.com


Log onto Xbox.com with your Gamertag/MS Account and same as before you select the Country/Region from the bottom left of the Website. Once it has changed to that Country/Region you select ‘Redeem Code’ and enter the 25 Digit Code. Once redeemed you can then visit the Xbox Store via Xbox.com and purchase your chosen Game.


When you do make a purchase it may ask for a Billing Address again, just enter the same address you used previously. It should have actually saved the billing info from your purchase of Credit.


Once the game is purchased and if your console is set as Home Console and set to Auto Download the game should start downloading. If it does not then you can view it from My Games & Apps and scroll all the way to the right under Games and it should be listed under Ready To Install. Just click Install.


No need to change the Region of your console.


The above is the process I have used for Russia & USA and worked fine. You do not have to purchase credit from the MS Store you can use other sites but you will need to enter a billing address when you come to redeem that credit for that region.


Checking Balance & Accounts


Once you have done this and added Billing Info for other regions it will create Region Accounts against your MS Account. This is still using your UK Gamertag it just means you have Billing Address Details against Other Region Personal Accounts which you can view from the Commerce.Microsoft Website. At the top right is a dropdown it will show your personal accounts as below. This site will also show you what Credit you have in each account.

personal-account-png.553923


Once all this is done then it is just a case of buying Credit, redeeming it and purchasing the desired game. No need to add any more address’s. You can do this easily from your PC or Smartphone and no need to do it via Console.



Useful Address & Translations

United States:
Address Line 1 - 12 The Green
Address Line 2 – blank
City - Newark
County/Region - DE
Country/Region - United States
Postcode - 19717
Telephone - 302 8311141
Russia / Poccnr:
If you have trouble, add billing info without VPN, add card info without. Once they are both on the account, try and buy with VPN.

Первая строка адреса - Address Line 1 - Kalanchevskaya ulitsa / 1st Line of yours
Вторая строка адреса - Address Line 2 - 21/40 / blank
Город - City - Mockba / Moscow
Регион - County /Region - Blank
Страна или регион - Country / Region - Russia
Почтовый индекс - Postcode - 107078
Номер телефона - Phone - 749 6456789

Card Details

Тип кредитной карты - Credit Card Type
Имя, указанное на карте - Name On Card
Номер кредитной карты - Card No.
CVV-код - CVV Code
Дата окончания срока действия - Expiration date
Hong Kong SAR (English):
Address Line 1 - 50 Nathan Rd
City - Hong Kong
State / Province - Hong Kong
Phone No - 23693111
Hungary / Magyarország:
Cím 1. sora - Address Line 1 - Your Own
Cím 2. sora - Address Line 2 - Your Town
Város - City - Hungary
Állam/megye - State / Province - Állam/megye
Irányítószám - Postcode - 4020
Telefon - Phone No - 36-23504000
Singapore:
Address Line 1 - Your Address
Address Line 2 – Your Town
City - Singapore
State / Province - Singapore
Country/Region - Singapore
Postal code - 119077
Phone - 91233132
Colombia:
Dirección (primera línea) - Address Line 1 - Your Address
Dirección (continuación) - Address Line 2 – blank
Ciudad - City - Your Town
Provincia - State / Province - Bogota
Código postal - Postal code - 110121
Teléfono - Phone - 571-4044141




Purchasing With VPN - updated 19th June 2018. Thanks to Caskey for the instructions.

When buying off foreign stores like Argentina for example, you'll need an Argentina address, zip code, phone number sometimes usually. But just Google a hotel or something and just use their address. Don't even need to fully fill out the address at times too.

All you need is to download a VPN or a free trial of one for your PC\Laptop. Windscribe you can get a 50GB account for life for free just now but don't think the free account gives you access to the Argentina server. VYPR VPN you can get a free account too. Plenty of VPN trials and free accounts out there, or even lifetime subscriptions quite cheap at times.

Download a program called Connectify.

Start up your VPN and change the region to Argentina (Vypr VPN somehow only seems to work with the Argentina store when the VPN is set to Vietnam. About the only VPN that does this).

Start up Connectify and choose the 'Create a Wifi Hotspot' tab, look for your VPN in the internet to share box, then start up the hotspot.

Also make sure to disable any firewall on the VPN and Connectify.

Change the region on your Xbox settings to Argentina and reboot.

Go to network settings, and set up wireless network.
Then hit X to refresh and you should see the Connectify hotspot. Then connect to it, typing in any password you may have used when setting up the hotspot on Connectify.

Go to the store.

Buy what you please with your credit or debit card, and if done right it should start downloading.

Also, this is a good website for prices of all regions: Xbox Store Checker - Price comparison website for Xbox One Games


For this you will need a global payment method such as the revolut.

  • Connect to your VPN that has a server based in where you are trying to buy from.

  • Go to Xbox One Games and navigate to whichever country you are trying to buy from (bottom left).

  • Click GT / Sign in. Click 'Xbox Settings'. Sometimes this is different in other languages. Listed as 'Xbox settings' in Singapore as an example.

  • Click on 'Payment and Billing' Icon with the CC icon.

  • Click 'Billing Info' 3rd option along.

  • 1st Grey box on right is Add Billing address and save when done (green button).

  • See spoiler tags above for addresses to use / translations.

  • Search for insert whatever game here and try to buy it.

  • This will prompt you to add your credit card details in which you add the Revolut Mastercard as the payment method. See spoiler tags above for rough translations.

  • Add details, buy product.
Guide for creating and adding a PayPal account.

Many thanks to irritated badger for this.

In this guide we will use Revolut as a payment method, however you can use your own debit/credit card. Also we will use Hong Kong as an example region.
  1. Create a Revolut account (App gives you a virtual debit card with no transaction fees, you can order a physical if you want one but not necessary
  2. Top up the account with however much you need for the purchase. (add a few £ extra just in case)
  3. Create a new email (use one not already attached to a PayPal if you prefer)Navigate to PayPal United Kingdom: go to Pay, Send Money & Accept Payments bottom right, ctrl + F, hong kong.
  4. Google 'holiday inn hong kong phone number' and pick whichever address you are staying at. Register with those address details and your email, use the phone number from holiday inn. Skip adding the card in the initial set up, we're going to add it later.
  5. Verify your Paypal account with email you will have received. Navigate to link a credit card. Now this is where it takes a tiny amount off your payment method (debit card) to verify you are a real person by giving you a 4 digit code which you enter in later. Usually this takes a few days with a standard bank but it came through immediately with my virtual Revolut Mastercard.Confirm your credit card with the code.
  6. Xbox.com navigate to Hong Kong SAR (English) bottom right.Click GT / Sign in. Click 'Microsoft Account'. Click Add Paypal, this will prompt for your address also, add in the HK address you chose as well as the paypal email and password
  7. You can now purchase from Xbox.com in that region using the paypal account.

FAQ

Q. Why can't I just add my card to Xbox.com for these regions and purchase games direct ?


It seems MS do actually check the Billing Info and Your card so more than likely you will get an Error but if you redeem credit it all seems to work fine.


You can use Revolut/Paypal if you don’t want to buy credit.


Q. What are the advantages of buying from another region ?

Games seem to be a lot cheaper from other regions, US new release games work out about £37 with the current Exchange Rate. Games from Russia work out about £28.


Q. Can I purchase Season Passes & DLC from other regions and it work with my UK or Other Region Game be it Disc or Digital ?

Yes you can, all DLC & Season Passes are Region Free same as Games. You can have a UK Digital Copy of a game and buy the DLC from USA without any issues. I believe this also works fine with Disc's too.


Q. When are new games added to Pre-order & Download ?

Normally once a game has gone Gold it should appear on the Xbox Store ready for Pre-Order and Download. Normally a week or 2 before Release Day. Once a new game has been added other members normally post it in this very thread.


Q. When will the game unlock if I have Pre-ordered from another region ?

The games you pre-order will unlock Midnight on release day for the region you have purchased from. US Releases can be a few days before so that is another advantage but if its a worldwide release then buying from US will mean your game won't unlock until about 5am UK time on release day. Take this into account when Pre-ordering from other regions. Some dates and times vary for release. Hong Kong is good sometimes as they are 8 hours ahead so a Global Release could mean you are playing the game at 4pm the day before it releases.


Q. Why is a game not available in some regions ?

All down to licensing I believe and also the rating system for games in certain countries or regions. Some regions are great for prices of games but sometimes don't have the game you want.


Q. So how do I find out the cheapest price for a game I want ?

There are a few sites available which do comparisons but I have noticed they may not be 100% or up to date. Best thing to do is check the game and check different regions just by selecting the different country when you are on the Games web page. Then Google the exchange rate. This site may help but may not be 100% accurate - DGP - Compare Digital Games Prices


Q. Can I use this method via Smartglass ?

Not that I am aware of, Smartglass work's off your consoles region and your current location. But if you have access to Smartglass then you have access to a Smart Phone or Tablet and you just do itviaXbox.com on those devices.


Q. Will this get blocked or will I get banned ?

Honestly I have no idea, people have been purchasing from the US Store using $ Xbox Live Credit since the launch of the console and people have been buying from other regions in the past year without any issues apart from Errors when using a Card direct via Xbox.com or VPN. I have not heard of anyone having issues or errors when redeeming actual Xbox Live Credit. Before the console was launched a lot of Xbox staff mentioned that Xbox One would be region free and all games are Region Free and you could purchase from any region as long as you had the means to purchase it. It is very easy to change the region on the actual console and AVForums members have actually spoken with MS support about their 'other' region accounts under their main gamertag without any recourse. Nothing is guaranteed though. This is done at your own risk !

Q. My HDD is now full what do I do now?

Here you go, your going to need to bookmark this - Xbox One External Hard drive | AVForums
 
Last edited:
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You'll have to setup an american gamertag so will need an american address to use

Setup a new email addy at outlook and when it asks you where you are from... America
 
Just choose an address in Delaware so that there is no sales tax. Then browse the store on your computer, otherwise you have to change the location on your Xbox and it gets more complicated.
 
Just choose an address in Delaware so that there is no sales tax. Then browse the store on your computer, otherwise you have to change the location on your Xbox and it gets more complicated.

So how can I download stuff from the US store to my console then and play under my gamertag?
 
So how can I download stuff from the US store to my console then and play under my gamertag?
The X1 is region free, I tried it with Peggle 2 because it was a cheapish game just to test, worked a treat, signed in with my Us account and downloaded it, then signed out and signed back in with my normal account, works flawlessly.
 
So how can I download stuff from the US store to my console then and play under my gamertag?
Buy the item from the website using your US account, then add the US account to the Xbox one, you'll then see that the game you bought is waiting to download. You can play the games from your normal account, I don't even have the US one in the Xbox anymore and only add it if I buy something.

Doing it this way you don't have to change the local on the Xbox :)
 
Buy the item from the website using your US account, then add the US account to the Xbox one, you'll then see that the game you bought is waiting to download. You can play the games from your normal account, I don't even have the US one in the Xbox anymore and only add it if I buy something.

Doing it this way you don't have to change the local on the Xbox :)

When I'm downloading from the US site, (within the X1 ) do you have to stay logged in with your US account till it's finished downloading, or can you log out and in with your normal account whilst it downloads, just thought I'd ask?
TIA
 
thanks Guys, is there anything on the US store that makes it worthwhile?
 
thanks Guys, is there anything on the US store that makes it worthwhile?
Well if you buy a game, say Bf4, it will cost you approx $60 = £37 English pounds.
This would cost you £55 on the Uk store.
 
Thats not a problem for me as I get discounted XBL credit from ebay (just got £60 worth for £42), so I am not worried about the price difference. I was wondering are there titles or demos which are exclusive to the US store, if not I wont bother.
 
Thats not a problem for me as I get discounted XBL credit from ebay (just got £60 worth for £42), so I am not worried about the price difference. I was wondering are there titles or demos which are exclusive to the US store, if not I wont bother.

I see, don't really know then, apart from getting some games that come out in the states before they hit here? Maybe someone with more knowledge can help.
 
Does it have to be in the same name as your main account and can you just pay with money already on the xobx account for your main one?
 
You pay thru a paypal account although when i set mine up last night i couldn't see an option to do that. Hopefully someone else can clue us up on this?

Also make sure you choose Delaware as your state as shopping is tax free and reduces costs slightly. Google for a zip code.
 
You pay thru a paypal account although when i set mine up last night i couldn't see an option to do that. Hopefully someone else can clue us up on this?

Also make sure you choose Delaware as your state as shopping is tax free and reduces costs slightly. Google for a zip code.
I used a Delaware address, but still had to pay tax, wasn't a great deal of money. But still had to pay it.
 
Just asks for credit card details? Am I being a plank as I cant see how to pay with paypal?!?
 
Just asks for credit card details? Am I being a plank as I cant see how to pay with paypal?!?
I just filled my name in and then the next page give me the paypal options, if I remember correctly.
 

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