How to Make Your Sony Blu-ray Player Region Free — Unlock Codes by Model

Sony quietly updated the firmware on several of its most popular Blu-ray players in late 2023 and into 2024, and if you've tried an old unlock code recently and found it stopped working — that's why. The good news: the workarounds still exist. The bad news: they're not the same for every model, and a few older tricks no longer apply. Here's what actually works right now.

What "Region Free" Actually Means — and Why It's Two Separate Problems

A lot of people come here thinking it's one issue. It's actually two, and mixing them up leads to a lot of wasted time.

Blu-ray disc regions are a hardware restriction baked into your player. A disc bought in Japan (Region A) won't play on a player sold in Europe (Region B) unless you override the region lock in the player's settings. That's what the unlock codes below fix.

Streaming region locks are completely different. Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and BBC iPlayer all serve different content libraries depending on where your internet connection appears to be coming from. There's no code you type into your remote that changes this. You need a VPN for that — and we'll cover it properly in the second half of this guide.

So: hardware codes for discs, VPN for streaming. Let's do both.

Sony Blu-ray Player Unlock Codes by Model Series

Before you start, grab your remote and make sure your player is on with no disc loaded. These sequences are entered using the standard remote — not the TV remote, not an app.

Sony BDP Series (BDP-S1700, BDP-S3700, BDP-S6700 and similar)

These are the most common Sony players worldwide, sold from roughly 2016 onward. The unlock sequence is:

1. Press Home on your remote
2. Go to Setup → System Settings
3. On your remote, press: Top Menu, Up, Down, Up, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right
4. A hidden "Region" menu should appear
5. Select Region 0 (or "All") to make the player region-free
6. Press Enter, then reboot the player

If you don't see the hidden menu appear after the sequence, try it again from the Setup screen — not the home screen. The timing matters; don't rush the button presses.

Sony UBP Series (UBP-X700, UBP-X800M2 — 4K Ultra HD players)

The 4K UBP players are trickier. Sony tightened up the firmware on these, and the classic BDP sequence doesn't work. Here's the current method:

1. Power on the player with no disc inserted
2. On your remote, press: Home
3. Navigate to Setup
4. Enter the following on your remote: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, Up
5. A service menu or region select screen appears — select Region 0
6. Save and restart

Fair warning: UBP series firmware updates from Sony sometimes reset this. If you've updated recently and it stopped working, you may need to repeat the process. Some users disable automatic firmware updates after unlocking for exactly this reason — that's a personal call, but worth knowing the trade-off.

Older Sony Players (BDP-S390, BDP-S590, BDP-S790)

These older models (2012–2015 era) use a simpler sequence:

1. Press Open/Close with no disc in the tray
2. When the tray is open, on your remote enter: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9
3. The region select menu appears
4. Select 0 for all regions

These older players are generally more straightforward. If you're still running one of these, you'll likely have no trouble at all.

Now the Streaming Side: How to Unblock Region-Locked Content on Sony Players

Sony Blu-ray players have built-in streaming apps — Netflix, YouTube, and often Amazon Prime Video. But here's the frustrating reality: the content you see is determined entirely by where your IP address is located. No hardware unlock code changes that.

If you're in Australia trying to watch a show that's only on US Netflix, or you're an expat in Europe trying to keep up with BBC iPlayer, you need your internet traffic to appear as if it's coming from the right country. A VPN does that.

Why We Recommend NordVPN Here

NordVPN is what we'd point you to first, specifically because it has a proven track record with streaming services that actively block VPNs — Netflix, BBC iPlayer, and Disney+ all try hard to detect and block VPN traffic, and NordVPN has consistently stayed ahead of those blocks. It also has a huge server network (90+ countries) so you can actually choose which region's content you want to access. Pricing sits at around $3.99–$6.99/month (about £3.20–£5.50 / €3.70–€6.50) depending on the plan length.

Two solid alternatives worth mentioning: ExpressVPN is faster on average and particularly good if your connection is already sluggish, and Surfshark is the budget-friendly option that still holds up well for streaming. Neither is a bad choice.

Using a VPN on Your Sony Blu-ray Player — Step by Step

Here's the thing: Sony Blu-ray players don't run VPN apps natively. You can't install NordVPN directly on the player. So you've got two options, and the router method is the better one long-term.

Option 1: Set up the VPN on your router

1. Log into your router admin panel (usually at 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1 in your browser)
2. Check if your router supports VPN clients — most modern routers do, especially those running DD-WRT or Tomato firmware
3. In your NordVPN account, download the router configuration files for your target country
4. Upload those to your router's VPN client section
5. Connect the router to the VPN server — now every device on your network, including the Blu-ray player, routes through it

Option 2: Share your laptop's VPN connection

1. Connect your laptop to NordVPN and select your target country server
2. On Windows: go to Settings → Network → Mobile Hotspot, turn it on, and connect your Blu-ray player to that Wi-Fi
3. On Mac: System Settings → Sharing → Internet Sharing, share your VPN connection over Wi-Fi
4. Connect the Sony player to the hotspot — it'll inherit the VPN connection

Option 2 is easier to set up once. Option 1 is much better if you're doing this regularly — you don't need a laptop running every time you want to watch something.

On Mobile (iOS and Android)

If you're watching content from streaming apps on your phone rather than through the Blu-ray player itself:

• Download the NordVPN app from the App Store or Google Play
• Log in, tap the country you want to connect through, and hit Connect
• Open Netflix, BBC iPlayer, or whichever service you want — you'll now see that country's library

That's genuinely it. Mobile is the simplest use case. The Blu-ray player is the complicated one.

On Desktop

1. Download NordVPN for Windows or Mac from nordvpn.com
2. Install and log into your account
3. Click the map or use the search to find a server in your target country (e.g., "United States" for US Netflix, "United Kingdom" for BBC iPlayer)
4. Click Connect
5. Open your browser and go to the streaming service — you'll see the correct regional library

Does a Free VPN Work for This?

Short answer: not reliably, and for streaming specifically, often not at all.

Free VPNs typically have a small pool of servers that streaming services have already flagged and blocked. Netflix especially is aggressive about this — if an IP address shows up on thousands of accounts simultaneously (which happens with free VPN servers), it gets blocked fast. Beyond that, free VPNs cap your bandwidth, which turns a 4K stream into a buffering nightmare. And some — not all, but some — log and sell your data, which defeats the purpose.

For a one-time thing on a slow connection, a free trial from a paid provider is a better option than a permanent free VPN. NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and Surfshark all offer money-back guarantees (typically 30 days) so you can test without commitment.

Common Problems and Fixes

The unlock code sequence isn't working

Check your firmware version first. If Sony pushed an update recently, the sequence timing or the menu path may have changed. Try resetting the player to factory defaults and then re-entering the code before the player connects to the internet (disconnect from Wi-Fi first). Some users find this bypasses the firmware block.

Netflix still shows the wrong region even with VPN connected

Clear your browser cookies and cache, or try an incognito window. Netflix sometimes caches your location. Also try switching to a different server in the same country — NordVPN offers multiple US servers, for instance, and some work better than others for Netflix specifically.

Disc plays but there's no audio or subtitles in the right language

This is a disc authoring issue, not a region issue. You've successfully unlocked the player. Use the Audio and Subtitle buttons on your remote to cycle through the available tracks.

The player reset to its original region after a firmware update

This happens. The fix is to just run the unlock sequence again. To prevent it happening automatically in future, go to Network Settings on the player and disable automatic updates. Just remember to check manually for security-related updates occasionally.

FAQ

Will making my Sony player region-free void the warranty?

Technically, modifying firmware can affect your warranty depending on where you bought the player and local consumer law. That said, the code-entry method doesn't modify firmware in the way that flashing custom software does — it accesses a hidden setting that's already built in. Most users don't worry about this, but it's fair to know the grey area exists.

What regions are Blu-ray discs divided into?

There are three main Blu-ray regions: Region A covers North America, South America, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. Region B covers Europe, Africa, Australia, and the Middle East. Region C covers Central and South Asia, China, and Russia. Setting your player to Region 0 (or "All") makes it ignore these restrictions entirely.

Does this work for DVD regions too?

DVD regions are separate from Blu-ray regions — there are eight DVD regions vs. three for Blu-ray. Many Sony players have a separate DVD region setting in the same hidden menu. Look for it when you access the service menu and set it to Region 0 there as well.

My Sony player isn't listed above. What do I do?

Try the BDP sequence first — it covers the widest range of models. If that fails, the exact model number should be on a sticker on the bottom or back of the player. Search "[your model number] region free code" — RegionFree.com has specific pages for many models, and the community around this is active enough that someone has almost certainly solved your specific model already.

Can I use this to access any country's Netflix or just one?

With a VPN you can switch between any country Netflix operates in — that's 190+ countries. You just connect to a different server each time. Some regions have genuinely excellent libraries (Japan and South Korea especially) that most people haven't explored.

Is using a VPN to access BBC iPlayer from outside the UK legal?

BBC iPlayer's terms of service require a UK TV licence, and using a VPN to access it from abroad technically violates those terms. It's not illegal in most countries to use a VPN — but it does breach the BBC's ToS. We're not your lawyer. We're just being honest about what the situation is.

Our Recommendation

If you've got a BDP-series player, the unlock code will take you about three minutes and it'll work. If you've got a UBP 4K player, it's slightly more fiddly but still very doable — just make sure you're on stable firmware before you try.

For streaming, get NordVPN. It costs less per month than a single rental on a streaming service, it works on all your devices, and it's the most reliable option we've seen for staying ahead of Netflix and BBC iPlayer's VPN blocks. Use the router setup if you're doing this long-term. Use the hotspot method if you just want to test it tonight.

And if you hit a specific problem your model is throwing at you, drop it in the comments — someone here has seen it before.