How to gain access to a foreign Windows Phone Marketplace (if not available in your country)

How to gain access to a foreign Windows Phone Marketplace (if not available in your country) (Image - 0)

While the Windows Phone Marketplace is available in many countries at launch--17 in all to be exact--last we checked the world is still a bit larger. If you're one of those with no access to the Marketplace, but are able to import an unlocked GSM device, and so you may exist interested in this ability to switch your Marketplace region documented past East'due south Phoneblog.

We'll postal service the directions after the spring--it's actually very simple to do and only has a few steps. But earlier we practice this we should indicate out something: This is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Then while this works, you tin't undo it later, meaning that in the future y'all tin can't just easily "switch" to your country'south Market place, not without having to create a whole new Alive account. Caveat emptor.

Nonetheless, for those with no immediate prospects of a localized Marketplace (we feel for ya), this may be your best bet.

Directions

The process assumes you don't already have a Zune account created, of course why would you if not available in your state? Here are the steps:

Find the state of the Marketplace yous want to access
Change your estimator's region locale: Control Console –> Region and Linguistic communication settings –> Location
Create a Zune business relationship in the target country: https://www.xbox.com/en-United states/
Fill in your credit carte du jour info: use your real name and card but for the address, utilize the target country'due south postal code
Install Zune desktop software v4.seven and login with your new account credentials

Like shooting fish in a barrel plenty.

Ramifications

Of course there are some problems here, namely that once you practice this there is no fashion to alter the locale of your Zune business relationship--information technology's permanent, unless Microsoft introduces a fashion to modify it in the hereafter and we see no evidence of that happening.

Second (and related), if your country ever gets a localized Market place, you'll accept to ditch your old Zune account and get-go a new one--meaning you'll loose your purchases from your previous setup.

Third, it seems all Microsoft would have to do is make sure your Credit Carte is verified downwards to the accost level (something they should probably exist doing anyways, ahem) to cake this sort of thing.

Then while a peachy option for some of yous, perhaps not the best. Merely if given lemons...

Thanks, Jonne E, for the link and dainty piece of work!

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