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The question of how to change your Google Play country has been asked over and over. However, it's not clear whether this has any (unwanted) side-effects when it comes to apps, and especially those with region restrictions.

Some possible issues that come in mind:

  • What happens with any free country-specific apps you have installed in the country you currently use? Will they cease working? Will they cease receiving updates?
  • What happens with any paid country-specific apps you have installed in the country you currently use?
  • Is it possible for an app to have different country-specific versions in two countries? What happens then?
  • Can you change back your country any time you want, or is there a limit on how often you can change it?

This may seem like a dumb question, but I have heard some horror stories from friends who changed country in Apple App Store, only to find content they had purchased inaccessible. So I don't take the safety of this operation for granted.

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  • Last time I did this, all apps you already have are kept and unaffected.
    – Matthew Read
    Nov 6, 2014 at 17:38

3 Answers 3

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I did this when I moved across countries - the apps are unaffected. If you had apps which are available in the earlier country then you can continue updating and using them. The only downside is that if you have credit in your account, then that doesn't appear in the new country. You can still use the credit if you change your play store country back to the old one.

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To indirectly answer my own question: There is no need to change your Google Play country just to access specific geo-restricted apps. Android supports using multiple Google accounts. By using a new account per country, there's no need to worry about what happens when switching the country of your primary Google account. This solution is ideal for expats, that may want to have access to geo-restricted apps in >1 countries at a time.

An overview of the process:

  1. Create a new Google account.
  2. Link it to your Android phone, in addition to your primary account
  3. Continue using your primary Google account as usual.
  4. When you need to install a geo-restricted app, tap the account avatar in Google Play search bar to switch to an account where the app is available (see picture).
  5. Switch back to your primary account.

The additional Google accounts created, may or may not be used regularly. My personal preference is to keep them only for use with Google Play, and not use other services with them.

enter image description here

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  • This solution was the best for me and worked. But it is very important to note that you need a payment method from the new country. No money is taken, it is just a check. Also, although it warns that it can take up to 2 days, in my case the change was immediate after submitting the payment method.
    – Edu
    May 26, 2022 at 17:57
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First of all to be able to change anything on your android device you must first 'Root' it . I assume your Android device is already rooted .

There is an App called Market Unlocker/enabler , it makes it very easy to change your country to any other country for G-play known . Just install it as an normal apk , and give it Root permissions . and you can configure everything , its a piece of cake :) Market Unlocker

There are NO SIDE EFFECTS : i tried it on GS3 , GS2 , nextbook 7 premium , galaxy tab 8.9 Ace 3 , Ace 2 , galaxy young , working fine all the time :) download link : https://app.box.com/s/ad74848bacf8800ae077

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