What? Whatsapp calls blocked? Shocking, right? But it’s true, nonetheless. Here we look into what’s behind this problem and present what we believe to be the optimal solution for it. Although this article’s focus is on the internet situation and VPN in UAE and other MENA region countries, we believe there’s something of interest in it for everyone who might run into similar problems. Happy reading!
Where on earth does this still happen, how, and why?
There are certain places on the planet where one can’t make a Whatsapp call. The obvious example would be places where there’s no mobile phone service, let alone internet; Antarctica, for example, or the great Sahara desert; basically, places where nobody lives. Other examples could be some remote locations in third world countries, where poverty and lack of resources, along with other factors make access to the internet harder than usual, hence the Whatsapp call can’t get through. Now one doesn’t think of a great modern state, rich with oil and with wealthy citizens to be included in this category. Of course we’re neither talking of a European country, nor really of a rich-with-oil-yet-actually-poor country such as Venezuela or the like, but a really great place, with state-of-the-art, cutting-edge technology and everything. Can you guess? It starts with a U… Alright, the answer is a country called the UAE. Doesn’t ring a bell? UAE is the acronym for United Arab Emirates, probably the most prosperous and rich of all the gulf nations. Still nothing? Okay, you’ve definitely heard of Dubai, right? Well that’s in the UAE! And it’s one of the places where you can’t expect your Whatsapp call to go through. Sure, there’s internet there, and with great quality too, but there’s a problem with it. It’s been restricted for certain websites. The UAE is not alone in this; Saudi Arabia, Iran, China, Russia, etc. have imposed similar restrictions on their citizens’ access to the free internet. To learn more about the internet situation in UAE and other MENA countries see here. So to be brief, Whatsapp is blocked in the UAE. Now wether if you’re already in the UAE and are stuck with the situation or just wondering what to do if you went there and had to make a call, here’s what you should do. You should get your internet unblocked, obviously! Keep reading to learn how easily you can do that.
What's this thing called VPN, and what's it good for?
To overcome the problem we were talking about, we suggest that you use a VPN. Fair enough, first we should know what it is. For a more detailed answer to what a VPN is and how you can get a good one see here.The short answer is, it’s the cheapest and the easiest way to bypass filtration and access the entire world wide web, that is, the part of the internet that we’re really concerned with. Here’s what you do. First you should find a good VPN, one that corresponds to your needs, because there are many different ones on the market. That should be easy once you’ve read this article to the finish. The rest is even easier, you just download and install the application (if you’re using a smartphone) and run the thing. You turn it on, and Voilà! No more restrictions.
By using a VPN, you’ll be able to do more than just make a Whatsapp call. As we’ve mentioned before, a lot of the internet’s content is blocked in UAE. Beside unblocking Whatsapp you will be able to access freely other social media such as Facebook and Instagram in their intended capacity. Also streaming platforms such as Netflix and Hulu will be completely unblocked for you. But the list of the virtues of a Virtual Private Network (VPN) doesn’t end at removing restrictions on the internet. It also gives you more privacy, improves the quality of your internet (speed, ping, etc.), and once again, it protects your data.
So, in short, if you find your internet blocked, VPN is the way to get it unblocked. Get a VPN, folk, if you’re going to UAE!