Comments on: How to Use WhatsApp in China in 2025 (even though it’s blocked)

By: Josh Summers

Josh Summers — Mon, 31 Aug 2020 02:10:27 +0000

In reply to Nick W. Often, video chat is a product of internet speed. It could be that your girlfriend's internet speed isn't fast enough. The best way to know for sure is to have her test a video call with somebody in China and you test a video call with somebody in your home country. Then you'll be able to narrow down if it's a problem with your settings or your internet.

By: Nick W

Nick W — Fri, 28 Aug 2020 15:03:33 +0000

Hi my girlfriend is in china, she has a VPN and we can message and audio chat through whattsapp but when we try the video chat we can talk but not see each other, which is very frustrating! is there something in the settings that needs to be changed to allow video chat?

By: Josh Summers

Josh Summers — Fri, 13 Mar 2020 07:01:11 +0000

In reply to Scott bevan.

Hey Scott, this is a good and valid point. My counterpoint is this: if the government has a specific reason for wanting to remove an individual, they will find that reason no matter what. In my experience, you can do everything “right” but the laws are set up in such a way that you’re always breaking some law.

In this case, since I first arrived in China in 2006, there have been no published cases of a foreigner being imprisoned, charged or kicked out just for using a VPN and a service like WhatsApp. A local Chinese person has, but not a foreigner. I don’t think China cares that much unless you are, in fact, using the software for criminal reasons.

By: Scott bevan

Scott bevan — Tue, 10 Mar 2020 18:26:49 +0000

Hey Josh, the information you provide is very good and useful. But I think You should add a disclaimer to this. China has banned end-to-end encryption services, which is why whatsapp is not allowed there. Potentially a user using a VPN and whatsapp could be committing a crime that puts them in danger of being arrested or deported. This is especially the case if the government have a specific reason for wanting to remove an individual. Any individual who follows your advice is at risk of that and should probably be aware of that. The Chinese government could come up with all sorts of trumped up charges that explain why somebody is using illegal encryption (espionage, organised crime etc.)

PS// I’m not saying I agree with such draconian policy, but I’d prefer that people didn’t unknowingly end up breaking the law and dealing with the potential consequences.

By: Gamuchirai Tagwi

Gamuchirai Tagwi — Sat, 16 Nov 2019 05:22:26 +0000

Thank you so much for the intensive information. My fam and I will be traveling to shanghai and beijing in December i’m hoping to still be able to access whatsapp more thaN anythinG.
I will definitely updaTe on my experience once i’m back.

By: Josh Summers

Josh Summers — Mon, 23 Sep 2019 06:31:59 +0000

In reply to P. vijay. It's really up to you on this one. WeChat will work once you have a network connection, whether it's a Chinese SIM card or your Indian one. Google maps didn't work because it's blocked in China. If you get ExpressVPN set up, you'll be able to use both WhatsApp and Google Maps when you arrive.

By: P. vijay

P. vijay — Sat, 21 Sep 2019 05:42:39 +0000

HI Josh
The article is really helpful. Thank you. I am travelling from INDIA to Shanghai solo next week and I am Struggling to figure out how to get access to internet at all times. Is it better to activate international roaming on airtel Indian sim card and get express VPN activated before I leave the country? Or is it better in terms of access and budget to just get a Chinese sim card on arrival? I already have wechat. Will it work once I start using the Chinese sim. Or would I need to reinstall it? The Google Maps didn’t work when I was there for a day last time. How can I navigate on my own in Shanghai without having access to google Maps?

By: Josh Summers

Josh Summers — Wed, 18 Sep 2019 07:45:02 +0000

In reply to Roger. Hi Roger, I am unaware of any changes this past week. I’ll ask around.

By: Roger

Roger — Tue, 17 Sep 2019 15:13:49 +0000

Hi Josh. I live in China and was able to use WhatsApp on my Chinese mobile phone with a vpn until WhatsApp decided to update the app last week. What happened then? well, I tried several times to donwload the new app, it gets downloaded and installed, but when you open the newly installed app guess what happens? You are reminded to download the app, which you do again and again until you install it, and when you think it’s done, then again the message that you need to download the app, etc., etc., etc. Is it because the phone is Chinese and WhatsApp is blocked for any Chinese phone? Or is there any chance to download and install the app overseas even if the mobile phone is Chinese?

By: Josh Summers

Josh Summers — Sun, 08 Sep 2019 09:39:51 +0000

In reply to Hayley. Hi Hayley, each VPN service has a limit of "simultaneous devices", which is usually around 5. That means on the same subscription, you can connect 5 different devices at once (which is probably more than you'll need unless you're a family). I recommend purchasing two VPN services just in case one doesn't work well or one works better than another. That's also why I suggest purchasing services that offer 30-day money back guarantees. Does that make better sense?