How To Switch Country on iPhone Without Using a Payment Method

How to Change the Country on Your iPhone Without a Payment Method

Yeah, I’ve been there. Trying to switch your iPhone’s regional settings without jumping through the hoops of adding a payment method is kind of a pain, but it’s doable. Apple likes to make this process annoying, especially if you’re trying to avoid adding a credit card or don’t have one handy. So here’s what I’ve learned from messing around—hope it helps someone else out.

Getting Ready Before You Change Regions

The first thing—make sure your Wi-Fi is solid. No point in trying this over flaky internet. Also, real talk: disable any VPN you might be running. Some of us don’t think it affects much, but I found that Apple sometimes freaks out when it detects a VPN active during a region change, and it’ll block your progress. So, go to Settings > VPN & Device Management or just VPN (it shows sometimes differently—depends on the iOS version and your device).Turn off anything active, and maybe toggle a couple times just to be sure it’s fully disconnected. Otherwise, Apple might reject the region change due to the VPN routing traffic rerouting.

Changing the Region in Settings

Now, in Settings, go to General > Language & Region. Tap on Region. Here’s where things get interesting. Pick the country you want—say you live in Pakistan but want to switch to the U. S.If you do that, your App Store content and services will try to reflect that region. Easy enough, but the catch—Apple will prompt you to add a payment method. That’s where the frustration kicks in. Luckily, there’s a way around it.

Getting Past the Payment Details

Jump over to your Apple ID in the App Store. Tap the profile icon top right, then select View Apple ID. Sometimes it asks for your password or FaceID—just get through that. Once inside, look for the Country/Region setting and tap on it. Here’s the trick: when it asks for payment info, try to select None. If you don’t see that, check if you have any pending balances or subscriptions—those can block the option.

Some folks find that changing the country in Settings first, then going into the Apple ID settings to pick None helps. If that doesn’t work, creating a new Apple ID with the desired region and no payment info is another route. Just don’t use an existing ID if it’s tied to financial info—you might bump into restrictions.

Dealing with the Credit Card Requirement

Here’s the snag—Apple sometimes insists on having a payment method, and the option for None isn’t available. If that’s the case, you can try two things. First, make sure your account doesn’t have outstanding balances or active subscriptions. Head to Settings > Your Apple ID > Subscriptions and cancel anything. Also, check your Apple ID balance—if you still have some credit left, that might be why it’s requiring a payment method.

Second, sometimes if you choose to add a payment method and input fake details, it tricks Apple. Just use dummy card numbers (from random generators, don’t use your real info), and pick a fake address matching the new region. It feels sketchy, but it’s worked for me when I was desperate to change regions without adding actual cards. Just be aware—this isn’t really officially supported, and there’s a small risk of problems if Apple’s security flags your account later.

Final Steps and Tips

Once you manage to pick your new country and either skip or fake payment info, confirm everything and wait. The system might show a “Updating…” message or restart your device. Sometimes, you need to reboot a couple times for it to stick. After that, double-check your region in Settings > App Store. Make sure it really says what you want. This way, you can access the local App Store with content tailored to that region, and without linking a country-specific payment method.

A quick summary of what helped for me: ensure Wi-Fi is solid, disable VPN, reset your subscriptions and balance, try selecting None in the payment options, and don’t hesitate to fake some details if needed. It’s a bit of trial-and-error—especially if Apple is acting stubborn—but with patience, it’s possible.

Hope this saved someone a headache—spent way too long figuring it out myself. If it doesn’t work at first, try again, maybe on a fresh device or after some restarts. Good luck, and don’t give up!