Want to Watch Your Favorite British Shows Abroad? Here’s How

You’ve finally had it with your current cable or satellite TV service, but there are a few shows you love that aren’t available through streaming services like Netflix or Amazon Prime. All hope is not lost, though. You can get the shows you want by working around geoblocks—the barriers erected by media companies to keep online content locked down to specific countries. The following guide will show you how to watch BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, and Eurosport Player on any device from anywhere in the world.

Use a VPN

A virtual private network, better known as a VPN, is an easy way to trick websites into thinking your computer is in a different country. Your traffic appears to originate from the location of the VPN server you’re using instead of your actual physical location. Supposing you want to watch BBC iPlayer in the US for free, all you have to do is use a VPN. A VPN will trick BBC iPlayer into thinking you are watching from your room in London, even if you are in the US. There are tons of different VPN services out there but we’ve found that ExpressVPN works well with BBC iPlayer and several other UK sites. You can test it risk-free for 30 days thanks to Bypass Geoblocks on a PC or Mac

If you have a computer running Windows or macOS, your best option is to download and install a virtual private network (VPN) app. A VPN encrypts all of the traffic flowing to and from your computer so that it can’t be read by anyone who might intercept it while you’re online. This includes traffic passing between your computer and your Internet service provider (ISP), as well as traffic going through any router between your house and the VPN server itself. The additional encryption makes it extremely difficult for even sophisticated parties to discover what websites you’re visiting while using the VPN, let alone which shows you watch on BBC iPlayer or ITV Hub. The only downside with a VPN is that it may slow down your connection a bit. If you find the extra lag intolerable or have a data cap to worry about, you might be better off trying one of the other options below.

Use Smart DNS

If keeping things simple is important for you, all you need to get around geoblocks is a smart DNS service. Like a VPN, it redirects all traffic sent from your computer so that it appears that your computer is accessing Internet resources in another country. Unlike a VPN, however, a Smart DNS doesn’t encrypt any traffic at all—which means there’s no chance of stumbling upon an explicit scene by accident if surfing on public Wi-Fi at school or work. You can find out more about why this lack of encryption is bad in our guide to VPNs, but the takeaway is this: Every site you visit will be able to see what shows you watch on BBC iPlayer or ITV Hub.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing if your goal is just watching TV safely on public Wi-Fi, though. A smart DNS solution like Unlocator hides your IP address and location from streaming services so they can’t tell where you’re really located. How does a smart DNS get around geoblocks? By changing part of the URL that tells websites who you are and where you’re located. For example, if a show is only available in the UK, your computer will send Geoblock Bypass on iOS. Smart DNS services like Unlocator also work on iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad. The only difference is how you set it up. On Windows and macOS, you need to download software that runs in the background—no app necessary. On an iOS device, however, you can just use your browser instead of dedicated desktop software to change settings on the fly. A smart DNS service isn’t as secure as a VPN either, so don’t count on it hiding things from your ISP or government – agencies who might be interested who what shows you watch online.

Bypass Geoblocks with Tor Browser

Tor is another way to bypass geoblocks without encrypting all of your traffic, but it’s a bit more complicated to set up. If you’ve never used the Tor browser before, head over to its website and follow the instructions provided. It’s pretty simple as far as VPN services go, but there are a few extra steps involved. In addition to routing all of your traffic through a network run by volunteers from around the world—so that no one can tell where your computer or laptop is located or what sites you visit—Tor also reroutes URLs from sites like BBC iPlayer to make them look different from what appears on your actual computer. This makes it much harder for Netflix and other streaming services to figure out exactly who and where you are.

Many people in the United States are fans of British television shows, but they often cannot watch them when they travel abroad because the programs are not shown on American television. Fortunately, there are some ways you can change your IP address to watch British television shows while abroad. While smart DNS services are considerably cheaper, using a VPN is the most secure option because it encrypts all the data sent to and from your computer. You can also use Tor in combination with either of these two options if you want a more complicated solution that anonymizes traffic further.

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Ibuki


Aspiring ninja.

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