Easy methods to use a VPN on Roku

The Roku sensible TV platform is an accessible solution to watch your favourite streaming content material in a centralized location – both built-in to TVs, or by including reasonably priced dongles or set-top bins to older televisions. Nonetheless, a typical frustration for any sensible TV or streaming service consumer is that a few of the greatest reveals and flicks are inaccessible as a consequence of geo-restrictions.

Utilizing a VPN is a typical solution to sort out this problem, however not like Fireplace TV, Apple TV and different rivals, Roku techniques don’t have native VPN assist. However that’s not the tip of the story: You may nonetheless use a VPN to entry a wider vary of programming by way of a Roku — you simply want to make use of a workaround. We’ll present you ways.

The advantages of utilizing a VPN

With regards to streaming, a VPN has one major profit: altering your IP deal with. A VPN tunnels your connection by way of its servers to obfuscate your IP, making it seem to be you’re watching from elsewhere. In consequence, a service like Netflix will see your location as, say, the UK versus the US. You’ll then have entry to a distinct set of programming. For instance, the TV present Mates is on the market on Max within the US, but it surely’s solely out there on Netflix within the UK.

VPNs have a number of different advantages associated to privateness and safety. VPN servers have military-grade AES 256-bit encryption, which means they’re safer than connecting to the Web usually. So, because you’re shopping the Web by tunneling by way of the VPN, your Web service supplier can’t see your whole shopping locations (and promote your viewing habits to information brokers).

The best manner to make use of a VPN on Roku

Though Roku doesn’t natively assist VPNs, there are a couple of workarounds. You may, as an illustration, set up a VPN on your home’s router. That means that you can shield the entire community and each gadget that connects to it, holding everybody in your family nameless on-line. However it may well additionally trigger confusion while you wish to entry native providers — and it requires a really high-level of technical information, and solely works with sure routers.

As a substitute, we suggest a far simpler methodology: connecting a VPN to your Roku by way of AirPlay or screencast. To do that, subscribe to a VPN and set up it in your smartphone or laptop computer. Then, stream content material on that gadget and AirPlay or screencast it to your Roku TV. The icon to do that ought to appear to be a TV with Wi-Fi rays.

We desire this methodology as a result of it’s easier general. You may entry any geo-blocked content material in your smartphone or laptop computer first after which solid it in your sensible TV.

You can also make certain your Roku mannequin is AirPlay-compatible by checking this resource on Roku’s site. If it isn’t, you may all the time simply instantly patch your cellphone or laptop computer to the TV utilizing an HDMI cable or an appropriate dongle.