Don't update your BBC iPlayer?

[humqdpf]

If you use an Android tv box then install the app Livetv!now you can watch all of the BBC channels along with itv,c4 etc live and it's a free app. You can also record shows for later. In my 8 years outside the UK I've never needed the use of a VPN.

It appears that you must have a a VPN installed or your ISP has one because NOW TV does not work outside the UK - see the complaint from NOW TV's own community discussion board below:

Re: Can I watch Now Tv abroad?

Options

‎22-08-2015 17:27

Ive just experienced the same issue i think... Not able to login to the app abroad on holiday. How disappointing... Cant surely expect a uk resident to buy the same content in every country they visit... Ludicrous. Netflix is best practice since works fine when abroad so this needs a rethink

[anfh]

Have not read all posts, so not sure if this has been said, but I use Kodi, this means you can get access to anything from UK without VPN etc, as long as you have reasonable wi-fi. I can watch live UK or iPlayer at anytime.

You can put Kodi on a pc, or if you wish, as I have , jailbreak an ipad and load it to that.

[nabbie]

Iplayer seems to be fine but rarely happen to catastrophe when it is not working - I use security channel.

[sandyf]

Utter Rubbish

why do people not do their homework before posting a load of bull poop.

Just tested now

I use this to access anything

https://hola.org/

Try it you will find BBC Iplayer not blocked.

And it completely Free,

Did you bother to read post No13, Hola is not an answer for everyone.

[MikeOwen]

BBC iPlayer working fine in Buriram, using a vpn

[yardrunner]

Have had problems for over a week now and thought it was a problem with my VPN provider but what I have found is that if you dis connect and wait 5 or 6 minutes then try again you can usually connect after three or four attempts

Dis-connect / Connect what ?

turn off Iplayer then disconnect your VPN, wait for f1ve or six minutes and reconnect to your VPN again, should connect you to a different UK web address

[hawksway]

Does anyone know if access to BBC programmes is working via Mediahint.com ? I normally subscribe monthly to their service during my break from the English Winter.

[sandyf]

BBC iPlayer working fine in Buriram, using a vpn

I have just downloaded a couple of episodes of River City with ukproxy.tv and that worked ok.

It doesn't matter how good a freebie is, it is still useless if you cannot watch it. I cannot watch Iplayer online, I have to download and then watch.

People with good internet signal have little regard for those of us in a less fortunate position. When 3BB came to the area I upgraded from the TOT 7Mb to the 3BB 15Mb but it couldn't hold the speed and I had to drop back to the 10Mb service. Much better than TOT but can still be very slow at times. I mainly use Expat which is supposed to work on 3Mb but I even get buffering on that from time to time.

[PBob]

I use HMA VPN and started to have problems with some of the UK servers and iplayer earlier this month, then a week ago none of them worked. Tried a few things like clearing cookies, changing browser etc but no joy. HMA support not very good.

I have access to a UK company VPN and signed up for Avast VPN free trial, these allowed access to iplayer proving to me that problem was with HMA VPN not my devices.

Today iplayer is working with the HMA UK servers that I have tried, but it may not last.

[balo]

iPLayer on Bbc.co.uk working fine here using Hola.

But I noticed I get an error message if I try to download episodes , from the log:

[iNFO] Programme permanent failure: Media selector not uk error. And I use a VPN

[elwood]

For the past few days, including today, I open iPlayer OK with Zenmate, but only get the spinning wheel when trying to watch something.

But Hola worked fine.

[bartender100]

Spoke to my VPN provider, he said what ever they do, they will find a fix for it

[crazydrummerpauly]

Have had problems for over a week now and thought it was a problem with my VPN provider but what I have found is that if you dis connect and wait 5 or 6 minutes then try again you can usually connect after three or four attempts

Dis-connect / Connect what ?

turn off Iplayer then disconnect your VPN, wait for f1ve or six minutes and reconnect to your VPN again, should connect you to a different UK web address

As far as i can see with HMA, that only happens if the automated 'scheduled ip address change' is set to on with specific time intervals for the change - otherwise it will just go back to the same uk address as was in use before the switch-off. Anyway - it's not working for me, even after switching to the server they recommended (Maidstone) so i'm happy i have the old thaiexpattv working well - for now!

Edited October 21, 2015 by crazydrummerpauly

[crazydrummerpauly]

I use HMA VPN and started to have problems with some of the UK servers and iplayer earlier this month, then a week ago none of them worked. Tried a few things like clearing cookies, changing browser etc but no joy. HMA support not very good.

I have access to a UK company VPN and signed up for Avast VPN free trial, these allowed access to iplayer proving to me that problem was with HMA VPN not my devices.

Today iplayer is working with the HMA UK servers that I have tried, but it may not last.

HMA not working for me today - but support been good! They have been trying to stay one step of the beeb for some time i think, and might be about to be neutralised!

[crazydrummerpauly]

Spoke to my VPN provider, he said what ever they do, they will find a fix for it

Just spoke to HMAss - said they has a fix - 'Try Maidstone' - tried it - didn't work. The Beeb have got their fighting hats on!

[Chicog]

Browsec plugin in Chrome = iPlayer works.

[stoneyboy]

Considering UK residents have to stump up £145.50 a year for a TV license its hardly surprising,how many people on here would be prepared to pay that to receive the service,not very many I'm guessing.

[innerspace]

All quite logical from the sounds of it.

VPN providers in UK being targeted by blocking known IP addresses. Owners of IP addresses are public knowledge but sub renters harder to detect.

So the BBC have a long list and working to fill the blanks hence the inconsistent results.

Hola has no public ips on records and a wide always changing pool in use. Hola basically uses members of the public (including you) so very hard to detect and block. An easy option for now but be aware other people's potentially illegal usage will go through an IP address that can be traced back to you.

Option for now would be making your own VPN on a cloud or VPS provider. Amazon is Ireland and pricey bandwidth so steer clear. Digitalocean and others in London from $5. IP addresses are easily detectable but may or may not be blocked (yet) depending on provider.

Foolproof way is VPN to a residential account (family or friends) in UK. That way your connection would appear identical to a legitimate user and stay trouble free. Need friends though.

[phetphet]

I updated IPVanish today, and this evening managed to download a show. So it seems to be working for now at least.

[JHolmesJr]

Instead of a VPN try and use a smart dns provider (unblockus)….it only creates a dns proxy setting on your computers settings that shows you to be in the uk….less complex and faster than VPN too.

[QROPS]

You really really don't need a VPN. Just have a android tv box. I happen to use a Minix x8 or h8 can't remember exactly which, but it's the latest one.

Then just download one app livenow tv.

[mohinga]

​I've been using BolehVpn for several years now. They are a Malaysian company that punches above their weight-class, often mentioned in "top 5/top 10 best vpn provider"-type articles by Lifehacker, Greycoder etc.

They have released a notice regarding a fix (new server) for the BBC IPlayer problem :

http://bit.ly/1NoQdLY

​One of the reasons they rate so well on the various lists is that they don't keep logs. Those interested in privacy may also like to know that it is possible to fund an account wish a cash bank deposit in Malaysia. That, coupled with webmail address of ones' choosing provides a good degree of anonymity.

​But the main reason I like to recommend BolehVpn is that, whenever I have had a problem, their support people always come through promptly.

Not so common these days to find a service company that knows the importance of customer service.​

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[bartender100]

​I've been using BolehVpn for several years now. They are a Malaysian company that punches above their weight-class, often mentioned in "top 5/top 10 best vpn provider"-type articles by Lifehacker, Greycoder etc.

They have released a notice regarding a fix (new server) for the BBC IPlayer problem :

http://bit.ly/1NoQdLY

​One of the reasons they rate so well on the various lists is that they don't keep logs. Those interested in privacy may also like to know that it is possible to fund an account wish a cash bank deposit in Malaysia. That, coupled with webmail address of ones' choosing provides a good degree of anonymity.

​But the main reason I like to recommend BolehVpn is that, whenever I have had a problem, their support people always come through promptly.

Not so common these days to find a service company that knows the importance of customer service.​

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Just had a look at BolehVpn website can't see what countries they have, is Ireland on their list? I need a new IR VPN as Expressvpn not very good

[VBF]

Have you tried Expat Shield? http://expat-shield.en.softonic.com/

This used to work for me (last time i used it was 2013) but it is a VPN so I don't know the current status.

As i'm in the UK, there's little point in my trying it!

A friend in Thailand uses hola on chrome.

Hola is not that good, you can only view not download. The download 'exe' file is for internet explorer.

I always keep some programs on my laptop in case the internet goes down or like last week I had 2 nights on the train. Be a bit of a blow if the iplayer does become unavailable.

I haven't done the latest update so glad of the warning.

So what's wrong with using IE for that, even if you use Chrome for everything else?

I've found that just occasionally IE will do things better than Chrome, despite the fact that I much prefer Chrome in the main.

[mohinga]

No Ireland. I don't know where they have a list of countries where they have servers. But since I use Linux I configure my settings manually, and the list of servers is more than I require... e.g. fully-routed openvpn for Canada (2 servers), Luxembourg (more than 10), France/Germany/Switzerland/Sweden/Netherlands/U.K... many of which have multiple servers. In addition to proxied servers for Canada/Germany/Netherlands and Switzerland. Also surfing/streaming only servers for Italy/Japan/U.K and U.S.

​It might be worth a couple of minutes to send them an email to see if Ireland is a possibility.

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PS.. after posting this I went to their site. Countries are listed on page named "About Us": http://bit.ly/1OUbwH4

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Edited October 22, 2015 by mohinga

[Chicog]

Still working in Chrome with Browsec. Free.

[sandyf]

Have you tried Expat Shield? http://expat-shield.en.softonic.com/

This used to work for me (last time i used it was 2013) but it is a VPN so I don't know the current status.

As i'm in the UK, there's little point in my trying it!

A friend in Thailand uses hola on chrome.

Hola is not that good, you can only view not download. The download 'exe' file is for internet explorer.

I always keep some programs on my laptop in case the internet goes down or like last week I had 2 nights on the train. Be a bit of a blow if the iplayer does become unavailable.

I haven't done the latest update so glad of the warning.

So what's wrong with using IE for that, even if you use Chrome for everything else?

I've found that just occasionally IE will do things better than Chrome, despite the fact that I much prefer Chrome in the main.

Hola is a Chrome extension.

[Mobi]

Just checked with my free vpn and the BBC iplayer works fine.

I don't wish to publicise the name of the vpn I use as there maybe BBC informers around, and it wouldn't take much brainpower for a BBC investigator to Google and find this forum and get a list of all the vpn's that are posted. If I was them, that's what I would do...

So anyone interested can pm me - but if you've only got 2 or 3 posts I will be suspicious.

I actually use expat TV, which works without a vpn. It isn't free but I find it very user-friendly and convenient. I can get every single UK terrestrial channel live, plus Sky News, all with no buffering. They also have a really good system for searching and recording any programme which can be kept indefinitely and can be converted into a video file, should I wish to do so.

[VBF]

Have you tried Expat Shield? http://expat-shield.en.softonic.com/

This used to work for me (last time i used it was 2013) but it is a VPN so I don't know the current status.

As i'm in the UK, there's little point in my trying it!

A friend in Thailand uses hola on chrome.

Hola is not that good, you can only view not download. The download 'exe' file is for internet explorer.

I always keep some programs on my laptop in case the internet goes down or like last week I had 2 nights on the train. Be a bit of a blow if the iplayer does become unavailable.

I haven't done the latest update so glad of the warning.

So what's wrong with using IE for that, even if you use Chrome for everything else?

I've found that just occasionally IE will do things better than Chrome, despite the fact that I much prefer Chrome in the main.

Hola is a Chrome extension.

SandyF - you're missing my point.

Hola is a Chrome EXTENSION but the EXECUTABLE is for use with IE

See here... https://hola.org/faq#in_gethola and note that it says:

Which operating systems, browsers and devices can I use Hola on?

Hola may be installed as a browser extension to Chrome (version 22 and up), Firefox (version 23 and up), Opera (version 29.0.1785 and up) on Windows and Mac PCs or as an app on Android or iOS. It is also available as an application (.exe) for Windows (for users that are using Internet Explorer).

So if you wish to download rather than stream media, download the EXE and then use IE just for downloading your programmes to watch later, or carry on using Chrome to stream them ........See what I mean?

Edited October 23, 2015 by VBF

[sandyf]

Hola is not that good, you can only view not download. The download 'exe' file is for internet explorer.

I always keep some programs on my laptop in case the internet goes down or like last week I had 2 nights on the train. Be a bit of a blow if the iplayer does become unavailable.

I haven't done the latest update so glad of the warning.

So what's wrong with using IE for that, even if you use Chrome for everything else?

I've found that just occasionally IE will do things better than Chrome, despite the fact that I much prefer Chrome in the main.

Hola is a Chrome extension.

SandyF - you're missing my point.

Hola is a Chrome EXTENSION but the EXECUTABLE is for use with IE

See here... https://hola.org/faq#in_gethola and note that it says:

Which operating systems, browsers and devices can I use Hola on?

Hola may be installed as a browser extension to Chrome (version 22 and up), Firefox (version 23 and up), Opera (version 29.0.1785 and up) on Windows and Mac PCs or as an app on Android or iOS. It is also available as an application (.exe) for Windows (for users that are using Internet Explorer).

So if you wish to download rather than stream media, download the EXE and then use IE just for downloading your programmes to watch later, or carry on using Chrome to stream them ........See what I mean?

I didn't miss your point as it was something I wasn't aware of, so thanks for explaining it a bit better. I was mistakenly under the impression that Chrome extensions were in fact for Chrome, it didn't cross my mind to see if they could be used elsewhere.

Some time ago I tried both Hola and Zenmate and they worked ok until I tried to download, Chrome couldn't find the download program on my computer. I can't stream the Iplayer as the internet signal is not good enough, starts buffering every few minutes. I started using a proxy server with IE to get the downloads which has worked quite well up to now but I will have a look into Hola on IE as it could save me the £6 a month.

It is not a big issue as I normally watch TV on Expat, I believe their servers are in Malaysia and it works very well on relatively low internet speeds.