Chromecast geoblocking, need help

[Mann33bkk]

I use Chromecast to watch TV from my home country, some of the programs are not geoblocked and can be viewd freely. But some are Geoblocked. I use google chrome with cast extention to cast to my TV. In my chrome browser i use a mod header to X-forward to a ip in my home country. It works fine and i can view all geoblocked programs. But when i try to cast to my chromecast, it will show network error or geoblocking on my TV.

So i wounder if some other here are having the same problem. I can find some articles on internet that it is possible to set a static ip and rout the traffic.

I am using Billion router from True internet, and there are not much info to find about that router on the net and how to set a static ip that work

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I tackled basically the same issue you're having at my home -- both with my newly acquired Chromecast video dongle and equally so with my Roku HDMI stick.

I'm no networking expert in terms of what's causing the problem or potential solutions. But I believe what's happening is both devices need to connect to a wifi source in order to function, and it's the IP address/location being served up by your wifi signal that's giving them their location.

In my case, I have VPN software on various of my PCs at home, and that would provide the correct IP locations for those devices when using them for streaming. But doing that doesn't extend that VPN coverage to your wifi network.

So in my home, what I ended up doing was buying an inexpensive DD-WRT wifi router that was pre-configured with software from/for my chosen VPN provider. Daisy chained that VPN router to my True internet Cisco router, and with the correct settings, I end up having two different wifi networks broadcasting in my home -- one with the local True IP/location from True's Cisco router, and the other from the VPN router with whatever location connection I choose to select on that one.

I'm not familiar with internals of the Billion routers from True. But another option would be to simply set up a VPN connection on your existing router... 1) if you have access to your router via an ID and password, and 2) if the Billion router supports an internal VPN connection via its firmware, which I'm guessing it probably does not. But that's just a guess. It's something you might explore.

In my case, I didn't want to run all my computing activities at home through a non-Thai-based VPN network, since I mostly only use that for streaming. So by going with two wifi routers, and one of them providing a VPN signal, I'm able to select at home whichever wifi connection I want to use for particular purposes.

Thus far, both my Chromecast video dongle and my Roku dongle have worked fine when connected to my VPN wifi signal, and geoblocking hasn't been an issue at all.

But, I too would be interested in how others have tackled this issue, because I'm sure there are lot of others out there with Chromecast and Roku devices that rely on wifi. Yes, they'll both function in Thailand with a Thai-based internet connection, but you'll be locked out of a lot of non-Thai content providers, in my experience.

[kokesaat]

I'm willing to spend some cash for a vpn router........to allow me to watch my netflix US version as well as a number of other US channels, not otherwise available through my chromecast. A few questions:

- Are VPN routers available in Thailand or is it something someone has to configure for an individual's needs?

- Assuming you can buy a VPN router all configured properly, is it just a matter of plugging the router in like any other router and you're done?

- Can Netflix (and other US channels) recognize that you're using a VPN router and block access?

All help appreciated.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I can answer some, but not all, of your questions above in part because, right now, I'm not using a Netflix subscription, so I haven't had any direct experience with the service's recent VPN blocking efforts.

But more generally, to start, it's certainly possible to buy a DD-WRT capable route in Thailand, or outside, for that matter. There are two general approaches to this: 1: you buy a DD-WRT capable route from any retail seller, and then configure it yourself at home to work with your chosen VPN provider. Or 2: some VPN providers, but certainly not all, also sell already pre-configured routers that have been set with their own settings and services.

In my case, my own VPN provider happened to be offering a very inexpensive TP-Link router pre-configured with their settings and service, so I ended up buying and using that one at home, and its worked fine the past couple years I've had it. [ASUS is another widely available router brand in Thailand, and they have a range of DD-WRT-capable routers that have pretty good reputations].

Part of the complication involved can depend on what kind of internet connection and setup you already have at home. In the old days, ISPs just provided you with a modem, and it was easy to add any old router into that setup. But these days, most of the cable and fiber internet providers in Thailand seem to provide their customers with combo modem-router units. And because those include the ISP's own configured modem setups, you can't just swap those out for a retail VPN router. So in that kind of case, you basically have to daisy chain/add your VPN router onto your ISP's modem-router, which can involve needing to configure various settings.

That's exactly what I've done at home. But depending on one's level of technical expertise about routers and networking, it can be a bit of a headache if you have to do it by yourself.

So right now, I have a True cable connection that feeds into a True-provided Cisco modem-router, and then my TP-Link VPN router connected to the True router. That is, an ethernet cable running from the LAN out port of the Cisco unit into the WAN in port of the TP-Link unit. So I end up with two different wifi SSIDs in my home, one from the True/Cisco unit that provides a Thai connection, and the other from the VPN/TP-Link unit that provides whatever VPN location I choose to configure.

As for Netflix, if I understand right, their apps have taken to requiring devices to do Google DNS server lookups that return one's true geo location, even if the Internet feed is coming from a VPN router. However, there are ways (and online instructions out there on how) to change the settings in the VPN router to thwart those Netflix-initiated Google DNS lookups and instead have those go to your VPN provider's DNS servers or elsewhere. But since I'm not using Netflix at present, I haven't had the need/reason to take that additional step.

BTW, I'm just an end user on this stuff, not a network engineer or computer profession. So if I've gone astray anywhere on my advice above, I'm happy to be corrected.

Edited March 26, 2016 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[kokesaat]

Thanks for that, TGJB. There's a TP Link shop downtown that I pass from time to time.....I might stop by and inquire......and let them do the heavy work for me....if they can.