How to watch BBC abroad?

For expats around the world, BBC iPlayer is one of the most popular sources of entertainment. Unfortunately, however, several countries are not covered by it. It does not matter where you live; if you want to watch BBC iPlayer abroad there are plenty of solutions you can use.  BBC iPlayer is the streaming service that allows you to watch all of BBC’s channels live and on-demand. This includes everything from news programs like VAT cost coverage, sportscasts with special reports about sporting events happening around the UK as well other interesting shows such BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire which focuses primarily on interviews with those involved or impacted by them in some way – but it also offers movies too.

How to get BBC on your device

The BBC iPlayer download and installation process aren’t at all challenging. However, they differ from one device to another so we’ll share how you can watch your favorite shows on the most popular devices. iPlayer is a BBC streaming service that allows you to watch high-quality television shows, movies, and radio programs. It’s also great for catching up on missed TV. However, it only works if accessed from United Kingdom-based computers/mobile devices due to its restriction regarding country of origin. It’s not the case for installation of the apps, this one can be bypassed rather easily. Next we will guide you through some of the most popular platforms. 

Watch BBC on PC

How do you watch BBC iPlayer abroad on your computer or laptop? You don’t need any extra software because we’re going to show how using just the internet browser is enough! Follow these steps:

1. Download a VPN on your computer
2. Install the VPN and choose a British server
3. Go to bbc.co.uk
4. Provide your email address and password to sign in
5. Choose a title and enjoy

For those who enjoy using apps instead of browser, there is also the option of downloading the app. On BBC’s website, you can download the software directly to your PC.

This option will provide you with more functionality than watching BBC iPlayer from abroad, you can also download shows that you like and use it to stream them offline when your internet is off. For those who plan a short trip abroad and are ok with a few shows on the go, it may be just the option for you. 

Watch BBC on Android

If you want to download and watch BBC iPlayer on an Android device the process can be a little bit more complicated as there are some restrictions imposed by Google. If you are currently in the UK download the BBC app now, otherwise you most likely won’t be able to register a UK google play account abroad. For these situations, at your own risk, you can search for cracked apks on the web. There are plenty of functional versions out there you can use with the latest updates. Once you have the installation of BBC app on Android handled, here are the steps you must follow:

1. Download a VPN and install it on your Android device.
2. Change your IP address to a British IP address
3. Go to your Google Play app.
4. Download and install the BBC iPlayer app
5. Open the BBC iPlayer app and insert your login credentials
6. Select your favorite show and proceed to watch BBC iplayer abroad on your Android device

The settings above will apply to most of the devices running on Android OS, which includes tablets and TVs.

Watch BBC on iOS

The process of downloading and watching BBC iPlayer on iOS devices is similar to Android, except for a few things. To be fair on iOS is much simpler as it’s a lot easier to have the UK region on your device. You can either create a new Apple ID from scratch or change the region to the UK on your current one. Once done it’s better to reboot your device, afterwards the region on your AppStore will change to the UK. This will allow you to download BBC iPlayer abroad without any restrictions whatsoever and any other UK apps available on AppStore. 

Now that you’re all caught up, these are the steps to follow further:

1. Download and install a VPN on your iOS device
2. Choose a British IP address from the provided list
3. Connect your iPad/iPhone to your router/mobile hotspot
4. Go to AppStore
5. Download and install the BBC iPlayer
6. Sign in and watch your favorite shows

Same as on PC and Android, aside from watching BBC iPlayer abroad, the app will allow you to download and store download BBC content directly on your iOS device so you can access them later without any internet connection. 

Watch BBC on Amazon FireTV

Whether you have an Amazon Firestick or FireTV,  you can watch BBC iPlayer abroad on both of them. You can get the app directly from Amazon, and the installation process is straightforward. However there is a trick here, the app store Amazon will provide depends on your Amazon account region. To ensure you have a clean app on your device it’s best to use a UK Amazon account. This will allow you to download all UK apps available for these devices. Alternatively, you can download the app using the Downloader app and by enabling install from unknown sources, but remember that it’s not best recommended and you do it at your own risk. 

Here’s what you have to do to watch BBC iPlayer on an Amazon FireTV or FireStick:

1. Turn on your Firestick and click on the Apps from Unknown Sources. Make sure that it’s on. The option is located under Settings > Device > Developer Options
2. If you don’t have the Downloader app, you must download and install it.
3. Download a VPN
4. Open your VPN and choose a UK server
5. Restart the Amazon Firestick if you turned on the Apps from Unknown Sources setting
6. Search the BBC iPlayer app and install it
7. Launch the BBC iPlayer app and insert your login credentials

If you use the downloader option to have BBC on your FireTV you may switch between Amazon accounts freely, otherwise on sing out of the UK Amazon account you will lose access to the BBC iPlayer app also, along with any other UK channels installed.

Watch BBC iPlayer on Apple TV

When you want to watch BBC iPlayer on your Apple TV outside of UK, you will need to change the App Store region to the UK. That’s because the BBC iPlayer is not available for an Apple TV in any other AppStore other than the UK one. As a result, you have to download the app from the UK. Unlike FireTV, on AppleTV changing to another AppleID later down the road will not delete your BBC iPlayer app install. 

Use these steps to watch BBC iPlayer on an Apple TV abroad:

1. Connect your Apple TV to your TV
2. Open the Region section in the device’s settings. Go to General > Region
3. Select the UK and provide all the necessary details
4. Go to the AppStore, look for the BBC iPlayer app, and download it
5. Download and install a VPN on your router.
6. Connect the Apple TV to the router on which you installed the VPN
7. Open the BBC iPlayer app and sign in

As you can see this device is fairly easy and you should not face any difficulties handling these instructions.

Watch BBC iPlayer on Smart TV

To watch BBC iPlayer on a smart TV abroad, you have to follow similar steps to FireTV. They are as follow:

1. Change the region of your smart TV to the UK. 
2. Download and install a VPN
3. Connect your smart TV to the router on which you installed the VPN
4. Look for the BBC iPlayer app and add it to your list of channels
5. Open the BBC TV app, sign in, and enjoy your TV shows

How to watch BBC abroad? 

According to BBC’s website due to rights agreements, you need to be in the UK to stream and download programs or watch BBC TV channels on BBC iPlayer. While live and on-demand content cannot be streaming using BBC iPlayer abroad, there is still a list of programs that are still available. These are the  BBC services you can use outside of the UK:

• BBC Sounds
• BBC Podcasts
• BBC News
• BBC Sport
• BBC Three YouTube channel

If you’re not satisfied with the above offers presented you can always have all content available to you and i will show you how to watch BBC iPlayer abroad with very little effort and maximum reliability. 

Use VPN to watch BBC abroad

VPN is the most popular solution out there. When you connect to a VPN server of your choice, all of your data traffic is encrypted and routed through the chosen server. In the case of BBC iPlayer, you should select a UK server, which will make you appear to be in the United Kingdom. This will grant you access to BBC iPlayer and any other geo-restricted UK streaming service or website.

An additional advantage of using a VPN to unblock BBC iPlayer is that your data is encrypted. If you connect to public WiFi at a hotel, conference center, airport, hostel, or anywhere else, you are putting your data at risk. These types of networks are vulnerable to identity theft attacks. Using VPN you will be able to watch your favorite BBC shows while staying safe on the internet in the meantime. This is highly important as there’s a lot of what someone can do with your IP address. 

Best VPN for BBC iPlayer

HideIPVPN offers a VPN service with military-grade encryption, and high-speed servers with unlimited bandwidth.

Our service comes with shared IP addresses so that your activity can never be tied to one particular user, further protecting your privacy.

We also offer DNS leak protection, a Kill Switch, the latest VPN protocols, and a guaranteed no-log policy.

Best VPN Deal! Get HideIPVPN for $2.7/mo!

Every purchase you make comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Save 75% NOW

Use SmartDNS to watch BBC abroad

If you try to access BBC iPlayer outside the UK, you will see this message “BBC iPlayer TV programmes are available to play in the UK only.” That is because the popular UK streaming channel is blocked overseas. However, aside from VPN solution, you can also use SmartDNS to watch BBC iPlayer abroad.  When you use SmartDNS, your computer queries a remote server for information about what websites are accessible and where they’re located. The system only shows an alternate version of DNS responses as opposed to just routing all requests through it as regular proxy servers do – this way no one can identify who is visiting from which location via web tracking services. This makes SmartDNS technology perfect for situations where you need to access geo-blocked content without affecting all of your device’s traffic and without masking your real IP address. This solution is perfect if all you need is unblocking streaming channels and want to get the best speed on it. Also, using VPN you will be tied up to a specific location only, in our case the UK, while using SmartDNS you can have multiple channels from multiple locations unblocked at the same time. For instance, you have US Netflix, Hulu, and BBC available at the same time, while with VPN only UK services. 

Best alternatives to BBC 

The iPlayer is a streaming service that allows users in the UK to watch their favorite shows and movies on demand. If you don’t live there or have a VPN and wish to explore some other alternatives, then consider such as Netflix or Amazon Prime for viewing content when available.  

However, if none of these suit your fancy there are plenty more options such as Hulu with its Live TV option which offers current shows from cable networks alongside podcasts etc., HBO Max offers an extensive library including hits since 2000 along with new releases coming soon. 

All of the above and more are available to you if you have a reliable VPN provider to help you break online geo-restrictions.