UK VPN services provide your computer with a “virtual” connection to a VPN server, and it then behaves exactly as it would if you were actually in the United Kingdom.

What is a VPN with a UK IP address?

If you are traveling outside the UK or you are a UK expat, you may still get access to British TV shows that are streamed online even if they are geo-restricted. By subscribing to a VPN service (yes, you will need a VPN) and connecting to a server located in the UK. Such a server usually exposes a UK IP address, and it is seen as a regular UK Internet user. The good news is that most VPN providers offer access to UK servers. Take a look below at an extensive list of important description details about each provider.

What you can do with a VPN

With a VPN account, you can enjoy a vast array of services with your active VPN subscription; you can easily access Hulu, Netflix, or even use BBC iPlayer wherever you may be in the world! VPN for the UK will readily accept payments in pounds, use Paypal, or even credit card payments for your convenience.

Moreover, you do not need to be an internet geek to configure a VPN service online and unblock British TV. The VPN service provider will give you a step-by-step guideline for you to set up your VPN connection, and you will have your PC connect to any website you wish (including blocked sites), in as little as 5 minutes!

Besides unblocking streaming channels a VPN (Virtual Private Network) also provides increased online security, will protect you from ISP (Internet Service Provider) tracking, will help you stay secure while using public Wi-fi networks, will hide your online activities. Thus, using a VPN is a must these-days. But also keep in mind the VPN disadvantages.

United Kingdom VPN downsides

You may have imagined yourself watching UK TV shows or programs on the web from a remote country in the world, and you think to yourself this is just impossible! Currently, you can do that, but there are several downsides, which in mind aren’t that burdensome. They are as follows:

• Buffering. You will experience video buffering half-way through your streaming. This is normal, however, if it persists try contacting your VPN service provider and ask for a new IP address on a new server that has a faster connection.
• Connection dropping. If you happen to encounter an abrupt stop on your internet connection, reconnect your VPN, or refresh your connection. It may happen occasionally, but you should not worry about it as you can always contact your VPN service provider for technical support.

Although these are not somewhat technical problems, you can somehow carry on with your viewing and ignore such temporary nuances from time to time. Imagine all the amazing benefits you will get if you can conveniently access British TV shows and programs wherever you are? It is reason enough to continue and persist with your VPN monthly subscription account.

What channels can you access using UK VPN services?

It is very probable that you already know what site you want to unlock. Anyway, I am going to list several of the channels that I follow. If you know others that worth mentioning, please share them in the comments.

• BBC iPlayer – Great for watching Formula 1, Master Chef, EastEnders, Louis Theroux, Poldark, Ordinary Lies, and many more.
• ITV – Champions League, Saturday Night Takeaway, Emmerdale, Coronation Street, TOWIE, etc.
• Sky Go – Arrow, Game of Thrones, Blacklist, and many more.
• UTV – Britain’s Got Talent, Big American Food Trip, Vera, etc.
• Channel 4 – Indian Summers, The 100, Supernatural, PokerStars.com, Raised by Wolves, Gogglebox, etc.
• BlinkBox – Latest movies: Paddington, Interstellar, The Hobbit, Better Call Saul, etc.
• Wuaki TV –  The most popular UK TV series, and the best films from independent filmmakers.
• 4Music – For thosewho love music and pop culture.
• AbsoluteRadio – Live music, Rock ‘N’ Roll Football.

List of VPNs with UK servers

After some extensive search, I have found 15 good United Kingdom VPN services (probably the best VPNs) that offer UK IP addresses. If you are interested, take a look below and don’t forget to share your experience with us after you try one.

1. NordVPN – Probably the best VPN on the market with plenty of server locations. It is fast, reliable, and it offers great value for the money. Additionally, you may benefit from the 30-day money-back guarantee policy.
2. HMA –It provides access to over 800 servers in 300+ locations in 182 countries. More, HMA VPN offers over 113,309 VPN IPs, keeps changing between them, and you need never appear in the same place for long. For only $11.32 per month. About 100 servers in the UK.
3. ibVPN – One of my favorite VPN providers (take a look at my extensive ibVPN review)., probably the best VPN for torrenting. The guys that handle the support are very friendly and helpful. You may try the service for 24 hours for free (no credit card required) and, even after you subscribe, you benefit from 15 days money-back guarantee. Prices start from $4.95 per month and offer access to about 10 servers located in the UK. More than that the service includes Smart DNS access, advanced technology for unblocking websites, including the ones mentioned above. Also, you may benefit from 5 simultaneous connections, DNS leak protection, WebRTC leak protection, Stealth VPN, Double VPN, and Tor over VPN.
4. PureVPN – Great VPN provider with a lot of servers and many add-ons that can help you do a lot of VPN related stuff. There are plenty of UK servers to choose from and 5 simultaneous connections. Thus the access to UK channels is ensured. The starting price is $9.95/month with lower rates for annual and semi-annual plans. You may choose from various payment options.
5. StrongVPN – One of the oldest players in the VPN market, provides access to hundreds of servers all over the World and more than 20 in the UK. StrongVPN is somehow expensive, starting from $15/month.
6. HideIPVPN – HideIPVPN is a smaller provider, with a limited number of servers and locations. But it provides excellent access to UK servers for $5.99 per month. Also, Smart DNS is included in more expensive plans. The support is excellent and the server speed is quite good.
7. VyprVPN – It is one of the biggest VPNs, advertised as the World’s fastest VPN. With 700+ servers and 200,000+ global IPs, connections are always available. Prices start at $6.67/month. It may be a good choice for those looking for a specific location for their UK server.
8. TunnelBear – Probably the nicest VPN service with great design and wonderful site. Simply great! It is built with love for those that prefer a very friendly and funny service. The apps are so easy to use that even computer illiterates are capable of using them without any issues. No much to say about the number of servers, as you are only allowed to choose the country, not the exact server location. You can even get a free (but limited) version of the service, but the premium packages start at $4.99/month. Highly recommended for those looking for an ON/OFF VPN button.
9. IPVanish – With 10 VPN servers in the UK you can surely access the sites you want. IPVanish offers access to the Tier-1 VPN network, and the server speed is excellent. They provide access to hundreds of servers all over the World. All for $10/month.
10. BoxPN – BoxPN is a good provider, with a limited number of UK IP servers. From $9.99/month.
11. ExpressVPN – Important VPN service with a high number of servers. High speed, ultra-secure, and easy to use. Instant setup. 30 Day Money Back Guarantee. It starts at $12.95/month.
12. Witopia – It can bypass blocks from UK content providers, but they only offer annual plans for $49.99.
13. CyberGhost VPN – Very modern provider with excellent looking applications, good servers, and great support. CyberGhost VPN also offers free access to traffic limitations. Premium subscriptions are available starting at $6.99/month. Highly recommended for German speakers.
14. Private Internet Access – Another big player (take a look at my PrivateInternetAccess review), with several unique payment methods like Ripple, Stellar, Gift Cards. The PIA VPN apps are user-friendly and offer strong encryption. It is quite popular these days. Available for $6.95/month.
15. VPN Tunnel – The Swedish VPN is an excellent provider with several servers in the UK. The accessing price starts at 9.99 Euro per month.

Of course, there are several free VPN providers that also offer access to servers in the United Kingdom. However, most free VPNs are already blocked by popular streaming channels. So, they are of no use when it comes to watching your favorite streaming website.

Conclusion

To sum up, most of the sites that stream British shows can be unblocked from the outside UK using United Kingdom VPNs. The only condition is to choose a provider that offers servers located in the UK. Further, if you are not happy with the speed provided by the VPNs, you may also consider a SmartDNS service like the one offered extra by ibVPN, PureVPN, or HideIPVPN.

Enjoy!

However, the downside is, you cannot watch the BBC outside the UK due to the geo-location constraints. But you can bypass these limitations by the use of a UK proxy.

With such a proxy you can watch BBC iPlayer even if you are traveling abroad! It is specially made to protect your online data and privacy. Furthermore, you can now surf anonymously on the web without fear of being controlled and or restrained from watching whatever you want, wherever, and whenever you want to!

If you live outside of the UK and you like BBC shows, you are probably very familiar with the following message:

The idea is that the BBC has no rights to show certain programs outside the UK, so it has to block users that do not have UK IP address. The same thing happens in the US with Hulu.com, Fox.com, Abc.com, etc.

Workaround: how to watch BBC iPlayer outside the UK

The good news is that there are workarounds. Today, I found out that one of the hide IP tools that I use regularly exposes a UK proxy that works very well with BBC iPlayer.

Get UK IP with proxies

You can find such proxies on sites like Proxy4Free, SamAir.ru or Xroxy. These are open proxies that you can get free of charge. If you don’t know how to set up your browser how to use such proxy make sure you read: How To Hide Your IP While Browsing Using Firefox or How To Change Your IP Using Internet Explorer Manually.

The bad news is that most of these proxies won’t help because they are used by a lot of people and they are quite slow.

Watch BBC Live using VPN services

A better solution would be to get your own private proxy or get a VPN connection to a server located in the UK. HideMyAss, HideIpVPN, ibVPN offer such services. They are not free, but it is for you to decide if it worth it or not.

Both Hulu and BBC iPlayer with the same VPN?

What if you are leaving in Australia and you want to watch both Hulu and BBC iPlayer? Get a VPN service that exposes both US and UK servers in the same package. Most of the VPN services listed above offer both US and UK servers.

How to watch BBC iPlayer on your Nintendo Wii while overseas

I assume your Wii is already connected to the Internet. Once you are, just proceed to download BBC iPlayer by going to the shopping channel and download the iPlayer channel. You can obtain easily as a free download. Do not forget to set your localization settings of your Wii to the UK initially, as the BBC iPlayer channel is not offered to non-UK citizens.

Once this has been accomplished, you need to proceed to the Wii’s proxy server settings by selecting your connection from the Wii System Settings. Then select the Internet connection link. Choose the connection you are utilizing and scroll down the options until you discover the Proxy Server displayed. Below are the necessary changes you have to undertake:

1. Specify the Proxy Server to use.
2. Under ‘Advanced Settings’ input one of proxy’s UK IP addresses you prefer to use.
3. Use ‘4040’ for the Port number.
4. Modify Username and Password to ‘Yes.’
5. Go to ‘Advanced Settings,’ and input your proxy username and password credentials in the fields provided.

Consequently, all you have to do is save the settings and proceed to the Wii display screen, choose the BBC iPlayer channel and everything should be working fine by now. Should you be using a free proxy you can skip the login credentials area. However, you may need to change your port to 80 or 8080.

Enjoy!

What is a UK IP address?

A UK IP address is an IP that is assigned to an ISP or hosting provider that provides Internet services in United Kingdom. The most common UK IPs have the following format:

• 25.0.0.0 to 25.255.255.255
• 31.64.0.0 to 31.95.255.255
• 31.96.0.0 to 31.127.255.255
• 2.216.0.0 to 2.223.255.255
• 5.64.0.0 to 5.71.255.255

You may find more info regarding the UK IP blocks by checking this post.

3 Ways to get a UK IP address

1. Use Web Proxies

Web proxies are the most simple way to change your IP address. But, the main advantage of a web proxy is the fact that you don’t have to install anything. Just visit the proxy, type in the desired URL and press the Go or Submit button. Thus, the site will be loaded from the IP of the proxy, not from your IP address.

I have gathered here a list of several web proxies that are now functional and that are hosted on UK servers. It may change in the future. As you probably know web proxies have a short life.

1. Change IP Country (cIPC) – It is an anonymizer program which acts as an HTTP or FTP proxy. Through it, you can retrieve any resource that is accessible from the server this runs on. It is useful when your access is limited, but you can reach a server that can, in turn, reach others that you can’t.
2. JustProxy
3. WebProxy.uk.com

Must read: Risks of using a proxy site.

2. Manually change your IP using paid or open proxies

Another option to consider is to change the public IP of your computer/device manually. Next, go to sites that list proxies like XRoxy, find a proxy server from the United Kingdom and then change your browser’s settings to use that proxy.

Further, if you don’t know how to change your IP manually you should check these posts:

• Internet Explorer – How To Manually Hide Your IP Using Internet Explorer
• Google Chrome – How To Hide Your IP While Browsing Using Google Chrome
• Firefox: How To Manually Hide Your IP
• Safari – How To Manually Mask Your IP Using Safari
• Microsoft Edge – How to Setup a Proxy for Microsoft Edge

3. Use a VPN service

Also, if you find the proxies slow, an excellent alternative is the VPN services. You may see below a list of VPN services that provide British IP addresses.

What is a UK VPN service?

A UK VPN service is a VPN that offers access to one or more servers located in the United Kingdom. A more extended definition includes the VPN services that change your IP to a UK one, but the actual server is not located in the United Kingdom. They provide primarily the same service.

How to choose a UK VPN provider?

Firstly, take a look at the suggested providers from the list below. Your choice depends on your budget and on what you need.

Secondly, I recommend starting with the VPN services that offer a free trial. You can quickly set up a free account and see how they fit your needs.

List of UK VPN services

Here is a list of several such UK VPN services. They all offer excellent VPN server network, excellent speed, unlimited bandwidth, easy-to-use VPN apps (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android), simultaneous connections, kill switch, various VPN protocols (OpenVPN, PPTP, L2TP, StealthVPN, Softether), leak protection (including IP leak protection, DNS leak protection and WebRTC leak protection), and money back guarantee.

What you can use a UK VPN for

When one connects to such a server, all the Internet traffic is redirected to that server. There are three obvious reasons for using a UK VPN:

• Unlock geo-restricted sites from outside the UK (sites that are designed and offered to British citizens) like BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, Demand Five.
• Encrypt your Internet traffic and protect yourself from sniffing attacks (this is for UK users that already have access to all the sites mentioned above).
• Protect your online identity while downloading torrents.

UK VPN providers offer a large number of UK server options, with unlimited bandwidth and excellent browsing speed. And, the prices vary from $4 to $15 per month.

How to browse with IP addresses from other countries

• United States: How to browse with US IP
• Netherlands: How to browse with IP address from Netherlands
• Germany: How to browse with an IP address from Germany
• Ireland: How to browse with an IP address from Ireland
• Hungary: How to browse with IP address from Hungary
• Russia: How to browse with Russian IP address
• Denmark: How to browse with Danish IP address
• India: How to browse with Indian IP address
• Thailand – How to Browse with Thai IP address