Expressvpn
Keen to watch what he wants where he wants, David Ludlow installed his favourite VPN on a Fire TV Stick
As we explored in Issue 631’s Cover Feature, VPNS are a great way to watch what you want wherever you are in the world, beating international restrictions. I don’t usually bother accessing content from the US, but when I’m on holiday or on a work trip, I do sometimes catch up on UK TV using a VPN.
I was pleased to see Expressvpn win Computeractive’s Gold Award. I love not only its speed and ease of use, but also because it’s available for all Fire TV Stick devices from the 2nd generation onwards, including my Fire TV Stick 4K Max (£55 from www.snipca. com/41839). I can plug it into any TV, hook it up to the local Wi-fi, and watch content that would otherwise be blocked, such as BBC iplayer. It also bypasses any services that a hotel has restricted.
To install Expressvpn on my Fire TV Stick, I had to click the top-right icon on the home screen (three squares and a ‘+’ sign), then select Appstore. I then searched for Expressvpn, selected it and chose the install option.
Once installed, select Open to launch it. At this point, it’s worth finding out where the app lives on the Stick so that you can find it again. Select the same icon as before (three squares) then choose My Apps – you’ll see Expressvpn there.
After signing in and confirming that it’s allowed to monitor my network traffic, I selected where in the world
I want to connect to. For watching UK TV, this needs to be a UK location (East London normally works for me – as pictured); for US TV, you’ll need a US server. Click the power button icon to connect, and the screen will go green.
Next, I click Home to return to my home screen, and launch any other app that I want. When I start playing content, it’s streamed from the UK automatically via the VPN without restrictions.
That’s the theory at least. Some streaming services try to detect and block VPNS, so Expressvpn doesn’t work all of the time. When I get any error messages, I go back to the Expressvpn app and change the server for an alternative one in the country I want to connect to. There are three options for the UK at the time of writing (Docklands, London, and East London), plus many more in other countries. Expressvpn regularly changes the servers it uses to avoid detection by streaming services.
Once connected to a different server, I can try my app again. Sometimes, apps are cached and remember the original location. When this happens, I clear the cache by restarting the Fire TV Stick (press and hold the Home button, then select Settings, followed by My Fire TV, and then click Restart).
Because Expressvpn starts automatically and remembers its connection state, I have to remember to turn it off when I return home. Open the app and click the power button to disconnect. Again, some apps may not work and the Fire TV Stick may require another reboot.