How to watch Sky Go abroad with a VPN
Heidi Finigan | Last Updated:
VPN Streaming Expert
As you likely already know, Sky is one of the UK’s more popular TV networks and is also a major player through the European Union as well.
However, with content being restricted to the EU and UK, and soon to be the UK-only following Brexit, you may be wondering how to continue watching Sky Go from the US and in other countries around the world.
You might have already noticed that even if you’re from the UK and holidaying abroad, and hold an account with Sky you’re still unable to watch the service. This is as a result of Sky being blocked in any location outside the UK.
That said, there is still a way to watch Sky Go from the USA and around the world, and we have some tips for you on how to do this below.
Understanding Why Sky Go is Blocked
To kick off our article, the first thing you’ll want to know is that Sky Go is restricted to the location within which it services. This location being the United Kingdom.
That in mind, if you do try to access Sky either online or through the service’s application, you’ll be quickly met with a warning or an error message letting you know that you’re unable to access the content outside the UK.
The service essentially does this by taking a look at your internet’s IP address, or Internet Protocol address for some information; primarily your location.
If it finds you are outside of the UK you’ll be locked out — even if you are paying for a subscription.
Although this is rather frustrating, there is a simple way around this lock and it involves a VPN service. With this, you’ll be able to manually adjust where you’re browsing from and be able to watch Sky Go in the US, Australia, France or just about anywhere else in the world. All you’ll need to do is switch your location to the UK and you’re all set.
A point to consider though is that Sky Go has put in measures to try and prevent access to it’s service via a VPN. The reality is that for most of the smaller vpn service providers, and certainly all of the so-called “free” vpn service providers, they simply don’t have the technology to get around the vpn blocking measures put in place by Sky Go. It really is a cat and mouse game, and we see that it’s only the larger more well known vpn service providers that have the capability to stay one step ahead of the Sky Go attempt to block vpn access. Here are our recommendations for reputable vpn service providers that we’ve personally tested and confirm work with Sky Go:
1. NordVPN
- Supported Devices:
NordVPN is our clear winner for those that want to access Sky Go from locations outside of the UK. This is primarily due to the fact that they have 5552 vpn servers in their network, which is the largest vpn server count of any vpn service provider in the world. More importantly though, is that they have a huge server offering in the UK itself – which is exactly what you’ll need when trying to connect to Sky Go from USA, Australia, Canada, etc.
NordVPN has a data centre centrally located in London which houses over 440 vpn servers. This ensures that when you connect to their network, you’ll always have access to a vpn server that is never overloaded with other users, thereby enabling you to stream Sky Go at lightning fast speeds.
Nord also allows users to connect up to 6 devices simultaneously to their vpn service. This means that you can have everyone in your household connect to their service at the same time without any restrictions.
They also have a full range of bespoke apps available for just about any device and operating system you can think of. This includes: PC and Mac laptops and computers, iOs and Android tablets and smart phones. Having a specific app for each device means that you can download an app that has been uniquely created to operate seamlessly and untuitively with whatever device you choose. We ran their apps through their paces, and found that it was simple to download their iOS and Android apps.
NordVPN is a reliable choice as they give you the peace of mind that you’re going to be able to connect to Sky Go quickly and easily no matter where you are located around the world. Click on the link below to head over to NordVPN and check them out for yourself:
2. ExpressVPN
- Supported Devices:
ExpressVPN is another solid choice for those wanting to enjoy their Sky Go subscription from locations outside of the UK. One of the key selling points of the ExpressVPN are it’s speed optimised servers. ExpressVPN boasts a dedicated network engineering team whose sole mission is to constantly optimise and tweak their vpn servers for blazing fast connection speeds. During the tests that we performed from our test locations both in Australia and USA, we experienced excellent video streaming without any lagging or buffering. When you just want to watch Sky Go from abroad without any interuptions, this is exactly what you need.
One of the features that really impressed us about ExpressVPN is their proprietary Network Lock feature. If your vpn connection ever drops out even momentarily for any reason (e.g. a power failure, if you change wi-fi networks, or if your computer goes to sleep), then the Network Lock feature will automatically drop your internet connection until the vpn connection is restored. This is a great feature as it means that while using ExpressVPN your data is never exposed and you remain protected at all times.
ExpressVPN maintains a full array of vpn apps to ensure that you can quickly and easily connect to their service using the device of your choice. As you would expect from one of the leading vpn service providers, we found their apps to be slick, stable and bug free, and completely intuitive to use.
An added benefit for users outside of the USA is that ExpressVPN has excellent credentials when it comes to being able to unblock the entire Netflix USA catalog. Netflix is one of the most notoriously difficult services to reliably unblock, but ExpressVPN does this with ease where other vpn service providers commonly fail.
3. SurfShark
- Supported Devices:
SurfShark is our recommendation for best cheap and reliable vpn. It provides budget conscious users wanting a stable and affordable vpn service.
A feature where the SurfShark team has focused their efforts in recent years is with regards to excellent video streaming capabilities. Case in point is Sky Go. We found that this budget price vpn service provider had no problems accessing Sky Go on most occassions when we tested it. Having said that, there were a few instances while testing SurfShark over the course of a few days where it wasn’t immediately able to get around the Sky Go blocks. A quick chat to their support team and we were quickly redirected to a different server which enabled us to get up and running smoothly once again.
One feature that stands SurfShark apart from all others is their unlimited simultaneous vpn connections offering. For large households and workplaces, this is a huge advantage. With SurfShark, no longer do you need to be concerned about the number of devices that you have connected at the same time. There are no restrictions in this regard. Just hit the connect button on as many devices as you want, and you are good to go!
What is a VPN and How Does it Work
To keep things simple, a VPN is essentially a piece of software or sometimes a mobile app, which allows your smartphone, tablet, smart TV or even gaming console to change its browsing location.
A VPN will also encrypt all of your movements online, keeping you safe.
When you connect to a VPN and change your browsing location, all of your web traffic is re-routed through that specific server before you connect to a website. That means Sky is going to see that you’re viewing from the UK, even if you’re located in the US.
With this done, you’re essentially able to watch anything on Sky Go without a problem.
One thing to keep in mind is that not all VPNs are created equally, and this means you’ll have to choose a VPN service that comes with some rather high-end encryption and location spoofing features.
Some VPNs may allow you to connect to Sky via the UK, though the service might not hide your true location well enough, or it may share your IP with other users — which tells Sky that you’re browsing with a VPN.
And essentially, you’ll remain locked out.
To get your hands on a reliable VPN and get it up and running, we’re happy to say that the process is exceedingly simple and you’re not going to have much trouble here at all.
Just be sure to choose something that has geo-blocking support and is fast enough to stream in high definition.
Here’s How to Use a VPN
Even though the process of using a VPN can seem a little daunting, we’re glad to say it couldn’t be simpler.
To start, all you’ll need to do is choose a VPN service like the ones we outlined above, or one of your own. Be sure there’s support for your device, either iOS, macOS, Android, Windows or console and sign up for the service.
Once you have an account, download the software or the application on your device, allow permissions and log in with your credentials.
After you’ve logged in, you’ll be able to use the navigation window to find the server list or the server map. When you find this, scroll or swipe until you see the United Kingdom and choose a server from here.
Hit ‘Connect’ and you’ll see your device’s internet cut in and out for a moment and then you’ll be all set.
On iOS and Android you may see a small ‘VPN’ symbol letting you know you’re browsing through a VPN.
When you’re connected to the UK server, you can simply head to Sky Go, log into your account and browse or stream just as you would back in the UK. Of course, you’ll still need an active Sky subscription, though this isn’t too complicated to set up, and you’ll likely already have one.
And there you have it, the simplest and quickest way to watch Sky Go from the USA and anywhere else around the world with a VPN.
PRIVACY ALERT: Websites you visit can see your current IP Address:
- Your IP Address: 3.22.51.241
- Your Location: Dublin, US
- Your Internet Provider: Amazon.com, Inc.
* Scammers, Governments, and Advertisers can use this information to track and target you.
Our recommended vpn service provider for general all-round internet security and online privacy is NordVPN. It offers an excellent selection of online security and internet privacy features, excellent speed, and the ability to unblock your favorite streaming services (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, BBC iPlayer).
Visit NordVPNCategories: How To Watch
