Does BBC iPlayer Work with NordVPN? Here is How You Can Fix it!

published on: 27 April 2020 written by: Sebastian Petrosi

NordVPN is one of the best Virtual Private Network (VPN) services in the market. It is used for unblocking all sorts of content, including websites, portals, and even streaming video content from Netflix, Disney Plus, and other online video streaming portals. Moreover, the NordVPN service offers 5,500+ servers in more than 59 countries.

But not many people know if NordVPN service can work with the BBC iPlayer. So, in this post, we are going to find out if the NordVPN service can run BBC iPlayer for streaming video content.

BBC iPlayer VPN Restrictions

For those who don’t know, BBC iPlayer doesn’t allow users from locations other than the UK to visit the website.

Even UK citizens can’t stream content from BBC iPlayer if they are out of the country. These region-specific blocks have made BBC iPlayer as one of the most secure streaming websites online.

When UK citizens try to watch content on BBC iPlayer from another country, they get the following message:

“This content is not available in your location.” Or they get the BBC right’s issue such as, “BBC iPlayer only works in the UK. Sorry, it’s due to rights issues.”

bbc-iplayer geo restriction error

So, these users have to create a VPN connection where the server is from the UK to visit the website. Simple right? That’s where the actual problem starts. There aren’t many services offering UK based servers.

Those that offer are not always providing the best speed to the users. Moreover, the BBC iPlayer website also blocks VPN services through IP sniffing and deep packet penetration testing. In both cases, it is difficult for a VPN service to get connected with the BBC iPlayer.

The workaround to such a situation is provided by the NordVPN service. NordVPN servers are spread around the globe.

With over 5,500 servers, including 550+ UK servers, NordVPN users can stream content from BBC iPlayer.

Moreover, users with NordVPN can easily bypass geo-restricted firewalls, and services located in another country. It is a tried and tested service, and so far it is working pretty well.

Considering that NordVPN connection can also be detected by the BBC iPlayer, the company is always coming up with better options to help its users watch impressive content on the BBC iPlayer. Do this by:

Creating new servers, each with a new IP address so that it becomes hard for the BBC iPlayer to find out whether it is a VPN address or a user trying to connect to the server.
Using tunnels and multi-layer encryption to avoid IP leaks. This way the VPN blockers can’t perform deep packet penetration testing and can’t see if the connection is from a VPN service or from an actual user living in the UK.
Moreover, NordVPN offers unlimited bandwidth for its users to stream online content. Something that you can’t find with other VPN services out there.

NordVPN Streaming Guide

NordVPN Tested UK Servers for BBC iPlayer

Here is the list of NordVPN UK servers that are working with BBC iPlayer in 2020:

Server names: # 481, 483, 717-720, 745-752, 757-764, 974-977, 1022-1025, 1044-1045.

Moreover, it mentions that the server works only on Desktop and Android devices as of now. It doesn’t work on iOS, Fire Stick and Roku as of now.

What if You Can’t Connect to BBC iPlayer with NordVPN?

NordVPN has clearly mentioned that if you are not able to connect with the BBC iPlayer using its designated servers, you should:

Clear your cache.
Restart your device if possible.
Connect to the NordVPN service again.
You can also use browser extensions for browsers such as Chrome and Brave to connect to the VPN service.

We have tested all the recommended NordVPN UK servers to access BBC iPlayer outside of UK. And all the servers work like a charm. They can easily connect to the service without any problem. Moreover, they have also mentioned that VPN blocks do not have an effect on the NordVPN service.

BBC iPlayer Live Streaming Channels

Here is a list of the BBC iPlayer channels list that NordVPN service can easily connect with. As of now, BBC iPlayer allows you to live stream content from 11 of its TV channels. If you are interested in radio transmission, you can connect with one radio station BBC offers, all free of charge.

BBC1
BBC2
CBeebies
BBC3
BBC4
CBBC
BBC Scotland
BBC News
Radio 1
BBC Parliament
BBC Alba
S4C

The good news is that if the NordVPN servers don’t work, you can call the NordVPN customer support. for more details check my NordVPN review.

Why does BBC iPlayer not work with Any Other VPN?

A few reasons BBC iPlayer won’t work with any other VPN service are given below.

IP Block

As we have already mentioned above, the BBC iPlayer can detect VPN IP addresses and block them. So, your proxy servers, free versions of VPN servers, and even VPN servers with fewer servers won’t technically work to access BBC iPlayer content.

Lack of Servers

VPN services that have a couple of servers only will not be able to provide the right kind of service to their users. It is because the connections can be traced back to the main server.

Deep Packet Inspection

Deep packet inspection will allow the BBC iPlayer website to detect if a user is using more than a single server to connect to the website. If it is, this means it is either using a VPN server, a proxy server or not present within the country. This is one way BBC iPlayer bans the VPN services users occasionally use.

Can I watch BBC iPlayer with a Free VPN?

You can watch BBC iPlayer content with a free VPN service but there is no guarantee that the servers you use are perfectly secure. In most cases, the BBC iPlayer will not detect that you are using a server. But if it detects the server, it will probably ban it for good. Another reason not to use a free VPN service to connect with BBC iPlayer is that most of them have malware. According to a study of over 280 free VPN services, almost 40% had malware in them. Moreover, 18% of these VPN servers had no encryption on them making the data of the users as vulnerable as it can get. And guess what? One of the most well-known VPN service providers Hola was even caught selling user bandwidth to run its botnet operation.

Which VPN is best for BBC iPlayer?

You can use any VPN service as you want until and unless it offers the following features.

No-logs storage policy: It should ensure that your data will remain safe and secure
CyberSec suite: It ensures that you can get extra malware protection and ad-blocking features.
Automatic kill switches: It ensures that your data is never vulnerable during a sudden drop in connection, making it leak-proof.
Military-grade encryption: The VPN service should offer AES 256-bit encryption that can’t be decrypted even with brute force attacks.
Dedicated servers: So that you can enjoy video content whenever you want
Multi-app connectivity: It allows you to run VPN servers from any device of your choice.
Simultaneous connections: Currently most devices offer only five simultaneous connections. If a VPN service can offer more, that is a plus.

If you are having difficulty to find the VPN services that have all the mentioned above features, you check our best VPN services guide.

Conclusion

This brings us to our conclusion. We have provided complete details of how the NordVPN service can help you connect with the BBC iPlayer. You also know about the servers that are ideal for the connection.

Now that you are aware of all this, it is time to use NordVPN to connect with BBC iPlayer.