Firestick

[Spurs]

Just a quick question will a Firestick bought from the uk pick up any channels in Spain like bbc or itv ?

[kevinb]

You will need to put NordVPN on the firestick or the firewalls for the BBC and various other uk providers will see your IP address is a Spanish one and block you.

[DaveG]

Personally I have found Surfshark better than NordVpn but your right that Spurs will need the VPN app on the firestick. Then if you download iPlayer, ITVx etc you can access most UK TV content. You need a good Internet connection especially for iPlayer or you get a lot of buffering.

[kevinb]

I actually find BBC iplayer on the Firestick a bit patchy, lose access sometimes even though the NordVPN on our phones and tablets give iplayer access without problems. I'm keeping my Freesat system as backup as its possible that one day the BBC firewalls will successfully keep VPN traffic out, I hope not but you never know.

[DaveG]

Yes Kevin I agree with your iPlayer comments.  I'm out in the campo so no cable just a Wimax system for WiFi. For my main TV I have a iptv box and a TV package from Go Satellite in Quesada where I get every TV channel imaginable. There's a couple of stalls on Zoco Sunday Market who will put these packages on a firestick.
I keep the fire sticks for bedroom tv then if reception is bad it's an early night
.

[Spurs]

Just a quick question I’m not totally tech savvy I’ve ordered a Firestick and am looking at vpns . Do I put the vpn on the Firestick or on the router .  is it complicated to do ? Do I have to do it all in Spain or can I set it up here . Sorry if I’m asking really simple questions but this is well out of my comfort zone

[DaveG]

Hi Spurs, once you've decided on a vpn you will get a used I'd (email address) and password when you create the account. Once that's all done you put the firestick in your tv and go to the Playstore and find your vpn app and download it to the stick, you'll need login and password from the account creation. After that download all the apps you want onto the firestick from the store. iPlayer, ItvX, Sky news, More4 etc.
Bring your firestick to Spain, put it in the TV, go to the vpn app and open it and connect to a UK location, London, Manchester whatever. Once it's connected your good to go with the other apps.
If I can do it anyone can. I'd certainly load it all up in the UK so you have time to get used to it at your leisure.
Good luck.

[kevinb]

It's a cat and mouse situation using a VPN outside of the UK to access UK TV , it's a constant battle between companies like the BBC who block well known VPN providers IP addresses,  the BBC firewalls are very good. One trick I've found on Iplayer and CH4 apps is if I'm blocked while watching live TV using the firestick is to watch is to play a catch-up program for a few minutes and then switch to live TV, it works but I don't know why, clearing the apps cache helps as well.

[DaveG]

Although I've never had an issue with iPlayer being blocked that's good advice if it happens,  my problem is the buffering but that's probably my wifi.

[Spurs]

Cheers Dave I think I got most of that when you say go to play store is that on the tv , Firestick or my iPad ?

[DaveG]

Hi Spurs, its actually called appstore and it's preloaded on the firestick. If you do this in the UK you can put the firestick in your home tv hdmi port, click on source on the TV remote and access the port holding the firestick. When the stick boots up the preloaded apps are shown, appstore should be there. Open it and search for the apps you want and download them, they each get their own icon. It won’t be a problem in the UK but you may need your address for iPlayer and you may need to create an account for some of the others, I forget the details. After that put your vpn on and book some flights.
If you get stuck there's loads of stuff on the Internet or YouTube, especially how to arrange your favourite apps on the home page.

[Spurs]

Thanks Dave