Virgin Media are the one of the largest entertainment companies in the UK and for those of you who have Virgin TV the mobile Virgin TV Anywhere service is an essential for watching cable TV on the go. Unfortunately even though it is titled “Anywhere” it doesn’t actually work anywhere.
If you want to watch Virgin TV Anywhere abroad you’ll be sorely disappointed as even though the name suggests you can watch anywhere, abroad isn’t included in that “anywhere” description.
I always find it odd that when you pay for a subscription TV service you can’t actually watch abroad.
In this guide we’re going to show you how you can use an app called a VPN to access Virgin TV Anywhere abroad.
How to watch Virgin TV Anywhere abroad
To access Virgin TV Anywhere outside the UK you need to sign up for a service known as a Virtual Private Network or using the shortened name a VPN. A VPN is a small service that runs on your desktop, laptop, tablet or mobile phone and encrypts your internet connection to protect you from people snooping on your usage.
A by-product of this is the privacy feature which masks your location. When you’re outside the UK a VPN gives the impression that you’re still in the UK and as such services like Virgin TV Anywhere will stream you the content you want to watch no matter where you are in the world.
VPN services cost around US$5-$10 (approx £4-£7) per month depending on how long you sign up for and will not only protect your internet connection from criminals snooping on it but also enable you to watch Virgin TV Anywhere worldwide.
There are hundreds of providers these days and some are certainly better than others. For streaming video content a quality service needs to be used and to watch Virgin TV Anywhere outside the UK we recommend using IPVanish. Our IPVanish review showed them to be reliable and fast and we had no problem watching TV from the UK while abroad.
A few other good providers are listed below and we recommend you check them out :-
Once you’ve signed up download their software or app, connect to a UK server and then access Virgin TV Anywhere as normal.
Why is Virgin TV Anywhere blocked abroad
Every internet connection is assigned an IP Address, this is a set of numbers that lets the internet communicate with you and you communicate with it, it tells the data where to go. IP Addresses are assigned to locations and due to your IP Address any website you visit or service you access knows roughly the area you’re located but definitely the country. You can see this yourself by checking on a site such as iplookup.flagfox.net.
When you’re at home in the UK Virgin TV Anywhere can see you’re in the UK but as soon as you travel abroad it can see what country you’re in and so blocks you streaming due to broadcasting regional restrictions.
As you’re a paying subscriber and no doubt live in the UK for some of the time, why shouldn’t you be able to watch outside the UK?
Can I watch on my tablet or phone
Definitely. The three providers we recommend have easy to use software for desktops and laptops but also provide simple apps or set-up guides for both Android and iOS devices such as the iPad and iPhone. As long as you can access Virgin TV Anywhere on your device in the UK you’ll also be able to watch abroad with a VPN.
Is a VPN legal
A VPN is entirely legal as the main purpose is to protect your privacy and encrypt your internet connection. In essence it is a safety device similar to shutting your curtains at night so people can’t see in. It encrypts your connection so anyone who wanted to know what you’re doing online couldn’t.
A VPN also protects your privacy at the other end, any service or website you visit sees the VPN provider’s IP Address and so none of your actions can be attributed to yourself.
We have a more in-depth list of VPN providers in our VPN Comparison Guide so feel free to check it out.
Hi – I read this article with interest. I
have a place France and it makes sense to use my Virgin service whilst there.
However I’m not very IT savvy, I get the bit about downloading a location-masking app, but how do I actually use it to connect my tv to Virgin UK?
Hi Al,
The guide is really focused on watching on a laptop or computer. The cheapest way to do it would be if you had a laptop with a HDMI out port. Then it would be simply a case of buying a cheap HDMI cable connecting to your laptop and the other end to the TV.
Would this be something you’d be comfortable doing or did you want a more direct way on the TV itself?
Many thanks for this. Yes, preferably a direct tv method, otherwise it might be a bit cumbersome linking/plugging/connecting each time. Is there a way?
If you’ve got quite a fancy TV (maybe a Smart TV) then there may be a way to do it using DNS settings, but this depends on what TV you have. The TV would need to have internet access.
Do you know what model TV you have?
The only other option would be to buy a VPN router but you’re looking at around £150 for one of those and then the monthly VPN subscription of £5 per month. Again the TV would need internet access.
There is a third option that is about to be released in the next few months called the Shellfire box which is the same as a VPN router but smaller which will cost €59 per year. However as with the other options your TV would need internet access. It might be worth considering as the cheapest option and it will basically plug in and work so only minor set-up required.
I don’t have a tv there yet, so a smart tv makes sense. SFR (France’s version of BT, completely crappy) offer a package with UK services – it may be the least worst option. Many thanks for your advice, very helpful.
With a Samsung Smart TV you can change DNS settings and use something called a SmartDNS from companies like Overplay and Ironsocket. Although they support most UK channels I’ve just checked and they don’t support Virgin.
Probably the best and cheapest option would be to connect a laptop or tablet via a HDMI cable.
Sorry I can’t be of more help.
You have been very helpful, thanks.
This VPN method of watching abroad now dosen’t work. Virgin have found some other way of detecting your location!
Unfortunately this is true. We updated our later “Virgin TV Go” article to reflect this back in April 2018. As of yet there is no work around. Thanks for taking the time to post Mike.
You can watch Virgin anywhere in the world if you connect you Virgin box to a Slingbox
That’s great advice Keith. Would be good if you could post a little more details if you have time for anyone else wanting to do that.
I have down loaded Express VPN but still can’t get virgin TV GO it just tells me that it is not available in this region
Hi Mr Philpot,
Unfortunately, Virgin TV Go doesn’t work with any VPN service. You can use ExpressVPN’s 30-day money back guarantee to get a refund if you don’t need it for any other purpose.
Just tried NordVPN and uktv vpn and neither worked for accessing my virgin media TV account from France. Even their technicians gave up.
Hi Karen,
Unfortunately it hasn’t worked for sometime which is why this article hasn’t been updated in nearly four years. Thanks for your report though.
Hi. So there is currently no other method available for watching Virgin TV Go abroad (other then perhaps using a PC in the UK along with LogMeIn [Google Remote Drive probably has too slow upload & download speeds?])?
Hi David,
We don’t know of any VPNs that work with Virgin TV Go unfortunately. The only way to do it would be like you said or to run some kind of “home” VPN server. It would be a little bit complicated but there are devices like the Vilfo (find via Google) that run off your home router and allow you to easily run a VPN server, this would allow to access your home internet connection.
However this is an expensive option. A cheaper option would be to buy a Raspberry Pi and run a home VPN server but this would be more complicated and require some technical know-how.
can i use virginmedia tv anywhere with norton vpn
Hi Gerry,
Sadly, most VPN services don’t work with Virgin TV Anywhere so we would expect Norton VPN to be the same.