In this article, I will explain how to fix CyberGhost not working with BBC iPlayer.
If CyberGhost isn’t or has stopped working with BBC iPlayer, the BBC has been able to blacklist all of the IP addresses CyberGhost currently has available for you to use.
This can be frustrating, especially if you’ve been watching BBC iPlayer with CyberGhost and the streaming service is no longer working.
Don’t panic though. There’s a few fixed you can try to resolve this issue.
See also:
- How to get BBC iPlayer on the US App Store: The SIMPLE method! (2023)
- How to watch BBC iPlayer while travelling: It works anywhere in the world! (2023)
- BBC iPlayer buffering with VPN? Try these EASY fixes! (2023)
CyberGhost not working with BBC iPlayer: Quick Guide
To fix CyberGhost not working with BBC iPlayer, try these three simple steps.
If you try one and it doesn’t fix the problem, move on to the next one and see if that fixes CyberGhost not working with BBC iPlayer.
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Delete Cookies
When you go online, you may have noticed that some websites ask you to accept Cookies. These are not malicious in any way. They actually aim to make your online experience better. However they do sometimes retain information about your location.
BBC iPlayer can potentially use this information to figure out where in the world you’re watching BBC iPlayer. If your Cookies contain information that shows the BBC you aren’t in the UK when accessing iPlayer, the BBC will block your connection.
A good place to start when trying to fix CyberGhost not working with BBC iPlayer is deleting your Cookies.
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Connect to a different UK server
The most likely reason CyberGhost isn’t working with BBC iPlayer is because the BBC has been able to identify the IP address that CyberGhost has given you and has blocked it.
The good news is the BBC cannot block CyberGhost entirely, only the IP addresses it provides. And just because your current IP address has been blocked, it doesn’t mean all of CyberGhost’s IP’s have been.
Changing to a different UK server will give you a new IP address. If this one hasn’t been blocked by the BBC, CyberGhost will work with BBC iPlayer again.
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Upgrade to a better VPN
If the first two steps haven’t worked, BBC iPlayer has managed to block all of CyberGhost’s IP addresses.
To get around this, you need to upgrade to a better VPN. We recommend ExpressVPN ($6.67/month).
ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) works well with BBC iPlayer, and more importantly, it has measures in place to prevent all of its IP addresses from being blocked by the BBC.
This means you won’t run into this same issue that you’ve come across with CyberGhost when using ExpressVPN ($6.67/month).
Why does the BBC block CyberGhost?
The BBC tries to block all VPN’s from connecting to its service. It does this because of the content licensing and copyright agreements it has with its content partners.
The BBC only has the rights to broadcast its content in the UK and to avoid issues arising. It prevents users outside the UK from accessing its content.
Because VPNs allow you to use a spoof IP address from anywhere in the world and watch BBC iPlayer internationally, the BBC tries and block VPNs from accessing its service. If it didn’t do this, it could face severe financial fines for breaching its agreements.
How does the BBC block CyberGhost?
The BBC blocks VPN connections by monitoring for an abnormal amount (more than an average household) of connections coming from the same IP address.
CyberGhost is a popular VPN, and it has more customers than IP addresses. This discrepancy results in customers having to share IP’s.
The BBC scans the connections coming through to iPlayer, and if it sees hundreds or thousands of connections coming from the same IP address, it knows this is an IP address that has been provided by a VPN, and it blocks it.
For CyberGhost, this is a problem because CyberGhost either doesn’t have measures in place to get around these blocks, or its measures are no longer working.
The good news is ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) and Private Internet Access ($2.03/month) do have measures in place to get around these blocks.
Does BBC iPlayer still work with VPNs?
Yes, BBC iPlayer still works with VPNs; however, you need to get a VPN that stays one step ahead of the BBC’s VPN blocking techniques. The best VPNs for this are ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month)
Both ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) and Private Internet Access ($2.03/month) play a game of cat and mouse with BBC iPlayer. When the BBC identifies and blocks an IP address that has been provided by ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month), these VPNs will close that IP address and open a new one. This is something that CyberGhost doesn’t do, and because of that, eventually, all of CyberGhost’s IP addresses get identified by the BBC and blocked.
This game of cat and mouse that ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) and Private Internet Access ($2.03/month) play with BBC iPlayer allows you to reliably watch the streaming service from anywhere in the world, and it also means there is much less chance of you running into the same problems you have with CyberGhost.
How to fix CyberGhost not working with BBC iPlayer
The fix is simple, all you need is a VPN that plays a game of cat and mouse with the BBC, that is still compatible with BBC iPlayer, and that has reliable UK servers. We recommend ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month), and below you’ll find a list of VPNs that meet all of these criteria and will allow you to fix CyberGhost not working with BBC iPlayer.
Best VPNs for streaming BBC iPlayer
1. ExpressVPN 🥇
Why You Should Use ExpressVPN? It’s the fastest and MOST reliable VPN of 2023
Pros
- ✅ Fast servers
- ✅ Thousands of IP addresses
- ✅ 10-simultaneous connections
- ✅ 24/7 Live Chat
- ✅ Easy-to-use app
- ✅ 30-day money-back guarantee
Cons
- ❌ Expensive
Special Offer for you!
Get 3 extra months free when you sign up for a 12-month ExpressVPN plan. That’s 15 months in total for the price of 12.
Number of servers: 3,000+ | Speed: >80% | Bandwidth: Unlimited | IP locations: 160 in 94 countries | Devices supported: 5 | Live chat: Yes | 30-day money-back guarantee: Yes
- $6.66/month for 15 months
- $9.99/month for 6 months
- $12.95/month for 1 month
ExpressVPN ($6.66/month) is still the best VPN. And importantly, it ALWAYS has servers that are open with major streaming sites such as Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, Paramount+, Amazon Prime Video, etc.
ExpressVPN is usually very good at playing Cat and Mouse with online streaming sites. Meaning, whenever one of its servers is blacklisted it creates a new one – giving its users a constant stream of servers that aren’t blocked. Needless to say, this is a valuable attribute if you’re looking for a VPN to unblock streaming sites.
Its app is easy-to-use and free to download on pretty much any device you can think of. Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, FireStick, Android TV, Roku, PS4, Xbox, Linux, even Apple TV (with a workaround). It’s got it all covered.
The app is another main reason this VPN is so good at unblocking TV streaming sites (that claim they block VPNs) is that its software takes a pragmatic approach to user management. While other VPNs tempt customers by promising them access to hundreds/thousands of servers in multiple countries, ExpressVPN does things differently.
With ExpressVPN you only have a handful of server locations to choose from. Once you select your location the app takes care of the rest. Assigning you to the fastest available server that’s not oversubscribed. This simple technique is so important, as it keeps ExpressVPN’s servers operating at lightning-fast speeds and prevents its IPs from getting blacklisted for “abnormal” usage in the first place.
Check out our full ExpressVPN review.
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2. Private Internet Access 🥈
The BEST low-cost VPN for streaming!
Pros
- ✅ Fast and reliable servers
- ✅ Thousands of IP addresses
- ✅ 10-simultaneous connections
- ✅ 24/7 Live Chat
- ✅ 30-day money-back guarantee
Cons
- ❌ Only 48 server locations
Special Offer for you!
Sign up for a 3-year plan with Private Internet Access and save 83% + 3 months free. That works out at $2.03/month.
Number of servers: 25,000+ | Speed: >75% | Bandwidth: Unlimited | IP locations: 70 in 74 countries | Devices supported: 10 | Live chat: Yes | 30-day money-back guarantee: Yes
- $2.03/month for 3 years
- $7.50/month for 6 months
- $11.99/month for 1 month
Private Internet Access is one of the leading no-log VPN services with over 1-million paying customers.
This VPN is one of the best in the industry at beating streaming sites’ VPN bans. It provides reliable connections with US Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, HBO Max, Disney+ Amazon Prime Video, etc. It also allows 10 simultaneous devices to be connected to its servers at the same time, so you can share the account with your close friends.
If – for whatever reason – you’re not happy with Private Internet Access, there’s a 24/7 live chat support available to assist you with your problem. PIA also offers the industry-standard 30-day money-back guarantee.
From my tests (from New Zealand) I was able to get download speeds of 70 Mbps while connected to a UK server using the Private Internet Access VPN (my non-VPN speed is 100 Mbps).
Special Offer – Save 83%
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3. NordVPN 🥉
A very quick and trustworthy VPN
Pros
- ✅ Fast servers
- ✅ No logs
- ✅ Thousands of IP addresses
- ✅ 6-simultaneous connections
- ✅ 30-day money-back guarantee
- ✅ Easy-to-use app
Cons
- ❌ No refunds for purchases from iTunes/App store
Special Offer for you!
Sign up for a 3-year plan with Private Internet Access and save 83% + 3 months free. That works out at $2.03/month.
Number of servers: 5,000+ | Speeds: >80% | Bandwidth: Unlimited | IP locations: 62 countries | Devices supported: 6 | Live chat: Yes | 30-day money-back guarantee: Yes
- $3.49/month for 2 years
- $6.99/month for 1 year
- $11.95/month for 1 month
NordVPN is the most widely-used VPN in the world. And it’s easy to see why. It’s a polished app that delivers fast connections (more on this later) to a massive network of VPN servers.
It’s the most reliable at unblocking popular streaming services too – US Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, etc. This is because NordVPN hired a full-time technical team (that’s responsible for monitoring its servers’ connections with popular TV streaming services) and has been aggressively investing in its network of IP addresses in key locations.
Another interesting thing to note is that NordVPN is an industry leader in its development of Nordlynx technology. Nordlynx is built using the WireGuard, a new VPN tunneling protocol designed to outperform current standards (OpenVPN and IPSec). The benefits, according to NordVPN, are dramatically faster transfer speeds while connected to a VPN. My tests – New Zealand to London – confirm that Nordlynx is currently the fastest VPN on the market. However, the difference isn’t dramatic, a few Mbps is all.
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4. Ivacy
A very quick and trustworthy VPN
Pros
- ✅ Fast servers
- ✅ Thousands of IP addresses
- ✅ Dedicated streaming servers
- ✅ 5-simultaneous connections
- ✅ 30-day money-back guarantee
- ✅ 24/7 Live Chat
Cons
- ❌ Only 5 devices
- ❌ Sometimes runs slow
- ❌ Occasionally block by streaming sites for several days
Special Offer for you!
Sign up for Ivacy and enjoy a 7-day trial with no strings attached
Number of servers: 1,000+ | Speed: >65% | Bandwidth: Unlimited | IP locations: 275 in 100 countries | Devices supported: 5 | Live chat: Yes | 30-day money-back guarantee: Yes
- $1.16/month for 5 years
- $3.50/month for 1 year
- $9.99/month for 1 month
If you’re looking for an excellent VPN, with an even better price tag, Ivacy ($1.16/month) is a great option.
This VPN has all the features you need to stream BBC iPlayer, in HD, from any country in the world. I’ve been testing the app recently on Mac, PC, Android, iOS and FireStick and the results have been impressive – unlocking BBC iPlayer, US Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, etc. with ease.
The Ivacy app is a little different in regards to its UX (user experience). Instead of just selecting a UK server, you need to select the specific BBC iPlayer server. Don’t worry, this isn’t a bad thing – by connecting to a dedicated BBC iPlayer server, it simply means that you’re connecting to an IP address that Ivacy knows works with BBC iPlayer.
For an extra $1.99/month (£1.74) you can add-on a dedicated IP. This will buy you sole access to an IP address in a country of your choice, meaning you won’t have to share your IP (and speeds) with any other use. I don’t recommend this though, using the regular Ivacy servers is enough 95 per cent of the time.
Special Offer – 7-day FREE trial!
(30-day money-back guarantee)
