If you want to catch the latest shows on FX while travelling outside the US, you’ll need a VPN. But if the VPN you’re using at the moment doesn’t work with FX, the TV network may have blacklisted its servers.
Our guide explains some simple fixes you can try to resolve this issue. And by the end of the article I assure you, you’ll be able to resolve FXNOW not working with VPN and you’ll be able to watch FXNOW anywhere in the world again.
See also:
- How to watch FXNOW outside the US: It’s EASY! (September 2023)
- BBC iPlayer not working with VPN? Here’s how I FIXED that!
- BET+ not working with VPN? Try these EASY fixes! (September 2023)
- Showtime not working with VPN? Try these EASY fixes! (September 2023)
FXNOW not working with VPN: Try these fixes!
To fix FXNOW not working with VPN, try these fixes.
Follow them in order. If one doesn’t work, move onto the next one. And by the time you reach the end, you’ll be able to watch FXNOW with a VPN again:
Total Time: 3 minutes
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Delete Cookies
You may or may not have noticed that some websites ask you to accept cookies when you connect to them. These aren’t dangerous files, they’re designed to provide you with a better online experience.
In order, to enhance your online time, these cookies sometimes contain information about your location. FXNOW can potentially access this information to discover where you’re located, whether you’re using a VPN or not.
Even if you don’t remember accepting cookies, its a good idea to delete them when trying to fix FXNOW not working with VPN.
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Change to a different US server
The reason your VPN may have suddenly stopped working with FXNOW, is because the streaming service has identified and blocked the IP address you have been allocated.
Just because it has been able to block this IP address, it doesn’t mean it has blocked all of the IP addresses your VPN can provide.
Changing to a different US server will give you a different IP address, and if that one hasn’t been blocked by FXNOW, this will fix FXNOW not working with VPN.
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Upgrade to a better VPN
If you’ve made it this far, then unfortunately FXNOW has been able to identify and block all of your VPNs IP addresses.
This can be frustrating and is happening because your VPN doesn’t have measures in place to stay one step ahead of FXNOW’s VPN blocking techniques.
You can wait for your VPN to release new IP addresses, that haven’t been blocked, however there’s no telling how long that will take and seeing as this problem has already occurred, it shows that your VPN doesn’t have measures in place to get around FXNOW’s blocks and eventually the new IP addresses will be blocked as well.
To fix this problem you need to upgrade to a VPN that stays ahead of FXNOW’s blocks. You need a VPN like ExpressVPN ($6.67/month)
How does FXNOW detect a VPN?
If you can no longer stream FXNOW with the VPN you’re using, it’s probably been blacklisted by FX. Flawed VPNs do a poor job of hiding your true location and IP address – that means the network can easily see you’re not in the US and block your connection.
FXNOW detects VPNs by monitoring for an abnormal amount of connections coming from the same IP address.
Lesser VPNs have many more customers than IP addresses. This forces customers to share IPs. When FXNOW sees thousands of connections coming from the same IP address it deems this as abnormal, usually only a household of connections use the same IP address, and it blocks it.
If this is happening to you, then your VPN has been caught out by these blocking measures.
A VPN that gives up your location simply isn’t good enough. These disappointing services won’t let you bypass geo-restricted websites such as FXNOW as the content is strictly for US-based viewers. A reliable VPN would effectively disguise your location and give you a way in.
Why does FXNOW block VPNs?
Because FXNOW is a US-based streaming service, it only has the rights to broadcast its content in the US and its territories (Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa.
If FXNOW broadcast its content outside these areas, it could potentially face severe punishments in the form of fines. This is because it will have breached its content and copyright agreements.
VPNs are popular and are well-known ways of watching FXNOW outside of its broadcast zones. The streaming service could potentially face punishments if its content was being broadcast outside of its agreed zones, with a VPN or not.
To protect itself, FXNOW blocks VPNs, to prevent this from ever happening.
Can I still watch FXNOW abroad?
To watch your favourite FXNOW shows while you’re exploring the world you’ll obviously need a trusty VPN to get the job done – without one, the FXNOW website won’t let you stream anything.
You probably already know that logging onto the FXNOW app without a VPN installed on your computer or smartphone will generate an error message. It explains: “Thank you for your interest in FX Networks. The content you are trying to access is not available in your region.”
However, if you’re already using a VPN and this error message is still coming up for you, then it’s time to try a different VPN. It’s likely that your current VPN has been blacklisted by FXNOW and it hasn’t replaced its flawed servers.
To take full advantage of the FX website from abroad, you’ll need to install a VPN that hides your true location and IP address. The VPNs we’ve rounded up in our expert guide can all come to the rescue. To get started, take a look at our list of recommended FX VPNs below.
Best VPNs to watch FXNOW outside the US
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
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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. 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
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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.
Read our NordVPN review.
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3. 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
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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).
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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
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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.
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5. CyberGhost
A very quick and trustworthy VPN
Pros
- ✅ 1-day free trial
- ✅ Reliable servers
- ✅ Thousands of IP addresses
- ✅ 7-simultaneous connections
- ✅ 30-day money-back guarantee
- ✅ Easy-to-use app
Cons
- ❌ Expensive
- ❌ Average speed scores
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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
- $2.75/month for 3 years
- $3.69/month for 2 years
- $5.99/month for 1 year
- $12.99/month for 1 month
CyberGhost is one of the more established VPNs on the market. It has a well-established, and well-tested global network of servers that perform well.
From my tests over the past several months, CyberGhost has no trouble at unblocking major streaming services – US Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max etc. This VPN performed well at maintaining download speeds, well above 65 per cent of my regular (non VPN) ISP speed.
That said, there’s nothing really unique about the service. Which forces you to look at its price-point. And there’s nothing special here. Its short-term $12.99/month price tag puts is well above the industry average of $10.10/month. Similarly, its long-term $2.75/month for 3 years deal isn’t much of a “deal” either.
Oddly, CyberGhost’s most unique feature is its a 1-day, no obligations, free trial. This is an appealing offer to customers who are new to VPNs. However, it’s important to remember that most reputable VPNs will offer customers a 30-day money-back guarantee, so try not to be too seduced by the offer.
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