If you’re outside the US and are trying to access FXNOW, the streaming service won’t work. This is happening because FX blocks anyone outside the US from accessing its content due to content and licensing restrictions.
This can be frustrating, especially if you’re already an FX subscriber. The good news is there’s an easy way to get around this problem.
All you need to do is fool FXNOW into thinking you’re watching it from within the US. To do that, all you need is a reliable VPN.
Read on to find out how to watch FXNOW outside the US and how the best VPNs will allow you to watch the streaming service anywhere in the world reliably.
See also:
- BBC iPlayer not working with VPN? Here’s how I FIXED that!
- How to watch Peacock outside the US: The EASY way! (2023)
- Showtime not working with VPN? Try these EASY fixes! (2023)
- How to watch Paramount+ outside the US: The EASY 2-minute method! (2023)
How to watch FXNOW outside the US: Quick Guide
To make FXNOW think you’re watching from within the US, you need a US IP address.
This sounds complicated, but it’s straightforward. All you need to do is follow these easy steps:
Total Time: 2 minutes
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Create a new account with ExpressVPN ($6.67/month)
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Download and install the new VPN app
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Open your new app and connect to a server in the US
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Watch FXNOW anywhere in the world
Why can’t I access FXNOW outside the US?
FXNOW isn’t working abroad because FX only has the rights to broadcast its content in the US and its territories.
FXNOW is a US-based streaming service that’s only available to US customers. The streaming service has licensing and content agreements that only allow it to show its content in the US, and if it breaches these agreements, it could face severe repercussions.
To prevent these issues from arising, FX blocks anyone outside its broadcast zone from accessing its content.
You can’t watch FXNOW outside the US because the streaming service is blocking your connection.
How does FXNOW block my connection?
The way FX blocks your connection is all to do with your physical location when connecting to its service.
Whenever you connect to the internet, you’re allocated a unique IP address. This IP is used to form a communication between the service you’re connecting to (FXNOW) and your device.
When you access FXNOW, it receives your IP address. This IP contains information about your location, so FXNOW knows where to send its information back to.
If FXNOW scans your IP address and the location information embedded in the IP reveals that you aren’t in the US, FXNOW will block that connection, and you’ll come across errors when accessing the service.
How can I get around FXNOW’s blocks?
To connect to any website or online service, you must have an IP address. You can’t turn it off.
Fortunately, you can change your IP address, so it looks like you’re connecting to FXNOW from a different country.
To get around FXNOW’s blocks, you need a US IP address. This will unblock FXNOW when outside the US because now, when the streaming service scans your IP, it will think you’re inside its broadcast zone (the US).
The easiest way to get a spoof US IP address is using a reliable VPN. We recommend ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or NordVPN ($3.19/month), because both of these VPNs work well with FXNOW.
How does a VPN work?
VPNs encrypt all of your online data. This encryption turns your online information into an unreadable code. This makes it impossible for FXNOW to find out where you’re located. Basically, it gives you an anonymous internet connection.
Having an untraceable connection won’t unblock FXNOW, though. You need to hide your location AND make FXNOW think you’re in the US.
Fortunately, VPNs make this incredibly easy as well. Once your online data is encrypted, it is rerouted through a server belonging to the VPN. Once the data reaches this server, it’s decrypted, so it can be read and sent to a local internet service provider in the country where the server is based. This will give you an IP address in that country.
VPNs allow you to choose the server that your data is rerouted through. If you’re trying to watch FXNOW outside the US, you know you need a US IP address, so all you need to do is download ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or NordVPN ($3.19/month), connect to a US server, and you’ll now have an anonymous internet connection and a US IP address. That’s how to watch FXNOW outside the US!
Will any VPN work?
There are many VPNs out there. Some of them are good, some of them aren’t so good. Either way, VPNs are incredibly popular, and FXNOW knows this. And due to them being a well-known way of watching FXNOW outside of the US, the streaming service tries to block VPNs.
It does this using three main techniques:
- The most common technique is to do with the IP addresses that your VPN can provide. VPN providers have more customers than IP addresses; this means that customers are forced to share the same IP addresses. Usually, only a household with a few devices uses the same IP address. When FXNOW sees hundreds or even thousands of connections coming through on the same IP address, it knows that it is a VPN and it blocks it.
- FXNOW monitors for IP, DNS and WebRTC leaks that can tip the service off you are using a VPN.
- FXNOW teams up with GeoIP databases like Maxmind to identify IP addresses. If the IP address your VPN provides is on one of these databases, FXNOW will be able to find out where in the world you are connecting to the internet from and it will block you.
For lesser VPNs, these VPN blocking techniques can be difficult to get around. This is because they don’t have measures in place to stay one step ahead of FXNOW’s VPN blocking techniques.
In order to stop yourself from spending money on a subscription to a VPN that won’t work with FXNOW, you need to make sure the VPN meets these three criteria:
- Has fast, reliable US servers
- Has lots of IP addresses
- Has measures in place to stay one step ahead of FXNOW’s VPN blocks
ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or NordVPN ($3.19/month) are two of the best VPNs on the market for watching FXNOW outside the US. They meet all three of these criteria.
When an IP address provided by these VPNs is blocked by FXNOW, they will close that IP address and open a new one. This will ensure you can reliably watch FXNOW from anywhere in the world.
The 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
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.
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
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).
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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.
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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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