If you’re outside of the UK and want to watch My5, You’ll run into an error that says, “We’re sorry, you must be located in the UK to view this content.”
This error is annoying, but there’s an easy way to get around it.
All you need to do is make My5 think you’re accessing it from within the UK. The way to do that is by changing your IP address to a UK IP address. The easiest way to get one is with a reliable VPN like ExpressVPN ($6.67/month)
This article will explain how you can use a VPN to reliably watch My5 outside of the UK.
See also:
- How to watch BBC iPlayer abroad: The EASY 2-minute method! (June 2023)
- How to watch ITV Hub abroad (June 2023)
How to watch My5 outside the UK: Quick Fix
To get around My5’s blocks, you need a VPN with reliable servers based in the UK.
We recommend ExpressVPN ($6.67/month)
To watch My5 outside of the UK, all you need to do is follow these simple steps:
Create a new account with ExpressVPN ($6.67/month)
Download and install the new VPN app
Select a server based in the UK
Watch My5 anywhere in the world
Why do I need a VPN to watch My5 outside the UK?
My5 is a UK based broadcaster that only has the rights to broadcast its content in the UK.
It doesn’t have the rights to broadcast internationally. It would be forced to pay massive fines due to breaching its copyright and licensing agreements if it did.
To stop this from happening, My5 blocks users outside the UK from accessing its content. This is why you’re running into the “We’re sorry, you must be located in the UK to view this content” error when trying to stream My5.
To unblock My5, you need to fool it into thinking you’re trying to watch from within the UK. To do that, you need a UK IP address.
This is what VPNs allow you to do. The best VPNs like ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month) can provide you with a UK IP address, and this allows you to stream My5 outside of the UK reliably.
How does My5 block my connection?
The way My5 blocks your connection is all to do with your IP address.
Whenever you go online, you are given a unique IP address. These are similar to area codes for landline phones in that they contain information about where you are when you connect to the internet.
My5 scans IP addresses that connect to the streaming service, and if it finds that you are connecting from outside the UK, it blocks you from accessing the content. You will be able to go on the website, but errors will come up as soon as you try and play content.
To get around these blocks, you need a VPN like ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month) that will give you a UK IP address that will fool My5 into thinking you’re trying to watch My5 from within the UK.
How does a VPN work?
A VPN will allow you to have an anonymous internet connection, and it can give you an IP address in a country of your choosing.
When using a VPN, your internet data is encrypted and rerouted through a server of your choosing.
When your data is rerouted, you are provided with an IP address based in the country where your chosen server is located. This makes it look like you’re connecting to the internet from that country.
So to watch My5, all you need to do is select a UK based server, and you’ll be given a UK IP address that will allow you to access all of the content on My5 when you’re outside the UK.
Will any VPN work?
No, not every VPN will work. This is because My5 tries to prevent VPN connections from accessing its service.
The good news is that My5 can’t block an entire VPN, only the IP addresses it provides. The bad news is that lesser VPNs don’t have endless IP addresses, and inevitably, My5 identifies and blocks all of them, meaning your VPN will no longer work, and you won’t be able to watch My5 abroad.
My5 does this using three main techniques:
- Streaming services constantly monitor for IP, DNS and WebRTC leaks. This test is basic. But cheaper VPNs will fail it, meaning your connection isn’t fully secure and will be blacklisted. Good VPNs such as ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month) will not fail this basic test.
- GeoIP databases collect IP information and verify the IP address you are connecting from. If your VPN is using an IP address in one of these databases, you won’t be able to stream My5 from outside the UK.
- My5 makes its own IP checks. If the channel detects a large number of connections coming from the same IP address simultaneously, they know that that is an IP address provided by a VPN, and they will blacklist that IP address.
This means selecting the right VPN is very important.
If you want to reliably watch My5 from anywhere in the world, you need a VPN that can stay one step ahead of My5’s blocking techniques. Lesser VPNs don’t have measures in place to get around the My5s checks, which can result in you not being able to watch My5 outside of the UK and more importantly, you could lose money subscribing to a VPN that won’t work.
This is why we recommend ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month). These VPNs have measures in place to stay one step ahead of the My5’s blocking techniques. When the My5 identifies and blocks an IP address provided by ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month), these VPNs close that IP and open a new one. This cat and mouse game allows you to watch My5 reliably from anywhere in the world.
The best VPNs for watching My5 outside of the UK
1. ExpressVPN 🥇
Why You Should Use ExpressVPN? It’s the fastest and MOST reliable VPN of 2022
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. 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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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.
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(30-day money-back guarantee)
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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(30-day money-back guarantee)
