Are you struggling to get ITV hub working with your VPN? Running into error 006? If you are, you’re not alone. ITV Player has been blocking certain VPNs for a few years now.
The fix for ‘ITV Hub not working with VPNs’ is exactly the same as the ‘BBC iPlayer not working with VPN‘ fix, and it’s simple enough.
Continue reading to find how what you need to do when ITV Player detects your VPN.
See more:
- BBC iPlayer not working with VPN? Here’s how I FIXED that!
- RTE Player not working with VPN? Try these EASY fixes! (July 2021)
- How to listen to TMS abroad (July 2021)
ITV Hub not working with VPN?: Try these fixes!
To fix ITV Hub not working with VPN and ITV error 006, try the simple fixes below.
Follow these steps in order. If one doesn’t work, move onto the next and by the time you reach the end you’ll be able to watch ITV Hub with a VPN again!
Total Time: 3 minutes
Delete Cookies
A good place to start when trying to fix ITV Hub not working with VPN is deleting your Cookies.
Cookies are small files that websites and apps use to streamline your online experience on their platform.
In order for this to happen, Cookies store information disclosing your location.
Whether you’re using a VPN or not, ITV Hub may be able to access this information on these Cookies. And if it finds you’re outside of the UK, it will block your connection.
Deleting your Cookies, is a good way to ensure ITV Hub isn’t identifying that you’re outside of its broadcast zone and blocking your connection.
Change to a different UK server
The reason your VPN may have stopped working with ITV Hub, is because the streaming service has identified and blocked the IP address your VPN has given you.
Luckily, ITV Hub doesn’t have the capability to block a VPN in its entirety, only the IP addresses it provides.
Changing to a different UK server will give you a new IP address. And if this one hasn’t been blocked by ITV Hub, it will fix ITV Hub not working with VPN.
Upgrade to a better VPN
If steps one and two don’t resolve the issue, you need to upgrade to a better VPN.
Seeing as you’ve run into issues watching ITV Hub with your current VPN, it’s clear that your VPN doesn’t have measures in place to get around ITV Hub’s VPN blocking techniques.
You can wait for your VPN to release IP addresses that haven’t been identified by ITV Hub but this will take some time and seeing as your VPN doesn’t have measures in place, these IP’s will eventually be blocked as well.
The best way to resolve this issue is to upgrade to a VPN that does have measures in place to stay ahead of ITV Hub’s blocks. ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) is very good at this.
How does ITV Hub detect a VPN?
First of all, ITV does its due diligence to check for any IP, DNS and WebRTC leaks. If your VPN is poorly set up, these checks will reveal your connections true IP address. Meaning you won’t be able to watch ITV Hub if you’re not in the UK.
The next way ITV Player – and other online streaming sites such as Netflix and BBC iPlayer – block VPNs is pretty simple. And this is all an IP address numbers game.
Every internet connection has its own IP address. On average a UK IP address will support 1-8 users who are connected to the internet at the same time.
This is a problem for VPNs because they have more customers than IP addresses. They need to do this so they can remain profitable. This has its drawbacks though because it forces customers to share IP addresses. So when ITV Hub see’s more than 1-8 users connecting to its service via the same IP address, it knows its a VPN and it blocks the connection.
Why does ITV Hub block VPNs?
ITV Hub has signed content and licensing agreements so that it only has the rights to broadcast its content in the UK.
If it breaches these agreements it could face severe repercussions.
Because VPNs are a well-known and effective way to watch ITV Hub outside of its broadcast zone, VPNs could potentially put ITV at risk of breaching its agreements.
To protect itself from this happening, ITV Hub attempts to block VPN IP addresses.
Can I still watch ITV Hub with a VPN?
Yes, absolutely. While ITV is doing its best to block all VPNs from accessing its content, the reality is a lot harder. Good VPNs can shut down a blocked server’s IP address and create a new one in a matter of minutes. This makes it very hard for ITV Hub to constantly block VPNs.
Often lesser VPNs don’t have the means to do this. Once an IP address is blocked by ITV Hub, it remains blocked and lesser VPNs don’t have measures in place to get around this.
If you’ve run into ITV Hub not working with VPN, chances are you’re using a lesser VPN. To watch ITV Hub you need to upgrade to a better VPN that plays cat and mouse with ITV Hub. You need a VPN like ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month).
When ITV Hub blocks an IP address provided by these VPNs, they’ll close that IP address and open a new one. This will allow you to watch ITV Hub with a VPN reliably anywhere in the world.
Below is a list of the best VPNs to watch ITV Hub. They all have measures in place to get around ITV’s VPN blocks.
How to fix ITV Hub error 006
ITV Hub error 006 is a definite sign that your VPN is no longer compatible with ITV Hub.
If this error is coming up then your VPN is not reliable enough to allow you to continuously watch ITV Hub.
To fix error 006, you need to upgrade to a VPN that is reliable enough to prevent this error form occuring. You need a VPN that can stay one step ahead of ITV Hub’s VPN blocking techniques. The best VPN for that is ExpressVPN ($6.67/month).
Upgrading to ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) will resolve error 006 and ensure you don’t run into this error again in the future.
The best VPNs to watch ITV Hub
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!
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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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(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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List of ITV Hub blockedVPNs
- PureVPN
- TunnelBear
- IPVanish
- Hotspot Shield
- VyprVPN
- Windscribe
- Buffered
- Hide My Ass!
Popular content on ITV Hub?
The most popular shows on ITV Hub right now is Love Island.
In order to watch Love Island on ITV Hub outside of the UK you need to use a VPN that is compatible with the streaming service.
If your VPN has stopped working, you will need to upgrade to a better VPN like ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month). That way you won’t miss the latest episode of Love Island.
Read next: BBC iPlayer not working with VPN? Here’s how to fix that!
