Has Sky Go stopped working with your VPN? If the answer is “yes”, then I have some bad news for you. The VPN you’re using has been detected and blacklisted by Sky. But don’t worry, there are a couple of easy things you can still do to fix the issue.
This is obviously frustrating if Sky Go was working with your VPN and now it’s not. However, it’s not the time to panic, there’s several fixes you can try, to fix Sky Go not working with VPN.
Below is a list of fixes. Try these in order, moving through them until you’re able to watch Sky Go with a VPN again. Also, if you want to ensure the problems, you’re coming across don’t happen again, read on to the end of the article.
See also:
- Kayo Sports not working with VPN? Try these EASY fixes! (September 2023)
- How to watch The Lord of the Rings on Netflix: It’s EASY! (September 2023)
Sky Go not working with VPN: Quick Fixes
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Check your internet connection
A good place to start is making sure that you’re still connected to the internet. If you are, make sure its running correctly.
To do that, check your internet speed here.
If you think your internet is running slower than usual, that can be a sign your internet connection is having problems. This can create issues with your VPN.
Call your internet service provider (ISP) if this is the case.
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Disable antivirus
If you have an antivirus installed on your device, try uninstalling it. Your antivirus may have mistaken your VPN for a virus or malware and blocked it.
Disabling your antivirus or putting your VPN on the exemption list may fix the problems you’re coming across.
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Delete Cookies
Sky Go uses Cookies to streamline your online experience. Cookies aren’t malicious files, they’re small files used to make your online experience better however they often contain information about your location.
If the information stored on your Cookies shows a different IP address to the one your VPN has given you, Sky Go knows you’re using a VPN and blocks your connection.
Try deleting your Cookies to see if that fixes the problem.
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Change to a different server
If your VPN has stopped working, it might be that the IP address the VPN has given you has been identified and blocked by Sky.
Changing to a different UK server will give you a different IP address. If this one hasn’t been blocked your VPN will work again.
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Reinstall your VPN
VPN errors are sometimes caused by bugs that the software may have inadvertently installed. A good way to get rid of bugs is to reinstall your VPN.
This ensures you have the latest version of your VPN, including any bug-fixing updates, and it means you’ll have a fresh installation so any errors or bugs you may have picked up will be erased.
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Upgrade to a better VPN
If you’ve made it this far in the list, your VPN isn’t managing to stay one step ahead of Sky’s VPN blocking techniques.
You’ll have to wait for your VPN to fix the issue internally, but there’s no way of telling how long this will take or a guarantee that your VPN will even fix it.
The best thing to do in this situation is to upgrade to a VPN that has the resources to keep up with increasing demand and that works reliably with Sky Go.
The best VPN currently available is ExpressVPN ($6.67/month). ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) is an incredibly reliable VPN. This is because if an IP address provided by ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) is blocked by Sky, ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) will close that IP and open a new unblocked one, so you can reliably watch Sky Go anywhere in the world.
You won’t come across the errors you’re coming across with your VPN if you use ExpressVPN ($6.67/month). It also comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try it out for a month before finalising your decision.
Why does Sky Go block my VPN?
Sky Go is a digital app that lets customers stream live and catch-up Sky TV from their smartphone tablet and laptops. However, like Sky’s satellite TV product, customers have to be accessing the app from within the UK for it to work.
The reason for this is pretty logical. Sky TV is only permitted to broadcast in the UK and it pays big money for this privilege.
Let’s use Sky Sports’ jewel in the crown (the EPL) as an example. The most recent Premier League rights package cost Sky Sports £199 million per annum. This enables them to broadcast 128 games per season.
Now, when you consider that US TV network NBC Sports were able to buy the rights to every game for six seasons for $1bn – you start to understand why viewing territories are protected.
Because VPNs allow you to watch streaming services from anywhere in the world, it means Sky could potentially lose revenue. To stop this, Sky not only makes Sky Go unavailable outside the UK, it also stops VPNs from accessing its service.
How is Sky Go detecting my VPN?
VPNs (virtual private networks) work by encrypting data at the user’s end and then resurfacing that data through an IP address in a location of the user’s choice. The unencrypted is then relayed to a local ISP (internet service provider) allowing users to spoof their location to anywhere in the world.
This is how, in theory, a subscriber to Sky Go can watch live and catch-up TV on their mobile device or laptop from literally anywhere in the world.
But times are changing. Sky Go (and pretty much every other major broadcaster) is clamping down on location spoofing via VPNs.
The way this is policed is pretty simple. Broadcasters have correctly recognised that VPN funnels a large number of customers through a small number of servers/IP addresses. The creates the potential for tens, or even hundreds, of Sky Go users connecting via the same IP address – and unrealistic scenario in the real world.
Which is why Sky Go, BBC iPlayer, Netflix (et al) are now blacklisting any IP address that has an abnormal level of activity.
This is why your VPN is not working with Sky Go anymore…
Sky Go detecting VPN? How to fix!
(As I’ve said above) The reason Sky Go has stopped working with your VPN is simple – the IP address you’ve been using, via your VPN’s UK server, has been blacklisted by Sky Go.
The fix is simple. You need to use a VPN that gives you access to IP addresses that aren’t blacklisted by Sky Go.
Annoyingly, not all VPNs do this. It’s an expensive process that requires the constant management of IP address loads – to prevent them getting detected and blacklisted – as well as the additional cost of replacing IP addresses if/when they get blacklisted by Sky Go.
The good news is that there are still a handful of VPNs who are willing to play this game of Cat and Mouse with streaming services such as Sky Go, BBC iPlayer and Netflix.
I’ve found ExpressVPN ($6.66/month) to be the best at this. It’s a little bit more expensive than its peers, but over the course of a year, you get what you pay for. Its servers always have IP addresses that work with Sky Go. Better still, it also has the fastest servers in the industry.
ExpressVPN ($6.66/month) also employs a full-time dedicated team of technical staff that monitors its connections to major streaming services – Sky Go, BBC iPlayer, Netflix, etc. – so whenever there’s a glitch with the connection, they start work on it straight away.
They also have an excellent Live Chat feature on their website that’s available for customers 27/7 if there’s ever a problem.
The best VPNs for Sky Go
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. 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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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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Read next: How to watch 3pm Premier League matches online
Is watching Sky Go with a VPN legal?
Yes, watching Sky Go with a VPN is legal. So long as you’re not accessing it in a country where VPNs are prohibited or restricted, these are China, Russia, Iran, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, North Korea, Iraq, Belarus, Turkmenistan, Egypt, Eritrea, Seychelles, Suriname, Namibia, Slovenia, Nicaragua and Tajikistan.
Although, watching Sky Go with a VPN is legal, it may go against the streaming services’ terms of use. In these conditions it says “To access and use the Service you must be a resident of United Kingdom, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Republic of Ireland” and “only access and use the Service via your Devices in the Territory.”
Basically, what this means is if you use a VPN to access Sky Go outside the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Republic of Ireland, you’re going against the streaming services terms of use and Sky Go has the right to block or ban your account.
However, given the wide-spread use of VPNs, plus the many legitimate and legal use cases for VPNs, it’s fair to suggest that banning customers for using a VPN would be an extremely costly policy for Sky to enforce.
In theory, if you’re trying to watch Sky Go in a region where it does not traditionally operate, you risk having your account banned. However, as the best VPNs use military-grade encryption, it’s impossible for streaming services like Sky Go to trace where you’re physically accessing its content from.
There’s one final thing to note on the subject: Sky Go has never banned anyone for using a VPN to access its service.
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