If you’ve been watching Starz Play with a VPN and it’s suddenly stopped working, Starz has been able to identify the IP address your VPN has given you and has blocked it.
This can be frustrating if you’re abroad and it’s no longer working, especially if you’re a subscriber to Starz Play.
But don’t panic. There are several fixes you can try to resolve this problem.
Follow these steps in order. If one fix doesn’t work, move onto the next, and by the end, you’ll have resolved Starz Play not working with VPN.
See also:
- Rakuten TV not working with VPN? Try these EASY fixes! (September 2023)
- How to watch FuboTV outside the US: It’s EASY! (September 2023)
- How to watch Canadian TV in the US: The EASY method! (September 2023)
- FX not working with VPN? Here’s how to fix that!
Starz Play not working with VPN: Fixes!
Total Time: 3 minutes
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Delete Cookies
When you go online, you may have noticed that some websites ask you to accept Cookies.
Even if you think you haven’t accepted Cookies before there’s a possibility you may have done this inadvertently.
Don’t worry. These aren’t malicious files. They’re designed to make your online experience more streamlined. But to do that, sometimes Cookies need to retain information about your location.
Starz could potentially be accessing this information to determine if you’re inside its broadcast zone, the US.
Regardless of whether you’re using a VPN or not, if Starz uses your Cookies to determined you’re outside of the US, it’ll block your connection.
A good place to start when trying to fix Starz Play not working with VPN is deleting your cookies.
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Change to a different US server
Starz Play isn’t working with your VPN because the streaming service has been able to block the IP you’ve been provided. But this doesn’t mean that your VPN has been blocked in its entirety.
Changing to a different US server will give you a different IP address.
If this IP hasn’t been identified and blocked by Starz, Starz Play will work with your VPN again.
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Upgrade to a better VPN
If deleting your cookies and changing to a different US server doesn’t resolve Starz Play not working with VPN, unfortunately, all of the IP addresses your VPN can provide have been identified and blocked.
This has happened because your VPN doesn’t have measures to stay one step ahead of Starz’ VPN blocking techniques.
You can wait for your VPN to release new IPs that Starz hasn’t identified. However, there’s no telling how long this will take and also, the fact that your VPN has been blocked already, means inevitably this will happen again.
To fix this issue properly, you need to upgrade your VPN. You need to use a VPN that has measures in place to stay one step ahead of Starz’ VPN blocks. The best VPN for this is ExpressVPN ($6.67/month)
How does Starz block my VPN?
The way Starz blocks your VPN is all to do with the IP addresses your VPN provides.
Starz is constantly monitoring for an abnormal amount of connections coming from the same IP address. A typical amount of connections is 8-10, or the number of devices found in an average household. Usually, only a single household worth of devices will connect to Starz via the same IP address.
For VPNs, this can be a bit of an issue. To be profitable, VPNs must have more customers than IP addresses. The problem with this business model is it forces customers to share the same IP’s.
When Starz sees hundreds or thousands of connections coming from the same IP address, it knows that this is an IP that’s been provided by a VPN and Starz will block that connection.
Why does Starz block VPNs?
Like every streaming service, Starz Play is subject to its copyright and licensing agreements.
Starz Play is a U.S.-based streaming service that only has the rights to broadcast its content in the US.
Because VPNs are a well-known way to watch Starz Play outside of the States, Starz tries to block them from accessing its content.
If it didn’t do this, it could breach its agreements, resulting in Starz facing severe financial penalties.
Does Starz Play still work with a VPN?
The VPNs that Starz Play works with are the ones that can get around its VPN blocks.
Lesser VPNs and especially free VPNs struggle to do this.
When Starz blocks an IP address provided by a lesser VPN those VPNs don’t have any methods to allow you to continue watching Starz Play. This is why your VPN is no longer working.
The best VPNs like ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month) do have measures in place to get around these blocks. When Starz blocks an IP address provided by these VPNs, ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month) will close that IP address and open a new one.
This game of cat and mouse ensures that you stay one step ahead of Starz’s VPN blocking techniques, so you can reliably watch Starz Play with a VPN anywhere in the world.
The best VPNs to watch Starz Play
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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Get 3 extra months free when you sign up for a 12-month ExpressVPN plan. That’s 15 months in total for the price of 12.
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.
Special Offer for you
(30-day money-back guarantee)
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).
Special Offer – Save 83%
(30-day money-back guarantee)
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.
Special Offer – 7-day FREE trial!
(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
SPECIAL OFFER – 1-DAY FREE TRIAL
Take advantage of CyberGhost’s 1-day FREE TRIAL!
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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Is watching Starz Play with a VPN legal?
Yes, using a VPN to watch streaming services like Starz Play is perfectly legal. That is unless you’re in a country where VPNs are banned.
The good news is there’s only a handful of countries where VPNs are restricted or prohibited, these are China, Russia, Iran, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, North Korea, Iraq, Belarus, Turkmenistan, Egypt, Eritrea, Seychelles, Suriname, Namibia, Slovenia, Nicaragua and Tajikistan.
With that said, using a VPN to watch Starz Play away from your home location, does go against the streaming service’s terms of use. In here it says “Starz hereby grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access, use and privately display the Service, Site, Content and Features, solely within the Service Area, in accordance with these Terms of Use.”
What this means is although it is legal to access Starz Play with a VPN, using a VPN to access the streaming service away from home goes against the streaming service’s terms of use and Starz Play is within its rights to block or ban your account for doing so.
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 Starz Play to enforce.
In theory, if you’re trying to watch Starz Play 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 to trace where you’re physically accessing its content from.
There’s one final thing to note on the subject: Starz Play has never banned anyone for using a VPN to access its service.
For more information you can check out our article answering Is streaming with a VPN legal?
