In this article, I will explain how to fix VPN Unlimited not working with BBC iPlayer.
If VPN Unlimited isn’t or has stopped working with BBC iPlayer, the BBC has been able to blacklist all of the IP addresses VPN Unlimited currently has available for you to use.
This can be frustrating, especially if you’ve been watching BBC iPlayer with VPN Unlimited and the streaming service is no longer working.
Don’t panic, though. There’s a few fixed you can try to resolve this issue.
See also:
- VyprVPN not working with BBC iPlayer? Here’s how you can FIX that! (2023)
- TunnelBear not working with BBC iPlayer? There’s an EASY fix! (2023)
- ExpressVPN not working with BBC iPlayer? Here’s an EASY 2-minute FIX! (2023)
VPN Unlimited not working with BBC iPlayer: Quick Guide
To fix StongVPN not working with BBC iPlayer, follow these simple steps. If one doesn’t work, move on to the next one. These steps will fix VPN Unlimited not working with iPlayer:
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Delete Cookies
You may have noticed that some websites ask you to accept cookies when you visit them. Cookies aren’t malicious. They’re actually designed to streamline your online experience.
The potential issue here is cookies can sometimes store information that discloses your location. BBC iPlayer can access this information and figure out you’re trying to watch its service from outside the UK. If you are, then your connection will be blocked.
A good place to start when trying to fix VPN Unlimited not working with BBC iPlayer is to delete your cookies.
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Connect to a different UK server
The reason VPN Unlimited isn’t working with BBC iPlayer is because the BBC has been able to identify the IP address that VPN Unlimited has allocated you as a VPN IP address, and it has blocked it.
Just because this IP address has been blocked, it doesn’t mean all of VPN Unlimited’s IP’s have been. Changing to a different UK server will give you a new IP address that may not be blocked by the BBC. This will unblock the content, and VPN Unlimited will work with BBC iPlayer again.
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Upgrade to a better VPN
If neither of the two steps above work, then the BBC has managed to block all of the IP addresses that VPN Unlimited can provide. The easiest way to get around this is to upgrade to a better VPN like ExpressVPN ($6.67/month)
ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) has fast UK based servers, it works well with BBC iPlayer, and most importantly, it has measures in place that will prevent the BBC from being able to block all of its IP addresses.
If you want to watch BBC iPlayer reliably and not run into the problems you’ve run into with VPN Unlimited, then ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) do a great job.
Why does BBC iPlayer block VPN Unlimited?
The reason BBC iPlayer blocks VPN Unlimited is all to do with broadcast rights.
BBC iPlayer doesn’t have the rights to broadcast its content internationally. The copyright and licensing agreements it has with its content partners state that BBC iPlayer can only broadcast its content in the UK.
If BBC iPlayer breached these agreements, it could face severe financial punishments.
Because VPN Unlimited is a well-known way of watching BBC iPlayer outside the UK, it could mean BBC iPlayer breaches these agreements.
To prevent this from happening, BBC iPlayer tries to block VPN Unlimited users from accessing its service.
How does the BBC block VPN Unlimited?
The BBC blocks VPN connections by monitoring for an abnormal amount (more than an average household) of connections coming from the same IP address.
VPN Unlimited is a popular VPN, and it has more customers than IP addresses. This discrepancy results in customers having to share IP’s.
The BBC scans the connections coming through to iPlayer, and if it sees hundreds or thousands of connections coming from the same IP address, it knows this is an IP address that has been provided by a VPN, and it blocks it.
For VPN Unlimited, this is a problem because VPN Unlimited either doesn’t have measures in place to get around these blocks, or its measures are no longer working.
The good news is ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) and Private Internet Access ($2.03/month) do have measures in place to get around these blocks.
Does BBC iPlayer still work with VPNs?
Yes, BBC iPlayer still works with VPNs. However, you need a VPN that is still compatible with the streaming service. ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month) are good options.
Both of these VPNs have plenty of UK IP addresses, they have fast UK servers, and most importantly, they’re very good at getting around the BBC’s VPN blocks.
When the BBC blocks an IP address provided by ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month), these VPNs will close that IP address and open a new one. This simple process will allow you to watch BBC iPlayer reliably anywhere in the world. And it will prevent you from running into the same issues you have come across with VPN Unlimited.
The best VPNs to watch BBC iPlayer
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
Special Offer for you!
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.
SPECIAL OFFER – 1-DAY FREE TRIAL
(30-day money-back guarantee)
