If you’ve been watching ITV Hub outside the UK with Windscribe and it’s stopped working, ITV Hub has managed to block the IP address Nord has given you.
Don’t panic, though. There are a few fixes you can try to resolve Windscribe not working with ITV Hub.
Try these fixes in order to fix Windscribe not working with ITV Hub. If one doesn’t work, move on to the next until you’re able to watch ITV Hub with a VPN again.
Delete Cookies
Deleting your cookies is a great place to start when fixing Windscribe not working with ITV Hub.
Even if you don’t remember explicitly accepting Cookies, they may still be stored on your browser. Cookies are small files designed to make your online experience better. You may have noticed websites asking you to accept them. They aren’t malicious or dangerous; however Cookies sometimes contain information about your location.
If you’re outside of the UK, ITV Hub can potentially access this information on your Cookies to find out you’re outside the UK and then block your connection. That’s why it’s a good idea to delete them and see if that fixes Windscribe not working with ITV Hub.
Change to a different server
The reason Windscribe has stopped working with ITV Hub is because ITV Hub has blocked the IP address that Windscribe has given you.
Fortunately, ITV Hub isn’t able to block Windscribe entirely. Only the IP addresses it provides.
Changing to a different Windscribe server will give you a new IP address. And if this IP hasn’t been blocked by ITV Hub, Windscribe will work again.
Upgrade to a more reliable VPN
If you’ve gotten this far down the list, ITV Hub has successfully blocked all the IP addresses Windscribe can give at this time.
You can either wait for Tunelbear to resolve the problem on their end or resolve the issue yourself.
The fastest and most efficient method to resolve Windscribe not working with ITV Hub is to use a VPN that is still compatible with ITV Hub.
You need to upgrade to a VPN that uses IP addresses that haven’t been blocked by ITV Hub, and that employs methods to remain one step ahead of ITV Hub’s blocking efforts. NordVPN ($3.49/month) or Ivacy ($1.33/month) are our recommendations.
Both of these VPNs use strong security features that will keep you from encountering the same problems you had when viewing ITV Hub using Windscribe.
Why does ITV Hub block Windscribe?
The reason ITV Hub blocks Windscribe is all to do with broadcast rights.
ITV Hub has strict agreements with its content partners regarding where it can broadcast its content in the world. It has the rights to broadcast in the UK, but it doesn’t have international broadcast rights.
ITV Hub could face severe financial punishments if it breached these broadcast agreements and allowed customers outside the UK to access its content. Because Windscribe is a well-known way of watching ITV Hub libraries outside of the UK, using it could constitute ITV Hub breaching its content agreements.
To prevent this from happening, ITV Hub tries to block Windscribe users from accessing its service.
How does ITV Hub block Windscribe?
The main way ITV Hub blocks Windscribe is by monitoring the IP addresses connecting to its service.
Like all VPNs, Windscribe has more customers than IP addresses. VPNs need this to work as a business. However, this business model’s problem is that customers using Windscribe are forced to share IP addresses.
ITV Hub knows this and uses it to its advantage. When ITV Hub notices many connections coming from the same IP, it knows that that is an IP that Windscribe has provided, and it blocks it. Only a household of devices usually connects to ITV Hub via the same IP address. If more than that connects to ITV Hub via the same IP, it’s obviously a VPN IP address.
This isn’t specific to Windscribe. This happens to all VPNs; however, what’s important is that the VPN has measures in place to get around this. Windscribe struggles with this; however, NordVPN ($3.49/month) or Ivacy ($1.33/month) have measures to get around ITV Hubs blocks.
Does ITV Hub still work with VPNs?
Yes, ITV Hub still works with VPNs, but you need a VPN compatible with the streaming service.
You need a VPN with a lot of IP addresses and fast servers, which can stay ahead of ITV Hub’s blocking techniques.
The best VPNs that meet all three criteria are NordVPN ($3.49/month) or Ivacy ($1.33/month). Both these VPNs have fast servers all over the world. They have a significant amount of IP addresses, so there’s less chance you’ll be forced to share with another customer, and they both play a game of cat and mouse with ITV Hub.
When ITV Hub blocks an IP address provided by these VPNs, NordVPN ($3.49/month) or Ivacy ($1.33/month) will close that IP address and open a new one—allowing you to stay one step ahead of ITV Hub’s blocks so you can watch your favourite shows without issues anywhere in the world.
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 its 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 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 tunnelling 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.
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.
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 is still one of the best VPNs you can buy. However, we’ve got it ranked in the number three spot for a couple of reasons. First of all, it’s the most expensive VPN on the market. This was understandable when it was also the fastest and most reliable VPN too. But now it’s not. NordVPN is. ExpressVPN has recently been struggling to unblock some big streaming sites – BBC iPlayer and BeIN Sports – too. And importantly, it ALWAYS has servers that are open with major streaming sites such as Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video etc. ExpressVPN is usually very good at playing Cat and Mouse with online streaming sites (apart from BBC iPlayer). 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 prevent its IPs from getting blacklisted for “abnormal” usage in the first place.
Number of servers: 25,000+ | Speeds: >75% | Bandwidth: Unlimited | IP locations: 70 in 74 countries | Devices supported: 10 | Live chat: Yes | 30-day money-back guarantee: Yes
$2.19/month for 3-years
$3.33/month for 1-year
$11.95/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-days 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).
Number of servers: 6,000+ | Speeds: >65% | Bandwidth: Unlimited | IP locations: 200 in 90 countries | Devices supported: 7 | 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 6 months
$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.
