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NordVPN ExpressVPN Hotspot Shield Surfshark VPN CyberGhost VPN PureVPN IPVanish Mullvad VPN Windscribe VPN Private Internet Access VPN PrivadoVPN ProtonVPN
Of those VPNs, I’ve had a lot of experience streaming with Hotspot Shield and NordVPN, both of which offer fast download speeds. Because connecting to a VPN will always slow your internet connection in some way, it’s important to go with a VPN that has fast speeds for the most seamless streaming experience. Once you’ve downloaded a smart TV VPN, log into your account, then select a country or location where you’d like to access streaming services (for example, an American server for accessing the Netflix US library). Note that in some instances Android TV is smart enough to detect your primary region outside of a VPN, so you may have to sideload legitimate APK files for these types of streaming services. Whatever the solution, you’ll need to have a VPN active whenever you want to watch content that’s not typically available in Australia. Admittedly, this can be more effort than it’s worth, particularly if you already have multiple streaming services. HBO Max content, for instance, tends to end up on Binge and Hulu content is mostly found in the Star section of Disney Plus. Short of that, there are other workarounds. The slightly easier one is to opt for a VPN service that uses Smart DNS. While a proper VPN connection anonymises and protects your connection, a Smart DNS won’t do that. But a Smart DNS will spoof your location to access additional streaming services and content libraries. For VPNs with an included Smart DNS feature, look at these options:
NordVPN ExpressVPN (called MediaStreamer) Surfshark CyberGhost Private Internet Access
Once you have the Smart DNS details, you’ll need to go into the network settings of your smart TV to update the primary and secondary DNS settings with the ones from your VPN. Note that you may need to remove these DNS settings if you want to use your smart TV with typical Australian locational functionality. It’s a similar level of complication for the other workaround. Certain VPNs can be used on compatible routers. When a VPN is activated at a router level, every device connected to that router will perform as though it’s connected to a VPN. For example, if the router is connected to a VPN server in America, all devices (including smart TVs) in the home will perform as though they’re in America, including higher latencies and slower download/upload speeds. The Smart DNS and router-level VPN workarounds are the best options for getting a VPN running on Apple TV devices.
