So, i shall be heading over to the UK for 2 years in September. I would still like to be able to watch the A-league and such. Does anyone who i living in the UK know how i can do that whilst i am there. I understand that BT sport has the rights but my uncle does not have BT at the moment, he only has Sky.

I also will have my laptop and a Galaxy Tab 2, but with country restrictions i doubt that i will be able to use my Foxtel account on the Foxtel Go app unless the app is not country restricted, or anyone can suggest to me a way to IP block either the laptop or tablet.

All help and suggestions are greatly greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Hey mate. As for watching the A-League on your laptop through Foxtel, you'll need to use a VPN that allows for geolocation selection. It's pretty much what a lot of Aussies already do to watch Netflix/Hulu/etc. They sign up for an account and use a US IP address to get around the geolocation blocks.

The basic premise is pretty much that your computer connects to another server (let's say you connect through a Norwegian server) before registering a hit on a site (say foxsports.com.au), and so the site believes that you are actually located in Norway.

You can go about it with solely software, or hardware. It's a lot easier to set up the software for someone new to it though as it's pretty much point and click. I've used StrongVPN and Overplay before and both work really well. With Overplay VPN and geolocation service it's something like $10 a month and comes in handy wherever I am in the world.

Might be worth just paying for the BT subscription rather than forking out for both Fox and a VPN.

[size=1]Edit: Also comes in handy avoiding government agencies looking out for people that acquire media through unorthodox means.[/size]

Edited by Draupnir: 18/8/2014 10:27:45 AM

Stream it for free and run it through your tele. I had a Livesport.tv which is ok if you want multiple leagues but it's really just easier to go through wiziwig

BTSport is free to anyone who has BT internet.

-PB

I use unblock-us for geo VPN to watch Netflix and hulu.

Cheers for all the suggestions guys. Will defeinitely look in to them.

@pb. my uncle has Sky internet, not BT, so he doesnt get BT sport.

Does anyone know if the VPN thing can work on tablets. Would be nicer if i could it to work on my tablet then i have that functionality of moving around with it easily and sitting more comfortably. I got a 15" laptop which can be a bit bulky at times.

@Drapunir. Paying for Fox isnt the issue, my brother and dad are paying for it now as they will still be using it.

Do you guys know if the VPNs also work with the Foxtel Go app on Laptops and tablets or is it just if you watching through websites?

Edited by zimbos_05: 18/8/2014 12:38:23 PM

Yes they can work on tablets. Was doing the same thing while I was in China last month to watch the FFA Cup broadcast. Note that the FoxtelGo app is geoblocked so you will need a VPN with an Australian server (not many do). ExpressVPN is the one that I know has it.

Another cheaper option that should work on most tablets (IOS i'm not so sure) is to use something like Unotelly, as it claims to support FoxtelGo
https://www2.unotelly.com/channels

This is works differently to a VPN (though you can get a VPN account with it), in that it uses custom DNS servers to fool the site into thinking you're in the right location. How it does this is a bit more complicated than this but what it means is that only the traffic to that site is "spoofed" rather than redirecting all your traffic through Australia. So you can just set it and seemlessly access UK and Aus content.

I'd recommend trialing the UnoTelly method first as you can do that for free for 7 days before committing money to it.

Thanks mc. Super helpful info guys.

One other question, if i i have for example the ExpressVPN app on my tablet, and also on my laptop, would i need two separate accounts, or could i use one account for both?

One account will be fine. You basically get an ip to change your dns settings to.

Thanks mcjules, in china at present and I'll try the unotelly link tomorrow night hoping to see the FFACup streams.

Ok so...

For Unotelly you can use as many clients as you like. In fact a way quite a few people use it is by putting the DNS settings in your router.

For ExpressVPN and most other providers, you can have the app installed on as many pcs as you like but the TOS say you can only use one client at a time. There's been times I've inadvertently had both on at the same time but haven't had any warnings. Probably because I'm not really a heavy user.

Thanks heaps for the info.

I think ill go with the VPN option as i will be staying at my uncles place so dont really want to be changing the dns settings on his router or anything like that.

I doubt ill be using both my laptop and tablet at the same time. Its mainly for A-league games, so if i can get it on the tablet then i will be happy as i can sit nicely in the lounge watching the game without having to lug my laptop around.

Does the VPN affect the play store. I know some apps are not available overseas due to their location settings and such.

Most VPN sites have 7 day free trials. Best to just try and test.

I needed my Foxtel Go to watch the first matchday as it was on Fox but that hasn't been necessary for the other two AFAIK. However most/all the streams have been on youtube which is blocked in China (and everything else Google runs atm) so you will need to use a proper VPN. StrongVPN is cheaper than ExpressVPN and while you won't have an Australian server to bounce through you'll be able to use it for access to all the usual sites that are blocked (like Facebook, twitter etc).

You don't need to change the settings on the router, you can do it on your tablet or pc.

As for the VPN and the play store, yes it does affect it and with a good vpn provider with lots of server locations it's just a matter of switching to the correct location to make it work.

When I said, affect the play store, I meant as in, some apps are country restricted. So with the VPN I wouldn't have that problem of being able to download apps that are meant to be country restricted?

Thanks again for your help. been super helpful.

Ok so let's say you are trying to download an app that is only available in the UK (while you're there). If you're connected to the Australian VPN server, you won't be able to download it. Disconnect from the server and you'll be able to download it again. Conversely, if you want to download an app that is only available in Australia and you're in the UK. Connect to the Australian VPN server and the download will work.

Basically whatever country you pick in the app, as far as websites/apps etc are concerned you'll be located in that country.

Ok, awesome. Will have a play around with them and see how i go. Thanks for all the info. Really helpful.