How to Use BBC iPlayer Download Outside UK

Although most people watch BBC iPlayer using an internet connection when they’re outside the UK, there are other options available too.  The BBC iPlayer has a great feature which allows you to download programs from their site instead of streaming them.   This means you can store them on any device and watch them whenever you like, what’s more you don’t need an internet connection to watch them like this.  It’s especially useful for people who have access to a fast internet connection but often spend time with no internet access.   It’s ideal for downloading before business trips, holidays and travel and saves a fortune on data costs too.

It’s very easy to do, although please don’t consider that you can just download these files and start copying them to DVDs as this won’t work.  The files will expire eventually following the same restrictions as online, also you cannot transfer them or convert them into other formats unfortunately.  However most of these programmes downloaded are now valid for 12 months from initial broadcast so there’s plenty of time to download and watch your favorite shows offline.

Using the downloaded is not a simple way to bypass the BBC’s blocks on access outside of the UK either. The same geo-restrictions apply to the download program as does the standard BBC iPlayer streaming service.  That is you have to have a UK IP address in order to access and download anything.  This is of course, rather difficult for anyone outside the United Kingdom – but there is a way.

Basically you use exactly the same technique as works for all UK TV streaming sites, you just need a decent VPN service with a UK server.  This method will give you access to watching iPlayer abroad using the standard method (streaming online) plus the ability to download programmes from the BBC site too.  If you’re virtual private network connects through the UK then you’ll be able to access BBC iPlayer abroad including the download options without any restrictions.

Can I Download from BBC iPlayer When Abroad

This video shows how anyone can use the BBC iPlayer downloader abroad –   as mentioned all you need is a simple VPN program to connect through.

Using the VPN to connect to the BBC means that your true location is not visible. As long as the VPN server is situated in the UK, then both streaming and downloading services will be available.  It sounds complicated but it’s not really, the VPN acts as a middle man forwarding your internet connection and keeping you completely anonymous.   Any web site will only see the location of the VPN server so as long as you use a UK one everything will work fine.   The vast majority of streaming services work like this, and you can use VPN services like NordVPN to access any of them. Usually the only decision you have to make is to select the right country to connect from, obviously for the BBC it’s the United Kingdom.  However if you wanted to access Hulu or NBC then you’d need to connect to a US server instead.

The BBC does require an account, but there completely free and are used primarily to keep track of what you’ve watched and suggest new programmes.  They will ask you if you have a TV licence , but you can just answer YES as there’s no further checks.

Remember to always enable the VPN connection before accessing the BBC site and downloading anything. It’s advisable to use one of the Nord VPN servers which are optimized for BBC access listed here.  This isn’t because it’s important because occasionally specific IP addresses are blocked from the BBC if they’re used too much.   NordVPN monitor certain proxies and ensure that their IP addresses are all available for BBC access, if you use these then you should have no issues.

The current ones are listed below, but they may change so contact customer support and ask one of their helpful tech advisor people is you have any issues.

UK: #764, #977, #1025, #1388, #1512, #1515 K #836, #1043, #1057, #1320, #1483, #1513 #1448 #1325 #1347.