{"id":1332,"date":"2023-03-01T09:23:27","date_gmt":"2023-03-01T09:23:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/?p=1332"},"modified":"2025-02-07T15:05:18","modified_gmt":"2025-02-07T15:05:18","slug":"bbc-iplayer-detect-vpn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/index.php\/bbc-iplayer-detect-vpn\/","title":{"rendered":"Is BBC iPlayer Detecting VPN Connections? The BBC VPN Block"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"font-size: medium; text-align: center;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Can_BBC_iPlayer_Detect_VPN_Connections\"><\/span>Can BBC iPlayer Detect VPN Connections?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<p>In this article you&#8217;ll learn the answer &#8211; to how does BBC iPlayer detect VPN connections and which ones still work.<\/p><div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_75 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/index.php\/bbc-iplayer-detect-vpn\/#Can_BBC_iPlayer_Detect_VPN_Connections\" >Can BBC iPlayer Detect VPN Connections?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/index.php\/bbc-iplayer-detect-vpn\/#Using_a_VPN_Server_to_Unlock_Streaming_Apps\" >Using a VPN Server to Unlock Streaming Apps<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/index.php\/bbc-iplayer-detect-vpn\/#Can_You_Use_a_VPN_with_BBC_iPlayer\" >Can You Use a VPN with BBC iPlayer?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/index.php\/bbc-iplayer-detect-vpn\/#How_Does_BBC_iPlayer_Detect_VPN_Connections\" >How Does BBC iPlayer Detect VPN Connections ?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/index.php\/bbc-iplayer-detect-vpn\/#Detection_of_VPN_by_Checking_for_Multiple_Connections\" >Detection of VPN by Checking for Multiple Connections<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/index.php\/bbc-iplayer-detect-vpn\/#Whats_the_Solution_for_the_VPN_Services_to_Unblock_sites_like_the_BBC\" >What&#8217;s the Solution for the VPN Services to Unblock sites like the BBC?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/index.php\/bbc-iplayer-detect-vpn\/#Choosing_a_BBC_iPlayer_VPN_to_Beat_the_BBC_Block\" >Choosing a BBC iPlayer VPN to Beat the BBC Block<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<h2 style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Using_a_VPN_Server_to_Unlock_Streaming_Apps\"><\/span>Using a VPN Server to Unlock Streaming Apps<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>It&#8217;s not quite common knowledge, but there are now millions of us who use VPNs not particularly for security but more to access websites that are blocked because of our location.\u00a0 Indeed for many sites it&#8217;s simply an inconvenience, that you just have to cope with when watching.\u00a0 As the prevalence of geo-targeting increases then the more we find ourselves relying on our personal VPNs to bypass them.\u00a0 It&#8217;s rarely arch cyber criminal stuff either, more wanting to catch <a href=\"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/index.php\/enjoy-a-match-of-the-day-stream-from-anywhere\/\">Match of the Day<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/index.php\/how-to-watch-coronation-street-in-usa-or-anywhere\/\">Coronation Street<\/a>, perhaps to access to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/tv\/cbeebies\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">cBeebies<\/a> to keep a toddler happy.\u00a0 \u00a0If you travel a lot or live away from your home country, a VPN is likely to be an almost essential tool, to maintain links and connections that are increasingly blocked online.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Can_You_Use_a_VPN_with_BBC_iPlayer\"><\/span>Can You Use a VPN with BBC iPlayer?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The BBC iPlayer is probably one of the most commonly watched media sites via a VPN.\u00a0 Indeed there have been numerous estimates that millions access the BBC&#8217;s streaming content from outside the United Kingdom every single day &#8211; I am certainly one of them!\u00a0 Virtually every expat will soon learn that a VPN is an essential tool if you want to access UK websites without restrictions.<\/p>\n<p>However over the last few years, simply subscribing to any VPN or proxy service hasn&#8217;t always been enough.\u00a0 Increasingly websites like the BBC have been actively trying to block these too, resulting in something like this &#8211;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/bbc-not-working-message.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1333 size-large aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/bbc-not-working-message-1024x553.png\" alt=\"How Does BBC iPlayer Detect VPN \" width=\"1024\" height=\"553\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/bbc-not-working-message-1024x553.png 1024w, https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/bbc-not-working-message-300x162.png 300w, https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/bbc-not-working-message-768x415.png 768w, https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/bbc-not-working-message.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s a particularly annoying message, as it&#8217;s of no use whatsoever.\u00a0 The BBC suggesting some temporary technical issue which will be solved soon.\u00a0 While we both know it&#8217;s really because we&#8217;re <a href=\"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/index.php\/bbc-block-vpn-connection\/\">using a VPN<\/a> to bypass all their restrictions.\u00a0 It didn&#8217;t happen very often 5 years ago, limited usually to the trashy free proxies and VPNs with very dubious funding models.\u00a0 Now you can actually still pay a hefty amount for a world class VPN service and still receive this message.\u00a0 You&#8217;re simply paying for virtually the same error message that anyone without a VPN from outside the UK would receive too.<\/p>\n<p>So what&#8217;s going on?\u00a0 Are all VPN programs now broken? Why has this suddenly become such a problem and is this the end of using VPNs to bypass country restrictions forever?\u00a0 Well no not really but it has made a little bit more difficult.\u00a0 To understand why and what we can do about it, then it&#8217;s important to answer the following question.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Does_BBC_iPlayer_Detect_VPN_Connections\"><\/span>How Does BBC iPlayer Detect VPN Connections ?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Despite what the VPN provider&#8217;s will tell you &#8211; it is possible to detect and block a VPN.\u00a0 One organisation has been doing it for years &#8211; aka the Chinese government.\u00a0 The so called Great Firewall of China has been blocking most VPN services for many years, although it&#8217;s also true to mention that some adapt and sneak through.\u00a0 \u00a0The Chinese however go to extreme measures, wiretapping all data and analysing it all in order to detect, compile and blacklist VPN traffic when it&#8217;s detected.\u00a0 \u00a0Who knows the resources that are used for all this anti-VPN technology but it&#8217;s safe to assume that it&#8217;s out of the reach of most commercial and private organisations even the large media companies.\u00a0 The cost of blocking them must be phenomenal.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/bbciplayer-vpn.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1335 size-large aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/bbciplayer-vpn-1024x721.jpg\" alt=\"Can BBC iPlayer Detect VPN Connections\" width=\"1024\" height=\"721\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/bbciplayer-vpn-1024x721.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/bbciplayer-vpn-300x211.jpg 300w, https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/bbciplayer-vpn-768x540.jpg 768w, https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/bbciplayer-vpn.jpg 1053w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The technology is always changing and the obfuscation techniques the VPN providers use keep adapting.\u00a0 The Chinese have at some point detected and blocked every major VPN service, yet even they have never achieved a 100% block on them and likely never will.\u00a0 Latest studies suggest that <a href=\"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/nord\"><strong>currently NordVPN <\/strong><\/a>works perfectly well from within China for example.<\/p>\n<p>You can certainly forget about the IT department at the BBC\u00a0 ever having the sort of resources available to get anywhere close to this.\u00a0 However it&#8217;s also fair to say that in recent years many, many VPN users have found their service blocked too!\u00a0 Not just with the BBC but other UK channels like <a href=\"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/index.php\/itvplayer-usa\/\">ITV Hub<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/index.php\/watch-channel-4-online-abroad\/\">Channel 4<\/a> as well.\u00a0 \u00a0Unfortunately although detecting the specific traffic and connection of a single VPN connection is extremely difficult, there&#8217;s actually a much, much simpler way of detecting the presence of a large number of VPN users.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Detection_of_VPN_by_Checking_for_Multiple_Connections\"><\/span>Detection of VPN by Checking for Multiple Connections<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>As you probably know, everyone who uses a computer or any device online needs an IP address.\u00a0 This is a network number assigned to your device which enables communication over the internet.\u00a0 There are no exceptions and every single address is unique.\u00a0 The number is assigned and allocated through your internet gateway &#8211; for most of us this happens through our internet connection at home, but could be through the company network, college or your local coffee shop.<\/p>\n<p>Generally there will only be a few people using each connection and so the number of people using each individual IP address will be limited.\u00a0 At home it will be limited to a few family and friends.\u00a0 Even on a shared wifi connection there will only be a limited number using the same address at each time.\u00a0 The largest number will be when people use the internet at work where a larger number may share the same address.<\/p>\n<p>However with a VPN, works by routing your connection through a specific address and each one potentially could be shared by many more.\u00a0 Particularly with a popular VPN there can be tens of thousands of people could be using the same IP address. Mostly they&#8217;ll be doing different things and so this won&#8217;t generally be an issue, but when lots are using to access a popular site it can be very bad news.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/vpn-with-phone.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1336 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/vpn-with-phone.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/vpn-with-phone.png 800w, https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/vpn-with-phone-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/vpn-with-phone-768x432.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>If thousands of people are using a particular UK VPN service to hide their location for example, you can reasonably assume many of them are trying to watch UK television sites.\u00a0 Indeed it&#8217;s highly likely hundreds or even thousands of people could be using a single UK IP address to stream programmes from BBC iPlayer.\u00a0 This would never normally happen, generally the BBC would never expect to see more than a couple of connections on each individual address.\u00a0 As the numbers rise on each connection the likelihood that it originates from a VPN servers grows exponentially.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>High Number of Concurrent Connections = High Chance the Address is linked to a Proxy or VPN\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s quite a simple check and one that can actually be achieved automatically by configuring network hardware.\u00a0 When a certain threshold on the number of connections is reached for each IP address then it can be &#8216;tagged&#8217; as a VPN and blocked (either temporarily or permanently).\u00a0 \u00a0Their main decision is to decide on the number of connections allowed from each IP address. The lower the number the higher the possibility that you&#8217;ll accidentally block people from large shared internet resources like company networks, libraries and coffee shops.<\/p>\n<p>This is the model that most media companies are moving towards in blocking access from VPNs and proxies.\u00a0 There are certainly other methods but blocking multiple, concurrent connections is simple and cheap to implement and it&#8217;s also very effective against most VPNS.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Whats_the_Solution_for_the_VPN_Services_to_Unblock_sites_like_the_BBC\"><\/span>What&#8217;s the Solution for the VPN Services to Unblock sites like the BBC?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>It&#8217;s really a cat and mouse game between the media companies like the <a href=\"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/index.php\/how-to-stream-bbc-in-the-usa\/\">BBC<\/a> and the VPN service providers.\u00a0 If the VPN is to continue working with a particular site then they need to do the following &#8211;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Rotate IP addresses on servers as much as possible.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Monitor and minimize the number of connections to BBC iPlayer from\u00a0 each IP address.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Both are possible of course, but it takes time, expense and effort. It all depends on how important to each business model the enabled access is ! There no point spending a fortune enabling access to a specific site unless it generates enough revenue to justify that expense.\u00a0 Many VPN providers have given up and simply don&#8217;t bother supporting access to the BBC.\u00a0 Although it should be warned that most will not tell you that so ensure they have a refund guarantee available.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Choosing_a_BBC_iPlayer_VPN_to_Beat_the_BBC_Block\"><\/span>Choosing a BBC iPlayer VPN to Beat the BBC Block<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>It can be difficult to choose and it&#8217;s definitely worth checking with any pre-sales support or dropping them an email.\u00a0 Yet as mentioned many will promise access and just hope you can be bothered to complain or get refund.\u00a0 \u00a0Bottom line is you need a VPN with a BBC IP address &#8211; i.e an address that isn&#8217;t blocked when you access the site.<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s still quite a few who do work with the BBC iPlayer and attempt to maintain access to other popular media sites too.\u00a0 Generally the VPN services that still work with BBC iPlayer in 2023 tend to be\u00a0 in one of two main groups &#8211;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Smaller\/Specialised VPN companies who don&#8217;t have huge numbers of users connecting to the BBC iPlayer &#8211; e.g. <a href=\"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/cloak\">Identity Cloaker<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Larger Companies who have the resources to switch addresses and monitor concurrent connections &#8211; e.g. <a href=\"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/nord\">NordVPN<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Both these companies try and maintain access to <a href=\"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"18\">BBC iPlayer<\/a> and the vast majority of the time they work fine.\u00a0 You should always remember though that it&#8217;s the <strong>IP address that&#8217;s being blocked<\/strong> or blacklisted so don&#8217;t write off a provider on the basis of one address.\u00a0 Most decent VPNs will offer many UK IP addresses so try different ones.\u00a0 \u00a0Most of the Identity Cloaker ones should work purely because they have a smaller user base which slips under the radar.<\/p>\n<p>NordVPN has millions of users and thousands of people wanting to use BBC iPlayer at any given time though.\u00a0 They operate by prioritizing access on specific servers which they ensure work correctly.\u00a0 If you choose NordVPN make sure you use the optimized servers and not the auto assigned ones as many of these simply don&#8217;t work.\u00a0 \u00a0 Currently these are as follows &#8211; <strong>UK# 1840-1847, 1850-1863, 1865, 1869, 1873, 1875-1878, 1880-1881, 1900-1901, 1903-1904, 1911, 1913, 1917, 1919-1920.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Can BBC iPlayer Detect VPN Connections? In this article you&#8217;ll learn the answer &#8211; to how does BBC iPlayer detect VPN connections and which ones still work. Using a VPN Server to Unlock Streaming Apps It&#8217;s not quite common knowledge, but there are now millions of us who use VPNs not particularly for security but more to access websites that are blocked because of our location.\u00a0 Indeed for many sites it&#8217;s simply an inconvenience, that you just have to cope with when watching.\u00a0 As the prevalence of geo-targeting increases then the more we find ourselves relying on our personal VPNs <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"no","footnotes":""},"categories":[37,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bbc","category-uk-tv"],"modified_by":"dotslash","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1332"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1332\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2605,"href":"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1332\/revisions\/2605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iplayerusa.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}