iPlayer blocking access via VPN

prowla

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82106606#Comment_82106606

Actually I am paying to watch TV and use iPlayer; that's the T&Cs of the licence.

Exodi

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82106713#Comment_82106713

I'm surprised as others have reported using NordVPN without issue, leads me to wonder if this is due to cookies tracking device data. If you accessed the site without a VPN and then after with a VPN it might look to them like you've either teleported across the country or are using a VPN.

Quick test of this would be to clear cookies and try again, but a better test would be to use another device, that you could setup and run NordVPN then try iPlayer?

Otherwise I'm not sure what you can do. Ordinarily users can report an incorrectly flagged IP address: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/help/questions/playback-issues/outside-uk-message

Howevert this isn't relevant to you as you are using a VPN, which they do not allow (you can appreciate that a lot of the time VPN usage is to watch without a licence/outside the UK/both).

Using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) or proxy? Try disabling it.

You cannot play a programme if we detect you might be using a VPN or proxy. This is because we will not be confident of your location. To play the programme please disable the VPN or proxy. If using a browser, refresh the page. If using the app, go back and select the programme again. The programme should now play.

Out of interest, why are against disabling it?

EDIT: on thinking on this a bit more, I don't think it's worth doing the cookie/device check - as the quote I included seems to suggest they have no issue with people seemingly teleporting across the globe, as long as the IP address isn't on their blocklist.

Presumably there's nothing you can do if the NordVPN IP address you happen to be assigned is on their blocklist, except try another.

born_again

If you are in the UK, then just turn off VPN. I use surfshark & only turn it on when required😜 . Rest of time with the likes of BBC, if in UK no need for VPN.

iniltous

The complaint seems a little incongruous , simultaneously stating the reason for considering not renewing their TV licence is due to not using the BBC Iplayer or broadcast TV , hence it’s a waste of money , while bemoaning the fact that using their VPN to watch Iplayer is unsatisfactory, if the use of Iplayer is so infrequent so as to give up your TV license makes financial sense , surely it a short step to just stop trying to access Iplayer with a VPN completely at all , after-all watching a solitary program on Iplayer (or a broadcast programme for that matter ) means you needing a TV license , and you apparently feel that moving forward you won’t need one …..cancel your license immediately and stop watching Iplayer via a VPN and broadcast TV , that way problem solved.

Neil49

As you are using Nord then you can use the split tunneling feature to allow iplayer to operate outside of the vpn.

I have to do this for one or two sites (or disable the vpn)

prowla

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82106728#Comment_82106728

Well, I get that people use VPNs to access from overseas, but I'm not and am not infringing their T&Cs.

My VPN is configured at my router, as opposed to on each device, so disabling it would be a faff.

Also I'm not going to let third parties dictate my security setup.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82106826#Comment_82106826

Nothing incongruous about it: the BBC charge a fee for accessing all TV broadcasts and their iPlayer, but they're preventing me using iPlayer (as demonstrated) and thereby nullifying the attraction of that part of their offering.

An example of where that comes in handy sat in front of the TV is if I see a programme on the TV planner which has already started I could just choose to watch it from the beginning; that's quite a good integration of the two elements, but uesless if it doesn't actually work.

The other part about the broadcast content is merely pointing out that watching it in real-time is not essential to my way of life and I typically record "live" programmes to watch later.

I'm not going to stop immediately, but rather deciding whether I'll decline the renewal in a couple of months time.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82106776#Comment_82106776

I explicitly said in the OP "excluding disabling the VPN" and I disagree about your "no need for a VPN" assertion.