If you love to stream, then Apple TV is one of the most appropriate gadgets for you to have in your room. After all, online streaming has slowly become the preferred way of entertainment for the young blood, and also for the old souls.
Apple, one of the most prominent tech companies in the world, invented this equipment with the goal of being one of the top options for online streaming worldwide. The brand is already firmly entrenched as arguably the top smartphones and tablets provider, but with this product, they wanted to diversify their catalog – and they did it.
However, everything regarding needs to be treated with care. The Apple TV service is fantastic, as it allows users to stream movies, series, videos, concerts, documentaries, TV shows and virtually anything that is broadcasted online. However, since it publishes your IP address around and is in contact with peers, servers, and networks that can be unsafe, you need extra protection.
With a VPN, you would gain said protection. A VPN will encrypt your traffic and hide relevant details about you, your connection and your equipment, such as your IP address. That way, you can gain anonymity and protection against the numerous threats that the Internet has. You should enjoy online streaming, and if it is via an Apple TV product, better yet. However, you also need to be wary about online security.
In this guide, we will tell you which are the five best VPN for Apple TV, and we will also provide setup guides to make the experience more comfortable for you. Prepare to stream your way out of boredom.
Apple TV: a tiny, but sturdy box
When streaming addicts were dreaming about the perfect invention to satisfy their thirst for series, TV shows, and movies, Apple invented a tiny, but powerful device: the Apple TV. You could say that it is a digital media player that, together with an HDMI cable and a TV, will let you access everything you want to watch.
Apple TV is a set-top box, in the same style as Roku, that lets users connect to the Internet and use a TV to get the best of online services such as Netflix, Hulu, Pop Corn Time, the BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime Video, the iTunes Store, DirecTV, Vue, Play Station, Now TV, and hundreds more!
On top of all those offerings, the device comes with an Apple Remote control, and you can also control it with the Apple TV Remote app. Those functionalities make the experience a real trait since you can comfortably stream content from your bed.
A VPN for your Apple TV: a necessary feature
Remember every service you get to enjoy that is Internet-powered needs your attention when it comes to security. The online world is a fantastic “place,” so to speak, but is full of unexpected threats to your wellbeing and that of your devices.
But how can a VPN protect you from being visible to hackers, governmental surveillance agencies, your Internet Service Provider, and other external agents? They are online services that encrypt your data and the traffic you generate on your online sessions, sending them through secure, remote servers where they will be hidden and off-limits to said hazards.
VPNs, in consequence, can give you peace of mind when you are using the Apple TV device to stream your favorite series and movies. A reliable, trustworthy VPN service will hide your IP address and all your traffic without leaking them around the web. To do that, they have to use protocols or security/transmission technologies to handle your data in a secure way.
The most widely regarded protocols are the L2TP/IPSec (Layer to Tunneling Protocol with Internet Security Protocol,) OpenVPN (both in its TCP and UDP version,) Secure Sockets Tunneling Protocol (SSTP,) the Internet Key Exchange, version 2 (IKEv2,) and the Peer to Peer Tunneling Protocol (PPTP.)
You need a VPN for your Apple TV, not only because it can offer security, encryption, anonymity, and privacy, but also because it can make you able to access tons of international sites and streaming services that would otherwise be off-limits for geographical reasons. Remember that each country or region has its set of shows, pages, and services available just for people currently in that area, and any attempt of a foreign connection would be rejected.
With a VPN, that would not be the case: a quality provider can mask your IP number and give plenty of servers and countries to choose the location of your next online session. With a VPN for Apple TV, you may be able to access all Netflix regions, Hulu, the BBC iPlayer, and numerous nations’ sites, shows and channels without moving an inch from your home.
How to set up a VPN in your Apple TV: a complete guide!
Setting up a VPN service is a very straightforward process these days, but everything starts with you getting one. Preferably, you would acquire a paid, custom VPN brand and not a free provider, because the former are more trustworthy, have better encryption technologies and protocols, they don’t sell your traffic to anyone, and they usually don’t have bandwidth limits that can severely limit your online streaming experience via your Apple TV.
There are two ways to install and configure a VPN connection on your Apple TV:
Setting it up on your router:
By doing It this way, you ensure that all the devices that use the router’s signal gain protection with the VPN, including your Apple TV. You will need DD-WRT or Tomato based routing device to install the VPN.
Setting it up on your PC/Mac and use it as a WiFi Hotspot.
With this option, you will download the VPN app or client to your PC or Mac. Later, you will connect to a VPN server directly through the app, and then you will convert your PC/Mac into a virtual router, protecting your Apple TV with it.
To share Mac VPN connection with your Apple TV, you need to:
- Go to your Mac and access the System Preferences.
- Select Sharing.
- There, choose Internet Sharing, which will make the Internet Sharing options appear on the screen.
- Then, Share your connection from the L2TP VPN connection recently created.
- Select the box for Wi-Fi.
- Choose Wi-Fi Options.
- Write the following data: Network Name: [selected by you,] Channel: [default,] Security: WPA2 Personal; Password: [select one,] Verification : [re-enter your password,] and finally, OK.
- Go to the Sharing menu and select the box next to Internet Sharing. Select Start when the system asks you whether to turn on Internet sharing. A green light will show if done successfully.
- Turn on your Apple TV.
- Access the Settings.
- Go to Network.
- Go to Wi-Fi.
- Establish a connection to the Wi-Fi network you created on your Mac device.
To share a PC VPN connection with Apple TV:
- Go to your PC.
- Write Windows + S to make the search bar appear.
- Write cmd to make the command prompt appear.
- Right-click the prompt.
- Choose the Run as Administrator option.
- Then, write: netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid=NETWORKNAME key=PASSWORD
- Choose a name for your virtual router by setting the following: ssid=[select a name for the network,] key=[select a password for it.]
- Press Enter.
- A message will appear: “The hosted network mode has been set to allow.” You just changed the SSID of the hosted network and the user key password.
- Now, you need to start your virtual router: write this at the command prompt: netsh wlan start hostednetwork.
- Press Enter.
- If done successfully, you will see a message: “The hosted network started.”
- Access the Open Network and Sharing Center section with a right click on the Wi-Fi icon at the bottom right of your screen.
- Select “Change adapter settings.”
- Right-click on the VPN connection created.
- Access “Properties.”
- Access “Sharing.”
- Enable the “Allow Other Network User to connect through this computer’s Internet connection” option.
- Enable the “Allow other network users to control or disable the shared Internet connection” option.
- Choose the connection you made, under “Home Network Connection.”
- Select OK.
- Turn on your Apple TV.
- Access the Settings.
- Access Network.
- Access Wi-Fi.
- Establish a connection to the Wi-Fi network you created on your Windows PC.
5 Best VPN for Apple TV
TorGuard
It is, without a doubt, one of the best VPN for Apple TV fans all around the globe. There is more than 55 worth of content and sites available to TorGuard users, and they can enjoy them with the stronger encryption and security measures in the market.
TorGuard also has top-notch customer service, with a live chat feature and a very responsive email aid. The client is user-friendly because it has several guides, manuals, videos and tutorials to help beginners and users in general to configure the client.
TorGuard sells routers with the VPN pre-configured, ready to use with your Apple TV. This option allows five simultaneous connections and costs around $9.99 per month, right around the average for the industry. It has DNS leak protection, a no logging policy, and support for all protocols.
IPVanish
For a mere $10 per month, Apple TV users can enjoy one of the fastest VPN services in the industry in IPVanish. While the client isn’t the most visually attractive or user-friendly, it delivers encryption, security, and privacy.
Also, this brand is in the position of selling you one of its pre-flashed DD-WRT routing devices, ready to use with strong encryption for your Apple TV experience. It is not the best for Netflix or Hulu, but it sure can work with Kodi and other streaming services.
IPVanish allows users to use 40,000 IP addresses. It has 700 servers in 60 countries, which means that under the VPN network, you can stream content from five dozen nations worldwide!
Private Internet Access (PIA)
With Private Internet Access, you can get an acceptable VPN service for a fraction of the price, with plans around $7 per month. Among the benefits of using PIA’s secure VPN account are encrypted Wi-Fi, P2P support, PPTP, OpenVPN and L2TP/IPSec, five devices simultaneously, ad blocking, multiple VPN gateways, unlimited bandwidth, SOCKS5 proxy, no traffic logs, instant setup and ease of use.
GhostVPN
With stealth VPN, sound refund policy and unique encryption (with all the major protocols, no less,) GhostVPN is firmly entrenched as one of the best VPN options for Apple TV users around the planet.
It is compatible with iOS, Mac, Windows, Android, and Linux, and costs just $9.99 per month. Unlike some of the options listed here, GhostVPN has a free option for those who want robust encryption but can’t afford a monthly package.
Apple TV owners can enjoy international content thanks to GhostVPN’s 1600 servers in 51 nations. The client also provides unlimited speeds, bandwidth and server switching, 24-7 customer support, a 15-day money-back guarantee, AES 256 bit encryption and five simultaneous connections.
ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is perfect for Apple TV users because a) it can sell pre-configured routers, and b) it provides the optimum user experience, with tutorials on how to install the client on this sturdy box. Also, it has a fantastic customer service with a live chat service.
ExpressVPN has servers in 148 locations, 94 countries in total. What a joy for Apple TV streamers! They can access content, whether it is music, concerts, videos, talent shows, series, and movies, from almost a hundred nations. Impressive.
The brand also has a DNS proxy service that you can use to access restricted international content with an Apple TV, called MediaStreamer. Included in the package is a convenient 30-day money-back guarantee and features such as split tunneling, DNS leak protection, and a kill switch. For $12.95 per month, it is worth every penny.
In conclusion, Apple TV is cementing its place as one of the top alternative for streaming lovers worldwide. It is a potent set-top box that works with Netflix, Hulu, the BBC iPlayer, and other countries’ pages and services.
The device works best with a VPN. Not only a Virtual Private Network will help you protect your traffic, data and online identity while you use your Apple TV, but also, it will serve as an international content “unblocker” because it can hide your IP address and lend you one from the country of your preference.
