Apple TV
Head to ExpressVPN to get access to Netflix USA on your Apple TV. Still working as of April despite the Netflix crackdown.
Get US Netflix on Apple TV with a VPN
Apple TV and Netflix are a match made in heaven. Unless you live outside the US. Then it’s more like purgatory. There are some good shows on Australian Netflix; they have Mad Men and How I Met Your Mother as well as a range of shows that will appeal to everyone. But there’s no Breaking Bad, no Scrubs, no Pulp Fiction and no Forrest Gump. Can you blame Aussies for having wandering eyes and wanting to watch all of the great content that’s on offer in the US?
What if I were to tell you that you don’t have to be restricted to the tiny room that is Australian Netflix? It is possible to walk the vast halls of the US version. You may have heard rumours from friends or in forums, but it is possible and actually quite easy. You just need t a VPN to get US Netflix on Apple TV.
A VPN is a Virtual Private Network. It’s quite complex and boring, involving encryption, servers, IP addresses and a whole lot of stuff that you don’t need or want to know. What you do want to know is how you can watch Parks & Recreation on your Apple TV.
Using a VPN to access geo-restricted content is somewhat of a legal grey area. At this stage, it seems like it’s technically legal for Australian’s to use a VPN to access US Netflix, but Netflix themselves frown on it and have tried to block users from doing it from time-to-time.
Our go-to VPN for the job is ExpressVPN. It can be a little more pricey than other options, but it’s one of the best in its class for just about every VPN application. They are a provider that really seems to care about the security and privacy of their customers, while they are also big enough and have the technical smarts to continue circumventing Netflix’s attempts at blocking VPN users.
So, let’s get started on setting up ExpressVPN to get US Netflix on Apple TV.
Step 1: Sign Up to ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN isn’t the only one you can use, but it is our favourite, so we have tailored this guide to it. Signing up is super simple. You just need to head to their website and give them a valid email address as well as some form payment.
Step 2: Open Your Welcome Email
Because they are such a kind company, ExpressVPN will send you through a welcome email. This will have a link to get your VPN set up as well as your username and email address.
Click the link or use the login details to sign in to their website.
Step 3: Set Up ExpressVPN
Once you have logged in, click on [Set Up ExpressVPN]. You can find it on the [Active Subscriptions] page.
Once this is done, you will be able to open the [Apple TV] section. In here, you will find the [MediaStreamer DNS server IP address]. Write this number down or copy it somewhere.
Step 4: Configure Your Apple TV’s location Settings
- Go on your Apple TV and open [Settings].
- Click on the [iTunes Store].
- Select the [Location] option.
- Go down to U and choose the [United States].
- When you go back to the [Main Screen], the apps that you want should be there.
Step 5: Configure Your Apple TV’s DNS Servers
- First go into [Settings] and click on [General].
- Then choose [Network].
- Select either [Wi-Fi ]or [Ethernet]. This will depend on the setup of your Apple TV’s internet. Select the relevant option.
- Go to [Configure DNS].
- Choose [Manual].
Important: It’s a good idea to write down your current DNS address and settings before you change them. This way, you can always change it back if you stop using ExpressVPN.
Enter the [MediaStreamer DNS server IP address] that you wrote down in step 3.
Now, you will need to restart your Apple TV for the change in DNS to occur. To do this, go to [Settings}, then [General] and click on [Restart].
You’ve done the hard part. Now you can access MediaStreamer’s service.
Important: MediaStreamer DNS does not have the same security and privacy protections as a VPN. Use it with care.
Step 6: Access MediaStreamer by Registering Your IP Address
To use the MediaStreamer DNS servers you will first have to register your IP address with ExpressVPN’s system.
- Connect your computer or mobile to the same Wi-Fi network that you use for your Apple TV.
- Then, sign in to your ExpressVPN account with your email address and password.
- Go to [DNS Settings].
- Under the IP Address Registration heading, click on [Register my IP address].
Once you have completed this, you should be able to get US Netflix on Apple TV.
Celebrate by binge-watching the X-Files until you don’t know what’s real anymore.
About Apply TV & USA Netflix
Television watching has evolved and today’s viewers are not just reliant on what the TV channels show them for entertainment. What we are seeing is a rise in online streaming which allows for greater flexibility in what you want to watch and when you want to watch it.
Many television manufacturers have understood this and have changed their features to accommodate this evolution. This is why Apple TV was created as a media console to give you the streaming option on your television set.
Apple TV allows you to download and install apps of over the top content providers like Hulu, WatchESPN, iTunes, and even Netflix Australia. Apple TV versions after versions are compatible with and support the Netflix app.
The only other thing you will need to operate the Apple TV Netflix app is a working Netflix account. This is easy enough to acquire if you do not have it. You just have to navigate to their website and fill up a form.
This form will require you to select the package that you want and the form of payment. First time users will even get a 30 day trial free at the time of registration. You can use this facility to try out the service and see if it is suitable for you.
The fact of the matter is that you will love the Netflix – Apple TV combination. You will be able to watch all the content that is available on Netflix on your Smart TV. Even greater is the ease of use provided by Netflix for its viewers.
The only foreseeable problem would be the smaller content library as compared to Netflix US. Netflix America has over 9000 titles to choose from as opposed to the 1200 or so for Netflix Australia. Apple TV might make the experience of viewing great, but it can do nothing for the lack of content.
Get More Out Of Your Apple TV Netflix App with ExpressVPN
The solution to that problem comes in the form of a fantastic service called ExpressVPN. All you have to do is sign up for this service and configure your Apple TV. Netflix will, as a result, be convinced that you are viewing it from within the US and you will get American content.
The reason why ExpressVPN is able to do this is because it lets you go through its own DNS servers. These servers then send you through to Netflix with an American IP address. Since it is your IP address that is the main culprit in telling Netflix where you are, this solves the problem of limited content.
To be able to get American content on your Netflix Apple TV app, you first need to register with ExpressVPN This does not take a lot of time or effort, as you simply need to fill up a form. This will ask for your information and payment method. As with Netflix, this service too offers a free trial period of 7 days.
Once you have registered and have received your confirmation, you need to reconfigure your Apple TV. Netflix needs to connect through the ExpressVPN DNS servers so you will need to change your network’s DNS settings.
This can be done by going to the General settings in your Apple TV and locating the network settings. This will prompt you to identify your network type, where you will need to tell it if it is a wireless connection or an Ethernet connection.
After this is done, you will need to change the DNS settings to Manual. This is so that you can type in the primary and secondary DNS values from ExpressVPN. You might want to note down the old settings in case you want to switch back.
The new settings will need to be checked, to ensure that everything is working as it should be. Before you start using Netflix, you will need to switch off your Apple TV and restart it. Once you restart and log in again, you will see that instead of Netflix Australia, Apple TV will take you straight to Netflix USA.