Merry Christmas legends.
So, basically my dream end result through all I’ll list below is to be able to chromecast/stream/whatever Discovery+ with a VPN from Australia.
Okay so I went ahead and decided to try and get a VPN going. I’ve got my VPN running directly through my router so all devices are able to connect to the VPN through WiFi. Groovy right?
Well, my first problem came when I realised that Samsung TVs do not like VPNs and I had NO idea how to get around it. It wouldn’t work through the TV apps, casting or PS4.(would love to be able to use my Samsung for my end result)
So I switched out my Samsung with my really dodgy spare google TV. Hooked up to VPN, working all peachy it’s just a shithouse TV. Now, I STILL can’t get chromecast to work, so I have netflix and all that (stoked) but unable to watch Discover+ which is my main thing I want
I’m also trying to chromecast from a Samsung phone, dunno if that’s important.
Any input or direct chat help would be SO a
ppreciated as this has been doing my head in all week
What specific error are you getting, and is your phone also sending traffic through the VPN?
I used an ExpressVPN flashed Nighthawk router for years outside of the US and rarely had any problems.
Either switching the VPN server or changing the “category” in the GUI fixed any issues that did occur. The ExpressVPN firmware was a little buggy, and upgrading it fixed some of the bugs, though I absolutely hated the “drag and drop” GUI they changed to.
An obnoxious issue in some cases is that even though you’re “casting”, the TV will still try to launch its own local app with the content you’re trying to view, which may only work when your TV’s geo-location is registered to a country that allows Hulu and Discovery+.
I have a Sony and LG which both worked, so this may really just boil down to Samsung being dumb.
So I bought a nighthawk router specifically to get this working. Running expressvpn through it
I’ve already spent money on a VPN and router to run it through so hoping to actually get that working
Okay, so I’m in Australia and I would like to be able to watch a show that is on Discovery+ (which isn’t available in australia)
I can’t chromecast, I can’t use my ps4. I’m stuck
Thank you so much for replying
Okay so I pretty much ditched the idea of using my Samsung TV because I just couldn’t figure it out. I’m now using a google based (kogan) TV and still not getting anywhere in terms of what I’m wanting.
My TV is connected to the router running the VPN, so the geolocation should be on whatever the VPN is set to right? If so I’ve tried multiple servers through the US and Canada with still no luck. On the TVs native apps (netflix etc) the VPN is working but the moment I try to cast anything it errors with “can’t play this title please select another title” or something like that
If it isn’t too late, get a refund on the expressvpn purchase. They’re a crap provider at best.
Then, go get a month with these lads.
Peter and Cameron from Oeck really know their stuff, and their vpn has some funky routing features that might help you do what you want to do
They’ve got a 30 day money back guarantee and a decent presence on whingepool too.
Added bonus, you’ll be supporting an Aussie company.
Unfortunately there are a lot of variables, so bear with me lol.
Is the error displaying on your phone or your TV?
Is your phone connected to the same server? Like it’s assigned to the same VPN device pool as your tv through your router and not running the ExpressVPN app itself?
Can you stream the desired content to your phone, and it’s only when you try to cast it to the tv that you get the error?
Are you using an external chromcast? If so, then did you make sure the tv AND the chromecast are in the same device pool?
Edit: did you confirm that the VPN is working for Netflix by testing on/off the VPN to see if the available content changes? That was what I used as an indicator for VPN issues because there were certain shows available on my host country Netflix and not the US, and vice versa. It would sometimes show “connected” on the router, but the content would still be from the local country.
Gave a bunch of different geolocations and still no dice
Okay so I’m really dumb so bear with me also ahaha
Error is displaying on both phone and TV.
I can stream desired content on my phone but yeah as soon as I try to cast it errors.
I do have an external chromecast.
When you’re talking about the device pool, could you elaborate?
We bought the nighthawk router specifically to get this working, we set it all up, got given a new network to connect to on that modem. So I was under the impression that as long as all devices are connected to that network they would all run through the same server? Or is that incorrect?
Honestly thank you so much for even responding
Most VPNs won’t work with streaming services. You’ll need to look at the list of servers offered by the VPN and see if any of them have “streaming” in their name. Even if they do, it’s still a 50/50 that it’ll work.
When you log into the ExpressVPN router interface in a browser (It should be 192.168.132.1 but basically look up your phone’s IP address and then go the the “.1” of that subnet) there are different “pools” that you can place your devices into that you can see the steps for here: Using Device Groups to bypass VPN on ExpressVPN/Aircove firmware
Are both your phone, the Chromecast and the TV in the same device pool?
I think it’s designed to automatically add everything to the same VPN connection by default, but it can’t hurt to double check.
I’m using expressvpn and it’s working fine with netflix etc, I’m just struggling on how to get into hulu or discovery+ considering my TV can’t find those apps
I will absolutely double check in the morning, just about to head to bed so I will reply with hopefully good news in a few hours.
Thank you!!
Morning!!
Okay so I am in the expressvpn interface on my chromebook, what tab would I find the pools thing?
What is so important on discovery+ that you’re going through all this
It should look like the different boxes in the link I sent. Also, it should tell you if there’s a newer firmware version, and would definitely recommend upgrading to the newest version if possible.