so…
it really could be me. I’m fairly competent with computer, browser and internet setup but I’ve just experienced endless failure to connect to UK streaming.
It worked faultlessly a couple of weeks back. I hadn’t needed it since then. Now it just WILL NOT play. It loads as far as a static grab of the feed, but doesn’t stream.
Completely pointless having a subscription if the thing doesn’t work.
It’s working for me in CHrome on my chromebook, with the extension and the gps spoofing turned on (settings/privacy/other). But I don’t use Robert, or the extension’s ad blocking, because they both always interfere with many sites for me. Instead I use uBlock Origin. I tried ITV, connected via London Biscuits and it works. Also keep in mind it sometimes takes longer than expected to start streaming, so be patient for a minute or two.
Did you try streaming by turning off ROBERT (Ads and malware) blocker? Give it a shot if you haven’t.
u/TurbulentArtist and u/partha51612 thanks for your helpful further suggestions (it was nighttime here in EU).
I tried all of those options, great suggestions, but they didn’t help.
What happens is this: I get to the page, sign in. The “play” button appears. I press that. Then we get a series of animated “loading” dots. Then I get the “there appears to be a technical problem with your computer”. I press their “refresh” option. The screen goes black, and fairly quickly a frame from the streaming pops up.
But that’s it - it’s a static frame. No matter HOW long I wait, it never changes. If I refresh that view, I get a different static frame (i.e. later in the feed). But this just plain does not appear to work.
I have tested my preferred browser (Vivaldi) on their own link which confirms it has no problem with proprietary/DRM content (plus of course I’ve not had problems anywhere else).
Just tried C4 too (UK Channel 4) which used to work. That’s now reporting a problem. Suppose this might all come down to BOTH my browsers not working.
I don’t use windscribe for streaming, rather for privacy. I’ll try to give you a few tips anyway.
Try switching browsers, UK locations, and possibly devices.
let me know what streaming service you’re trying to use.
Id just wait. Ive used Windscribe for years now and I know as quickly as these services go down just as quickly as they start working again. I contacted support about this ITV issue last year and they got things back up and running again so maybe give that a try.
It doesn’t seem to be a Windscribe problem, though, so I would revisit the idea that there’s an issue with your computer. If all was well beforehand, what’s changed?
I’ve tried:
deleting ALL cookies from the relevant sites.
quit browser, restart computer.
log back in using each of the UK listed servers, including Edinburgh.
I’ve been trying to watch UK’s ITV live streaming. It worked absolutely fine a few weeks ago, as did C4. Today though it simply will not work.
It’s completely pointless having Windscribe if its VPN capabilities are geo-blocked, although that may not be the case.
sorry, also:
used two browsers - Vivaldi and Firefox, both with and without Ublock/Privacy Badger.
Makes no difference, streaming still doesn’t work
well… if I knew that 
Thank you, it’s a useful point. What’s changed? I run Linux - EVERYTHING has changed since last week!
But sure, it could be a browser issue if nobody else is having trouble. The thing about picking alternatives is that they have to support extensions, otherwise there’s zero chance.
Anyway, thank you Reddit, I’ll go away and see what’s what. It’ll either return or it won’t.
dunno what it is then since I dont stream, wait for support then. sorry.
fun fact: windscribe is very useful for general privacy, besides its streaming capabilities.
good luck though, hope you can get back to streaming!
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Is ti only ITV or all UK channels? You could try one of the other providers if you want the live stream, like Zattoo. You may not even need a vpn if you’re in the EU, but I just connected via Zurich Alphorn and it all works.
thanks for helping.
Apologies if this is a n00b question in here:
why is there such a clear distinction (in terms of using a VPN) between privacy alone and “using it to access blocked content” and which is speak for “being able to watch all those channels/shows/programmes/content that you would if you were in that country” ?
it’s currently ITV and C4. Don’t watch the BBC. I have been trying to access their own home pages respectively, not go via some third party provider, if that helps.
Basically, a VPN “changes” your IP to to one from a different country. This is done because your device connects to a server in that area, and then you connect to the rest of the internet through that server.
This way, your location seems different, and you get streaming capabilities for that region. Plus, your internet traffic is mixed with other users traffic, making it harder to figure out who you are based on your IP.
Your home IP shows where you truly are and is sometimes your IP only, making it rather easy to figure out who you are for groups like Law Enforcement.
Sometimes, streaming breaks. This is either because of a sudden change with the streaming providers, or because the streaming provider has detected that the IP address you are using is from a server/VPN provider.
I personally use windscribe strictly for privacy, but many people I know use it for both privacy and streaming, because of the location changing capabilities.
Hope this helps.
An important distinction is that vpns that care about privacy tend to have a lot more features focused on privacy instead of streaming
Tunnelbear for example is targets people who want to stream, and collects your data
Windscribe targets people who want to stream and also want privacy, they specifically try to be inviting to a general audience (It’s a unique thing about them). They offer many methods of encryption, protocols, blocks all traffic when connection is lost, and has other features that are made for privacy and can be complicated to understand (most of them are not a option). This includes their privacy policy, which I forgot lol.
It did thank you.
I was aware of some of that already, but I am now curious: my “home IP address”. I thought that was masked by the VPN which became “piggy in the middle”? Or have I not understood something?
I realise that content providers work extremely hard (it would seem) to defeat VPNs and the location access they provide. I get it, there’s a commercial model at stake, and they have every right to protect it, just as I have the perfect right to install a VPN.
But I’ve never really been fully clear on this business of what my “actual” IP address is but which seems to track all the way back down not to me and my physical address but to the last (largest) outgoing node from my ISP and which is physically some 40km away. Obviously though it is ‘country correct’.
Do your answers imply that VPNs exist in categories? That some are optimal for “privacy only” while others are “good for streaming”?
Is there something in this I’m failing to fully comprehend?
which is insightful and informative, but not quite helpful insofar as I have Windscribe (hence this forum) yet it doesn’t work. And thus far, apart from learning a bit more about underlying principles, I’m no nearer understanding either why, or whether it might do so or is basically unfit for purpose.
I thought that was masked by the VPN which became “piggy in the middle”?
It is masked, as long as the VPN is on.
I realise that content providers work extremely hard (it would seem) to defeat VPNs and the location access they provide. I get it, there’s a commercial model at stake, and they have every right to protect it, just as I have the perfect right to install a VPN.
Correct.
But I’ve never really been fully clear on this business of what my “actual” IP address is but which seems to track all the way back down not to me and my physical address but to the last (largest) outgoing node from my ISP and which is physically some 40km away. Obviously though it is ‘country correct’.
Your IP address is basically like an identifier. Every modem has an “identifier” that gives them a set of numbers. When Windscribe is off, it tells you this set of numbers. It should look something like xxx.xx.xxx.xx. When you connect to Windscribe, it changes, and thats your new IP that you will use for as long as Windscribe is on.
Do your answers imply that VPNs exist in categories? That some are optimal for “privacy only” while others are “good for streaming”?
Sometimes. Some VPNs are a mix, such as Windscribe. There’s nothing wrong with this, as it performs well at both.
Others, like Mullvad, are primarily for privacy but I think they sometimes work for streaming.
Is there something in this I’m failing to fully comprehend?
I’d say you have a much better understanding than most people. think you figured almost all of this out already.