If your VPN has stopped working with Channel 4 there are only two reasons why:
- Your VPN isn’t configured correctly or you’re connecting to the wrong UK server
- Your VPN’s IP addresses have been blacklisted by Channel 4
Below I’ll run you through the steps you need to follow to diagnose and fix your VPN is its option one. However, I’m sorry to say that this is a common problem with a lot of VPNs and you may have to upgrade your VPN to access Channel 4 again (especially in the next 24 hours).
Channel 4 VPN detected?
Try this (before upgrading your VPN)
If you’re trying to access Channel 4 from outside the UK via a VPN and you’re seeing an error message similar to “⚠️ Not Available. Channel 4 is only available in the UK. You can find more details on Our FAQs.” it means the IP address your VPN is using to unblock Channel4 has been blacklisted.
Note that if your VPN’ has been’s IPs have been blacklisted by Channel 4, none of the steps below will work and you either need to wait for them to fix the problem (by releasing more UK IP addresses) or upgrading your VPN.
- Connect to a different server
- It sounds basic. Because it is. Cycling through your available UK servers is your best option.
- Using a laptop/desktop, open Channel4.com in a private browsing tab
- Using a fresh device to connect your connection is a reliable way to determine if its the VPN or your device that’s causing the issue
- Connect your VPN’s support team and ask for an IP that works with Channel 4
- If there’s a problem with Channel 4, your VPN will already know. Contact them and ask the direct question.
- Chance your VPN protocol
- This is how I rank them: WireGuard, OpenVPN (TCP), OpenVPN (UDP), IKEv2/IPSec, Shadowsocks, SSTP, L2TP/IPSec, PPTP
- Upgrade your VPN to NordVPN ($3.02/month) or ExpressVPN ($6.66/month)
- If none of the steps above work, it’s time to upgrade your VPN.
Here’s what I did when Channel 4 stopped working with my VPN
When I moved to New Zealand from the UK in 2017 I soon realised that the TV over here sucked. I promptly bought myself a subscription to the paid-for VPN IPVanish… and it worked with Channel 4 and BBC iPlayer for about 24 hours.
What I didn’t realise, before I spent nearly $100 USD on a year-long VPN subscription, was that streaming services could detect and block IP addresses belonging to VPNs. I contact IPVanish’s support team via the website’s live chat function and asking what I should do. After an hour of them pointing me to different UK servers on their network, they confessed that their IPs must be blocked.
I did a LOT more research before buying my next VPN. The consensus of real-world users on reddit was that ExpressVPN and NordVPN were the only two serious options for choosing a streaming VPN. Fast-forward 7 and a bit years and I’m still a customer of both VPNs.
As I show above, if your VPN isn’t working with Channel 4 you have a few, very limited, options.
The most obvious thing to try is to connect to a different server in the UK, cross your fingers and hope for the best. This works about 50% of the time for me. When this doesn’t work, your chances of getting your VPN to work again with Channel 4 are VERY limited in the short term.
Clearing your cache, deleting cookies, connecting from an Incognito or Private window/tab in your browser is the next thing to try. This also sometimes works, proving that your VPN is not the issue.
When the two option above both fail, it’s safe to conclude that your VPN is the problem.
The next play is to contact your VPN’s support team and ask if they can point you to answer UK servers that they know currently work with Channel 4. Again, sometimes this works too.
However, when a VPN has one of its UK servers blocked by Channel 4 it often means that all of its IP addresses have been blacklisted at the same time.
When the three options above are exhausted, your only have two options. You can either wait for your VPN to release fresh UK IP addresses (this can take weeks/months), or upgrade your VPN to a more reliable one.
This is why I only recommend two VPNs. ExpressVPN and NordVPN. Both are great. I use ExpressVPN has my primary VPN 365 days a year. It works with BBC iPlayer and Channel 4 (and also HBO Max and the US version of Paramount+) for over 360 days a year.
NordVPN lets you share your account across 10 devices, while ExpressVPN allows eight. I’ve shared my logins with literally any of my friends who have asked me to and I’ve never hit the device limit (I’ll just change my password if/when that happens, and start the process again.)
⚠️ Not Available
Channel 4 is only available in the UK.
You can find more details on Our FAQs.
