Do you want to watch HBO in the UK? Game of Thrones might be over, but that doesn’t mean that HBO isn’t worth having anymore. Series like Chernobyl show that HBO isn’t just about Game of Thrones, with prequels of GOT being in development by the way.
How do you do it? With a few tricks that allow you to fool HBO.
HBO? It’s not being fair to its UK audience that already pays to have HBO as part of their TV package.
See, for customers in the US and select other locations such as Poland, HBO offers HBO GO.
So much for: “It’s HBO. Anywhere.”
HBO GO? It allows you to watch HBO for free on your phone, laptop, or smart TV, if on the GO or simply away from your standard TV subscription, for free. If in the right locations... And after all, you are paying for HBO already.
If you want to watch HBO in the UK though, and don’t have it with your TV subscription, and want to watch it online, then you need to get HBO NOW.
HBO NOW? It’s just like HBO GO, except for those who do not pay for an HBO subscription.
If you do already, we are sorry. You will still need to pay for this. It sucks, but it is what it is.
The issue? HBO NOW won’t let you watch HBO in the UK as it is as it’s not available in the UK at the time of writing.
With that said, it’s possible to watch HBO in the UK, or anywhere where HBO isn’t supported, and we cover all the steps for that below.
It starts with fooling HBO into thinking that you are in the US or in another supported region.
You do that by using a VPN.
VPN services? Imagine you had your private airplane that was able to fly anywhere you wish, except in a matter of minutes. That’s what VPN services are when it comes to the internet.
Just download PrivateVPN and connect to a server that supports HBO and you are in. It’s overall that simple.
Although, not exactly that simple with every service you try to use and every VPN that you use. For instance, with Hulu, it gets a lot more complicated; hence, we have a full in-depth guide around it. The same applies when it comes to DAZN.
Why does not every VPN work? It’s hard to account for all as there are hundreds if not thousands of different VPN services, but overall the biggest issue is focusing on quantity rather than quality, and VPN services aren’t fully to blame for this. We as humans tend to think that more is better and naturally go for it. Due to that, a lot of services go for quantity as a method to gain customers. We don’t do that at PrivateVPN. We believe in quality, and will never invest in quantity over quality as while having thousands of servers is great, customers that love entertainment will quickly realize the issues.
Of course, it’s easy to say that all that. Ultimately, we are a business, and just like any business, we want to position ourselves in a way that is attractive to you. That’s why we offer PrivateVPN completely free, without any restrictions, for you to try it out and see for yourself.
But whether with PrivateVPN or not, depending on which device you want to watch on, you will also need the HBO app or otherwise might prefer it. That’s what we’ll cover below.
By Apple devices, we mean the likes of iPads and iPhones.
How to do you watch HBO in the UK on these?
Simple, yet at the same time, slightly complicated as if you decide to just to change the region of your current account, you will lose everything. That’s why it’s crucial to create a new one.
And of course, you can switch back between the accounts as you wish without losing any data.
When it comes to Android devices, the steps differ. In this instance, you do need to change your region in your current account.
Google has a great guide around it. Just make sure to change your region to be in the UK or other location that PrivateVPN supports for HBO.
Unfortunately, when it comes to watching HBO in the UK if you don’t already have it with your TV provider, you are very limited.
Right away, forget about using most of the smart TVs for it.
Only the devices that run the likes of Android TV or Amazon Fire TV Stick will be able to run HBO in the UK on your TV.
Why? As standard smart TVs and platforms such as Apple TV, Roku, or even Chromecast don’t support VPN services and thus won’t allow you to watch HBO in the UK on your TV, not until HBO becomes available in the UK officially.
Our solution? Get Amazon Fire TV Stick or some Android TV box/stick. They don’t cost much and support VPN services creating incredible options if you want to watch other services in the UK whether that’s DAZN or Hulu.
Hard? Not the hardest. Luckily it’s quite easy to watch HBO in the UK, although it could, of course, be far easier.
But until it isn’t, this is your best shot.
Written by Michael Smolski.