Want the best VPN for your Fire TV? We’ve rounded up the best VPNs for Amazon’s Fire TV Stick (Image: AMAZON • GETTY • EXPRESS NEWSPAPERS)
Amazon’s Fire TV Stick is a hugely-popular streaming dongle that unlocks access to dozens of streaming services and games. Plugging the Fire TV Stick into any HDMI port will give you access to Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV+, BBC iPlayer, All4, ITV Hub, and more. But unlike rival streaming gadgets, like Roku or Apple TV, Amazon allows users to install Virtual Private Network (VPN) software directly onto its Fire TV hardware.
That’s a huge advantage. Installing a VPN onto your Fire TV takes just a few clicks, thanks to the plethora of applications available from the built-in App Store. You’ll be able to enable the Virtual Private Network automatically, or you can launch the app and enable the feature each time. Not only will this encrypt all of your web traffic – securing your data from any prying eyes, but you’ll be able to manually change your IP address to access streaming catalogues from other countries.
If you’re looking for the best VPN for your Amazon Fire TV Stick – pick NordVPN. The firm has a beautifully-designed application for Amazon’s streaming dongle, a plethora of features and a competitive monthly cost. If you want a little more detail about the advantages of a Virtual Private Network and other options on the market, scroll down for more details.
How Do You Install A VPN On Fire TV Stick?
Not all Fire TV Stick models are compatible with a VPN. First up, you’ll need to check that your hardware is compatible with a Virtual Private Network provider. You’ll need one of the following…
- Fire TV Stick (2nd Generation)
- Fire TV Cube (2nd Generation)
- Fire TV Cube (1st Generation)
- Fire TV (3rd Generation, Pendant Design)
- Fire TV Stick 4K
- Fire TV Stick Max
All good? Perfect, now to install your choice of Virtual Private Network. All of the providers listed in this article offer dedicated applications for the Fire TV Stick, which makes it much easier to install. If you’ve settled on another provider that doesn’t offer an app in Amazon’s App Store, then there is a workaround. Most suppliers offer an application for your Wi-Fi router, which ensures that every device that’s connected to your home Wi-Fi network is routed via a secure VPN. This will work exactly like a dedicated VPN app on each platform.
If you’re signing up to a Virtual Private Network with a dedicated app for Amazon’s hardware, you’ll need to head to the App Store on your Fire TV Stick and search for the name of your provider. You’ll need to download the application. Just like any streaming service that you’ve installed, you’ll then see an icon for the application on your homescreen.
Launching the application, login with the same details that you already use with the iPhone, Android or PC version of the software. And that’s it. You’ll then be able to connect to a Virtual Private Network to secure your traffic and change your IP address to anywhere on the planet.
Any recent Fire TV Stick will allow you to install and run a VPN without any hiccups or hassle (Image: AMAZON)
How Does A VPN Work?
When enabled, a Virtual Private Network (VPN) creates an encrypted tunnel for everything you do online – keeping your web traffic shielded from prying eyes. VPNs are so secure that your broadband provider won’t even be able to keep tabs on what you’re doing online. It can also ensure that you’re always protected from Man-In-The-Middle attacks on public Wi-Fi networks, like those in coffee shops and airports.
These security benefits are the reason that your office likely insists that you connect to a VPN when working from home or when travelling.
Of course, the end-to-end encryption also means you can manually switch your IP address. For those who don’t know, an IP address is automatically assigned to your device whenever you connect to the internet. It contains a number of identifying features, including an approximate location. This is the reason that Google Maps is able to plot directions from your current location to a new destination. Online retailers can also direct you to the nearest brick-and-mortar stores, based on your location too.
Changing your IP address to a server in a different country – like the United States, for example – will make it appear as if you’re on holiday abroad. This tricks online services and websites into thinking you’re located somewhere else. Clearly, that doesn’t always have benefits (it can make plotting turn-by-turn directions on Google Maps a little tricky) but it does enable some fun features. For example, spoofing your location to another country means you can watch streaming services and sports fixtures not available in your current location.
Just like when you’re visiting on holiday, your existing UK login credentials will work on all of the Netflix apps, but the catalogue of shows, documentaries, and movies will be completely different. And it’s not just for Netflix either.
VPNs can be used to unlock a bevy of shows and films across a wide range of streaming services, unlock sporting events that aren’t broadcast in your current location, and subscribe to new services that haven’t yet launched where you’re based. Likewise, if you’re away on holiday and some of the online services that you subscribe to aren’t yet available in the country you’re staying in – a VPN can help.
Best VPN For Fire TV Stick
Looking for the best VPN for Amazon’s Fire TV Stick? Look no further than NordVPN. This brilliant VPN offers a number of useful features – including split-tunnelling, re-routing traffic twice to ensure everything is encrypted, servers in 60 countries – at a great price point. And of course, there’s a beautifully designed app for the Fire TV Stick. It’s available to download from Amazon’s App Store, so you’ll be able to sign-in and encrypt all of your video streaming within seconds. The full-featured app also offers easy access to functionality like split-tunnelling and other more advanced options, which is handy for power users. NordVPN has also clinched our award as the best VPN that money can buy right now, so it’s perhaps no surprise this brilliant service has one of the best Fire TV apps on the market.
NordVPN: An Affordable VPN With A Brilliant Fire TV Stick App
NordVPN is a great entry point for anyone who wants to get started with Virtual Private Networks. The provider has a number of gorgeously-designed applications, including for iPhone, Android, Android TV, Chrome web browser, and more. And if there isn’t a dedicated app for your platform of choice, NordVPN offers software for your Wi-Fi router so that any gadget connected to your home Wi-Fi network is encrypted.
Of course, you won’t need to worry about that extra hassle when it comes to the Fire TV Stick. NordVPN has a dedicated app available to download from the built-in App Store on your set-top box. You can use Alexa to search for the application, or head to the App Store and manually search for it using the directional pad and on-screen keyboard. Once it’s installed, simply sign-in with your existing login.
Launching NordVPN on your Fire TV Stick, you’ll be greeted with a prominent Connect Now button. This will analyse a number of performance metrics to determine the best server for you to minimise any impact on download speeds – ideal when streaming video, audio, or video games.
Scrolling down will show a list of commonly-used server locations. With a few taps, you’ll be able to manually change your location. Once that’s done, you should see the changes reflected in any other applications that you open on the Fire TV Stick.
Head to the Trusted Apps menu under Settings, you’ll be able to list specific streaming services on your Fire TV Stick that will bypass the VPN. This practice, known as split-tunneling, is included as part of all NordVPN subscriptions. If you’re planning to switch your IP address to unlock catalogues from around the world, split-tunneling allows you to list exemptions to the rule. For example, BBC iPlayer or ITV Hub will no longer work if you’ve manually changed your location to the United States, for example.
NordVPN boasts a choice of more than 5,000 servers globally, so even if you stumble across a server that has been blocked by a particular streaming service – or is a little congested during peak hours, you should easily be able to find a replacement with a quick tap or two.
Like ExpressVPN, NordVPN had minimal impact on our download speeds during our testing, making it a great option for those looking to leverage their VPN to stream, rather than buying primarily to encrypt their data online. NordVPN offers some incredible deals, especially if you sign up to its one-year or two-year plans. On average, it’s much more affordable than rival ExpressVPN.
NordVPN accepts all major credit card providers, including Mastercard, VISA, AMEX, and Discovery. The Virtual Private Network also lets you pay with PayPal, Amazon Pay, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. These last two options should make the checkout process must faster as you won’t have to fill-in any details, with everything populated automatically from your phone.
You can also pay for NordVPN with the most popular cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
ExpressVPN: A Great VPN With A Dedicated Fire TV Stick, But A Little Pricier Than Some
When it comes to streaming, ExpressVPN is a phenomenal pick. The popular provider has a dedicated team that ensures its servers are never blocked by streaming services, despite Netflix’s ongoing crackdown on VPNs. That means you’ll always be able to watch boxsets and films from across the globe without any issue.
ExpressVPN also offers a dedicated application for Fire TV Stick, which is available to download and install from Amazon’s built-in App Store. Once installed, you’ll be able to connect to any location with a quick tap. You can also configure the VPN to connect automatically, so you won’t need to worry about navigating to the ExpressVPN app each time that you turn on your Fire TV Stick.
Just like NordVPN, this supplier also supports split-tunnelling – so you can choose which servers will be routed via the encrypted VPN, while others will connect to your Wi-Fi network exactly like they did before you signed-up to ExpressVPN.
ExpressVPN has minimal impact on download speeds, so you shouldn’t see any difference when streaming boxsets compared to your usual Wi-Fi network. Those with truckloads of gadgets might struggle up against ExpressVPN’s five device limit. If you’ve got a number of different devices that you’d like to use with your ExpressVPN subscription, you might need to resort to installing its software on your Wi-Fi router. This ensures that every device connected to your home broadband will be routed via ExpressVPN.
ExpressVPN accepts a number of payment methods, including Mastercard, VISA, American Express, and Discover. Paypal and Bitcoin are also available. Unfortunately, unlike NordVPN, there’s no support for Google Pay or Apple Pay for a one-tap checkout on your smartphone or tablet.
However, if you don’t want to pay for a longer membership upfront – you can unlock bigger discounts when you sign-up for a one-year membership, for example – ExpressVPN has added support for Klarna. This payment plan provider lets you break up the total costs into smaller instalments without incurring any interest on your payments. You can simply delay the total cost or break it up into equal payments.
CyberGhost VPN: Available With A Free Trial, And A Solid Fire TV Stick App
CyberGhost is a great choice for those who are still a little unsure about how a Virtual Private Network will boost their viewing on the Fire TV Stick. Unlike NordVPN and ExpressVPN, CyberGhost does offer a limited-time free trial for those who want to test the service before they buy. Even then, if you do decide to subscribe to one of its plans, this popular provider offers an unmatched 45-day money-back guarantee.
For comparison, both NordVPN and ExpressVPN offer a generous 30-day window for you to test whether the service is working as expected. And just like NordVPN and Express VPN, CyberGhost offers 24/7 live chat with its customer service team so no matter what time it is – you’ll be able to get your problem resolved.
CyberGhost has a dedicated app available in Amazon’s App Store, which you can install onto any of the Fire TV Stick models compatible with VPNs. Once it’s installed, you won’t have to go through the hassle of typing out your username and password with the directional pad on the Fire TV remote. Instead, the application automatically generates a PIN code.
You can validate the PIN code displayed in your online account, then authenticate with your username and password. With a single tap, you’ll be able to connect to a Virtual Private Network. As soon as you connect, you should see the connection status on the main screen, the IP address information of the server and the protocol in use.
You’ll be able to manually change your location to some 91 different countries around the world – that’s the second-highest number, falling behind only Express VPN in our definitive list of VPNs. For those who need to travel virtually to far-flung destinations, CyberGhost is a brilliant choice. It also has more than 7,700 servers across those 91 countries – the highest of any provider on this list – so you should always be able to find a server that’s free from congestion, even during peak times.
CyberGhost allows you to checkout with VISA, Mastercard, AMEX, and Discover cards. Everything is processed by a third-party payment processor. PayPal, Bitcoin and Apple Pay are all available too. However, there’s no support for Google Pay at the moment, so Android users won’t be able to enjoy the same seamlessly checkout as counterparts with iPhones in their pockets.
Why Do You Need A VPN For Fire TV Stick?
With the rise of Smart TVs, you might be concerned about the number of companies keeping tabs on your viewing habits. Research has shown that television manufacturers often use data on their customers’ viewing habits to help subsidise the cost of their hardware. In other words, you were able to pick-up a 55-inch LED TV for a complete bargain because the manufacturer will be gathering information about everything that takes place on that screen, regardless of whether you’re watching linear broadcast channels, satellite telly, DVDs and Blu-rays, or a streaming set-top box.
According to most manufacturers, the data gathered on your viewing habits is what enabled personalised recommendations, including suggested streaming apps to download to your Smart TV or new shows to watch. These suggestions can be incredibly helpful.
However, there’s no doubt that some would rather stop their television watching them. And fortunately, the end-to-end encryption afforded by a VPN should solve some of these issues. Of course, if you’re watching from a streaming provider, like Prime Video or Netflix, these companies will be aware of the show or movie you’ve decided to settle down and watch. However, it could help cut-out a few more people from the equation.
That’s because, as reporting from the Wall Street Journal shows, many televisions use your IP address to link-up the data gathered from your gogglebox to other advertising tracking from other aspects in your life. For example, the sort of shops you’ve been browsing on your tablet from the sofa, or the social media websites that you use …the list goes on. But when combined, it can be easy for advertisers to be pretty specific about your life and interests.
For all the latest Technology News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.