Roku is a hugely popular American streaming service, which lets TV owners harness the power of the web to access vast amounts of content.

Well, that’s the idea, anyway. In reality, many channels on Roku are restricted, leaving viewers short-changed. This blog is all about changing that situation. And that’s where Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) play a vital role.

But if you need more background, settle down and read our Roku streaming guide. It should help you get the most out of your streaming device.

How do you access the channels you love on Roku?

First up, let’s introduce some Roku basics, as the platform can be a little confusing for newbies.

Roku offers a way to stream content from the internet, onto standard TVs. This massively widens the variety of shows available to users, even compared to the biggest digital networks.

This can make it slightly tricky to navigate the library and build a personalised portfolio of relevant channels, but it’s actually not that hard.

The first thing to do is to “add” new channels to your Roku device. Here’s how to do so:

1. Connect your Roku remote, box, and TV.
2. Turn everything on, then press the “Home” button on the remote.
3. Choose the “Streaming Channels” option.
4. Either browse or search for channels here and click on the channels you are interested in.
5. If the channel is free to watch, you’ll be able to press “Add Channel” and it will be added to your library.
6. If there is a subscription fee to pay, the button will take you to a payment stage. Enter your Roku PIN, and authorise the payment.

When channels have been added, they will instantly be available to watch. Just press the “Home” button again, and you’ll be able to scroll through the channels you’ve chosen.

What about restricted channels?

The guide above will let you access a huge amount of content, but you may still find that your TV or movie choices are restricted. Why is this?

Firstly, Roku itself divides the channels available by geographical region. So many US channels (such as HBO where you can see last episodes of GoT, ABC, or Hulu) won’t be available to add. See below for a workaround which makes this much less problematic.

Many channels also operate geographical restrictions which govern the content available in your area. So, for example, the BBC iPlayer offers a very different range of shows in Europe or the USA than in the UK.

Netflix is the most famous example though. The streaming platform routinely changes the movies and TV shows on offer from country to country. And that can mean Roku users are prohibited from watching the content they love.

As we mentioned earlier, VPNs can help here. Let’s see how.

How Virtual Private Networks can maximise your Roku channel selection

VPNs work by routing your web traffic through servers located all over the world. When they do so, they apply encryption (concealing the nature of the information being transmitted) and give you a fresh IP address (effectively anonymising your online identity).

The ability to route traffic through international servers is incredibly useful for Roku users.

When sites like Netflix block access based on geographical region, they tend to use IP address data as their main criteria. If they establish that a user is based nearby, they provide access to the local content library. If not, users are excluded and have to make do with more limited options.

Good VPNs work around these filters with ease, fooling streaming sites like Hulu, the BBC, or Netflix into thinking that you are located halfway around the globe.

How do you install a VPN with Roku

So Roku users should always have a reliable VPN installed. However, this isn’t as simple as it should be.

Roku doesn’t come with a built-in VPN tool, and you can’t easily connect Roku boxes to laptops to share their VPN accounts. Instead, the best way is to purchase a VPN router.

VPN routers apply encryption and IP anonymisation to all of the data leaving a home network. So everything from laptops and smartphones to smart streaming boxes will be covered.

But there’s another thing to consider here: Users outside the US will need to create a US Roku account if they want to watch American channels.

Head here to do so. Any Zip Code will do when creating a US account (remember to set the country to the United States!).

When you log into Roku with the US account and your VPN router engaged, you should have total access to channels and geoblocked content – allowing you to get full value from your Roku device.