ITVX (formerly known as the ITV Hub) is the online catch-up service for all things ITV, letting you stream content from all its channels either live or on-demand.
That makes it the go-to spot to watch the latest season of Love Island. It’s also the home for gripping detective dramas and all the family favourites at Christmas. But there’s one big downside: it’s only available in the UK, which means you can’t watch anything on ITVX if you live outside of the UK, or even if you’re just visiting somewhere else on holiday.
Fortunately there is a way around this, and it’s possible to watch ITVX from abroad easily enough, whether that’s on your PC, Mac, TV, iPhone or Android device.
Watch ITVX abroad with a VPN
If you want to watch ITVX outside of the UK, the best thing to do is to get hold of a VPN.
VPN stands for ‘virtual private network’, and they let you browse the internet as if you were based in another country. Essentially it means that even if you’re outside of the UK, you can trick the ITVX website or app into thinking you’re in Britain.
There are countless VPNs on the market, but we’ve tested plenty to know which is best. NordVPN and SurfShark are our most recommended thanks to their speed, reliability and ease of use, but we have a full ranking of the best VPNs for streaming if you want more options.
Once you’ve subscribed to and installed your VPN of choice on the device you want to use to access ITVX, here’s what you need to do:
- Time to complete: 5 minutes
- Tools required: Laptop or phone
Find a server
Foundry
Open your VPN on your phone, laptop, or other device, and choose a server based in the UK.
Launch ITVX
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
Go to the ITVX website or app on the same device – it should treat you as if you were in the UK.
If for some reason it doesn’t work, try switching to a different UK server on your VPN – streaming platforms like ITVX try to block known VPN IP addresses, so you might need to try a couple of different servers before you find one that works.
It’s also worth noting that if you have an ad blocker on, ITVX might block that – and since some VPNs have built-in ad-blocking, you might need to turn off that part of the software.
Sign in
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
If you haven’t done so already, make sure you sign up for an ITVX account to watch. You’ll need to put in a valid email address, date of birth and a UK postcode. Then you should be able to sign in as normal.
Author: Hannah Cowton, Senior Staff Writer
Hannah Cowton is a Senior Staff Writer at Tech Advisor and Macworld, working across entertainment, consumer technology and lifestyle. Her interests and specialities lie in streaming services, film and television reviews and rumours, gaming, wearables and smart home products. She's also the creator of The London Geek, a geek culture and lifestyle blog.