The Best VPNs to Watch Sky Go Abroad

The easiest way to stream Sky Go from abroad is via your computer since the Sky Go app is available for download in any country, differently to the mobile app.

It only requires a few steps to stream Sky Go on your desktop.

Unblocking the Sky Go app on mobile can be a bit tricky, especially if your app store isn’t registered in the UK. This is because the Sky Go app is exclusively available in UK app stores.

If your Apple App Store or Google Play Store account is registered in a different country, you’ll first need to change its region to the UK to download and install the app.

Once the app is on your smartphone or tablet, the rest of the process is straightforward, just like on a PC or Mac.

We used Mullvad’s iOS app to stream Sky Go from outside UK and Ireland.

You can only watch Sky Go on Apple TV if you have a Sky Multiscreen or Whole Home subscription. If you’re unsure which subscription you have, log into MySky and select Your Products.

We used ExpressVPN to stream Sky Go on Apple TV.

You can only stream Sky Go on a games consoles if you have a Sky Multiscreen or Whole Home subscription. To verify which Sky plan you have, log into your Sky account and click Your Products.

Moreover, games consoles don’t support VPN apps, so you’ll need to share your VPN connection from a computer.

We used a mobile hotspot to watch Sky Go on Xbox.

Sky Go doesn’t offer apps for Android TV or Fire TV Stick, so unless you don’t have Apple TV or a games console, you’ll have to resort to an old-fashioned yet effective method that works 100% of the time: a HDMI cable.

Follow the computer instructions outlined above, then connect your laptop to your TV with an HDMI cable.

This will extend your computer’s screen in seconds without having to fiddle with any device settings.

We couldn’t always get Sky Go to work on NordVPN’s UK servers.

While NordVPN works well with Sky Go on its Ireland servers, we were at times blocked from streaming any live or on-demand content on its UK servers. This disparity left us frustrated and doesn’t match the consistency offered by ExpressVPN.

Many websites recommend NordVPN as the best choice of VPN for Sky Go, however this is largely driven by financial incentives rather than objective assessments.

PIA’s streaming-optimized servers were unable to access Sky Go.

While PIA is an excellent VPN, it struggled to unblock Sky Go on both its UK and Ireland servers. In each instance, we were blocked from watching any content and an error code appeared on our device.

Using IPVanish often caused our Sky Go app to display an error code.

We could only get IPVanish to work with Sky Go on its Ireland servers. It has noticeably less Ireland servers than UK ones, so our Sky Go stream regularly buffered from server congestion.

Proton VPN caused our Sky Go app to slow down substantially.

We were unable to watch Sky Go on mobile while connected to Proton VPN’s UK and Ireland servers. This was particularly disappointing as we tend to use our iPhone more for streaming when travelling.

Although the VPN did work on our laptop, our Sky Go app kept lagging which made it frustrating to do simple tasks like closing the video player.

Moreover, the free version of Proton VPN no longer lets you select a server location, meaning it’s no longer a viable option for unblocking Sky Go for free.

• Test Conducted: We attempted to log into Sky Go and stream one live and one on-demand title while connected to each VPN’s UK server. This test was repeated a second time while connected to an Ireland server to assess the breadth of the VPN’s unblocking ability.
• Why It’s Important: A VPN needs to be able to bypass Sky Go’s geo-restrictions, otherwise it’s impossible to watch content while abroad.
• Optimal Result: Consistent access to Sky Go on both UK and Ireland servers, regardless of the platform used.

We tried to unblock Sky Go with each VPN and documented any error codes or failed attempts.

• Test Conducted: We measured the download speed loss while connected to each VPN’s UK server. We repeated this multiple times for each VPN, and at different points of the day, to calculate an average. To ensure a controlled testing environment, we always used the default VPN protocol and tested on a fixed 100Mbps connection.
• Why It’s Important: A fast internet connection ensures your Sky Go stream loads in the highest possible video quality and minimizes any buffering.
• Optimal Result: A download speed loss of less than 10%.

We used our proprietary speed test tool to record each VPN’s UK download speed.

• Test Conducted: We inspected each VPN’s in-app server list on mobile and recorded the availability of UK and Ireland servers and whether it included city-level choice. This was then cross-referenced with the VPN’s desktop and tvOS apps to ensure consistency.
• Why It’s Important: A UK or Ireland IP address are necessary for bypassing Sky Go’s geo-restrictions. Moreover, city-level choice provides a great number of IP addresses to cycle through in the event of a blocked connection or laggy stream.
• Optimal Result: Servers in both the UK and Ireland with city-level choice in either country.

We checked for any UK and Ireland server locations.

• Test Conducted: We personally installed any available VPN apps to make sure they worked properly. We also checked for a Smart DNS tool and, if available, configured it on an Xbox Series X to make sure it was functional.
• Why It’s Important: As Sky Go is only available on specific platforms, it is essential that a VPN service is compatible with all of them.
• Optimal Result: Easy-to-install VPN apps for desktop, mobile, and tvOS, as well as a Smart DNS tool that works with UK streaming services. Plus, a router app as an alternative to Smart DNS.

We tested each VPN across every platform that supports Sky Go.