Apple TV and VPN - help needed.

[octatonic]

Hi all,

I'm hoping someone can help me.
I'm based in the UK and currently accessing US Netflix shows by using a VPN service on my iPhone 5s/iPad Mini and Airplaying it to the Apple TV.

It isn't completely seamless (it can be a bit jerky using airplay) and I am looking at options for VPN authentication for the Apple TV.

I already have a fairly complex network (for a home setup):

I have a new Airport Extreme 802.11ac in the living room which is attached to a cable modem.
There are two older Airport Extreme (802.11n) routers attached to the first one which provide wired connections to various devices (in bridge mode), with one of them extending wifi at the back of the house.

The Apple TV doesn't, of course, have any facility to authenticate VPN.
I need a box between the Apple TV in the living room that authenticates VPN that can sit between the Apple TV and the 802.11ac router.
I do not want to replace the 802.11ac Airport Extreme.

I know the Asus RT-N16 router allows for VPN authentication.
Does anyone have this and can the wifi be disabled, and the router put into bridge mode?

Otherwise is there some sort of VPN authentication router/switch/box/thing that I can just attach the Living Room Apple TV to and have it pass VPN?

What I don't want to do is replace my network with a router that puts everything through VPN (as it makes online purchasing a problem with UK credit cards that think fraud is happening when loads of transactions show up as coming from US IP addresses.

Many thanks.

 

[jdblas69]

Have you ever tried Tunlr?

http://tunlr.net/

I am in Canada and access US Netflix simply by changing the DNS address on the Apple TV to the DNS provided by tunlr.

There are some pros and cons with this method.

Pros - easy setup, no need to muck around with changing settings in router and affecting other devices. Pretty reliable service.

Cons - To change back to your own ISP DNS you have to go in each time and change back and forth for the DNS you want.
Since Apple TV only accepts one DNS option if tunlr server goes down you will lose all connectivity. This is rare as I mentioned the service is pretty reliable.

Not the best option for everyone but it works well. I do not change the DNS back to my own ISP DNS often as the TV my Apple TV is connected there is also a playstation, so I have the playstation for Netflix Canada content and the Apple TV for Netflix US content.

 

[Toltepeceno]

I use unblock us, just enter the dns in the atv3 and it works perfect. Not a direct answer to your question, but an excellent option. You can also enter the dns in your phone (as I do) and other devices, or you can just enter it into your router. I don't do that so the mocosito gets mexico on his wii.

 

[octatonic]

You are both geniuses!

Thanks a lot.
This is exactly what I needed.
I didn't think of a DNS based solution- I kept looking for VPN and wondered why I came unstuck.

Thanks a bunch.

I have an Apple TV and a Roku here so I can always go to the Roku if the DNS goes down.