So I'd like to get the new ATV4 but I have a few questions before I buy. I want to be able to use it for UK apps such as iPlayer, Amazon Prime, Netflix, etc but I also want to be able to watch the TV shows I have purchased on my US iTunes account. Is that possible? I read that with ATV3 you could easily switch between accounts and accounts from other countries but not so with ATV4? If thats the case would I need to intially use my UK account, get the apps working and then switch to the US account to stream my purchased TV shows? Or would switching to the US account then disable the UK apps?
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Can I have UK apps and US iTunes account?
- Thread starter justjax
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It's fairly simple switching between your itunes accounts on ATV4. Same process really you would use on an iphone. Switching from one account to the other will likely change access to certain location based services. I've had success using a SmartDNS service to circumvent this so I can use UK & US apps simultaneously. This may work for you as well. Once you have installed all of the apps (US&UK) that you want, you'd sign back into the US account to access your itunes media.
FWIW, iPlayer isn't available yet for ATV4, but will be in the 'coming months.' The current UK selections are quite sparse.
The Smart DNS service I use is called getflix.
FWIW, iPlayer isn't available yet for ATV4, but will be in the 'coming months.' The current UK selections are quite sparse.
The Smart DNS service I use is called getflix.
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Yes, changing accounts is very quick and easy!
And it works even better on the new Apple TV, since your apps don't disappear when you change regions like they do on earlier Apple TV's.
As Poontaco says, this works better than on the ATV3. I also have US/Canadian account, and now I'm able to stay on my Canadian account for Apple Music and not have the US apps (Hulu, HBO, etc) disappear. Although if you plan on using Siri a lot to find shows/movies... the Canadian account will only look up iTunes and Netflix. You have to be on the US account for the search to find things on Hulu/HBO/Showtime.
We are American expats living in the UK and have a US iTunes account.
The US store Netflix app works in the UK. It shows UK content when it detects you are in the UK. I haven't tried spoofing it. I'm using a Netflix account I've had for over a decade. It is now set up with a UK address and UK debit card. It still works in the US but shows US content there.
US iTunes store purchases work in the UK.
What doesn't work without some sort of trickery are most US streaming apps: CBS, ABC, Hulu and so on. CBS and PBS news work. So does a very limited amount of PBS content. I doubt HBO works although I haven't tried it on an ATV 4 yet.
At the moment there isn't anything in the UK app store that makes it worth switching between UK and US. I suppose when the iPlayer comes out . . .
The US store Netflix app works in the UK. It shows UK content when it detects you are in the UK. I haven't tried spoofing it. I'm using a Netflix account I've had for over a decade. It is now set up with a UK address and UK debit card. It still works in the US but shows US content there.
US iTunes store purchases work in the UK.
What doesn't work without some sort of trickery are most US streaming apps: CBS, ABC, Hulu and so on. CBS and PBS news work. So does a very limited amount of PBS content. I doubt HBO works although I haven't tried it on an ATV 4 yet.
At the moment there isn't anything in the UK app store that makes it worth switching between UK and US. I suppose when the iPlayer comes out . . .
I've still not tried the US version of HBO, but HBO Nordic works in Europe if you use a Scandanavian VPN. It's pretty much the same content. I keep my ATV 4 on a UK VPN (VPN router) but If I want to watch US Netflix or HBO Nordic, BBC iPlayer etc I change my iPad VPN to whatever country I want and AirPlay to the ATV. It all works just great. As long as you can sign up with your current credit/debit card, and they don't seem to be that bothered if it's a foreign card in my experience, you can watch whatever you want with a VPN, an iPad and an ATV4. The iPad and ATV have totally transformed how I watch TV.
Hotspot Shield VPN works brilliantly on the iPad/iPhone/iMac. It's so simple and quick to change countries and as yet, and I've been using it for almost a year, it's never failed. It's cheap as well.
Hotspot Shield VPN works brilliantly on the iPad/iPhone/iMac. It's so simple and quick to change countries and as yet, and I've been using it for almost a year, it's never failed. It's cheap as well.
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I would advise using a DNS spoofing service like Unblock.US/Unotelly rather than a VPN. Unblock can be had for as little as £3-4 a month and opens up all Netflix regions, as well as all the US subscription sites, such as Hulu/HBO etc. Well worth the cash.
CBS all access requires a US card with a US billing address.
A few of the US streaming players also want a US cable subscription.
Not sure about those as I've not tried them, but most say they require a card registered in whatever country it is, however when you try it, there are no actual checks and they allow you to sign up and they just happily take your money each month. NOW TV (UK) and HBO Nordic (Denmark, Sweden, Norway) both accepted my French debit card with no problem. HBO didn't bother to ask for an address. NOW TV did so I gave my mothers UK address. Netflix US also caused no problems, but now I know I can sign up to the French version and just change the VPN to access the US or UK content, I'll change to a French account. Not that it will save much, cents really.
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