Do you want to access BBC sounds – BBC’s podcast, radio and music – app – outside the UK? If you visit the US, Canada, Australia or actually elsewhere, you can use a VPN – NordVPN works best – to unblock BBC sounds and listen as usual.
We go into detail below and explain why the BBC’s recent announcement that it would block international access to the BBC Sounds app, sad (and angry) many listeners around the world.
Here is a full (and quick) guide to how to get BBC sounds from abroad …
When did the International BBC Sounds block came into force?
International access to the BBC sounds was closed on Monday 21 July.
Can I still have access to BBC sounds from abroad or on vacation?
Yes. The British residents will be able to continue accessing the BBC Sounds app from abroad with a VPN. We recommend Nord, which comes with a 30-day test and over 70% discount when you use our deal below …
How to remove blocking BBC sounds with a VPN
If you are out of the United Kingdom at the moment and blocked to use BBC sounds, you can still access the app thanks to the wonder of a VPN (virtual private network).
The software allows your devices to appear as if they are back in your home country no matter where in the world you are. So ideal for listeners away to work or on vacation and want a taste of home.
Nordvpn is our favorite:
Is there a BBC sound alternative?
Listeners based outside the UK can now access a Limited choice of BBC -sound programming via the BBC.com web site and the BBC app (iOS / Android).
To put it mildly, however, they are not at all like BBC sounds!
The only Live services available via BBC.com and the BBC app are BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Service English. They also host selected podcasts and news and history programming, such as Global News PodcastAt You are dead for me and Infinite monkey cage.
Even if you can listen via the BBC.com and the BBC app without an account, you must log in to order to download, follow and save shows.
Can I listen to BBC 6 music and other radio stations outside the UK?
However, everyone is not yet lost. You can still listen to BBC radio stations outside the United Kingdom by visiting their individual sites directly via a web browser (links listed below).
It’s a raw solution, but it works.
However, these sites do not support key BBC sounds features, such as the possibility of setting a radio station like your alarm or even the possibility of seeing a station schedule.
Furthermore, it is only to choose radio content made available on-demand through the sites.
BBC Radio 1
BBC 1xtra
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 4 Extra
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Asian Network
BBC 6 music
Additional BBC sounds troubleshooting tips
If you Still Cannot access BBC sounds, even with the help of a VPN, there are a few more things you can try.
Make sure your BBC account is linked to a valid British mail code such as W1A 1AA.
The BBC Sounds app (iOS / Android) does not appear in the Play Store or App Store outside the UK, but you may be able to get around by changing your phone’s region in the Settings menu.
The BBC, like most broadcasters and networks, deals with an endless CAT-and-MUS match with VPN providers.
Although we have ranked the best iPlayer -VPNs, something we have prepared through thorough testing, if one of them works today, there is no guarantee the same will be true tomorrow, in which case you can raise the problem of your VPN customer support team, and ask them to recommend the best server to connect to.
Why did BBC sounds were blocked? What is the full story?
So what would force the company to cut one of its most popular and beloved exports? The decision was made without consultation, and the BBC management has rejected calls for an explanation to be given.
In the weeks after the message FeedbackEffected to get a BBC spokesman on his show to justify the move without success.
The move has been met with widespread anger and sadness, but above all unbelievers. Not only does the BBC Sounds provide a connection to the home of Britons living abroad, it is an invaluable supplier of culture, education and entertainment that has served as a key platform for musicians, artists and artists, some of whom owe their entire careers to radio.
The BBC Sounds’ death has also caused a political storm in Ireland where listeners north of the border retain full access to the app.
The Memorandum of Understanding, as the British and Irish government agreed in 2010, emphasized the importance of public service broadcast on both sides of the border, to “promote cultural diversity, by providing educational programming, with objectively informing public opinion and guaranteeing pluralism.”
The topic at that time was Irish-Language Channel TG4, where Mou talked about its accessibility in Northern Ireland as well as the Republic of Ireland. However, listeners in the Republic of Ireland have now had their access to the BBC sounds blocked.
We test and review VPN services in connection with legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Access to a service from another country (subject to the conditions and conditions of this service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when you are abroad. We do not support or condolate the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content paid for is neither approved nor approved by future release.
