We live in a world of political borders. You should exist in the border of another government only at their invitation, and that same restriction is catching up on online content. With geo-fencing, producers of content; educational and entertainment are increasingly restricting their content only to be viewed by viewers within certain locations.
If you are using mainstream devices for accessing the internet; such as a computer, tablet, or smartphones. You have a plethora of ways to circumvent these geo-restrictions. However, these days we live in the age of smart home appliances and the Internet of Things.
Take, for instance, the Sony gaming consoles, PS3 and PS4. When you are done gaming, you can use the console to stream content off the internet, and they are proving to be a one-stop-shop for gaming, video, and music streaming.
If you own one of these devices, there is little or no need for purchasing a smartTV other than with the intention of pumping up the resolutions. Plugging the PS3 or PS4 to any HDMI-enabled display gives you a screen for gaming, video and music streaming, social network to connect with family and friends, a video conferencing platform, among other online social gaming features.
VPN workaround
A good VPN on your computer, smartphone, or tablet will easily enable you get around the geo-fencing on online content. But when you come to special internet-enabled devices like gaming consoles. They don’t have that many developers keen on developing things other than the games.
That said, you will not find a VPN app to install on a PS3 or PS4. If you want to stream geo-fenced content on the gaming console you will be met by the message that the content is not available in your location.
Install VPN on router
The easiest VPN to work with, are those you can install on your computer, tablet, or smartphone. That is because they come with an interactive user interface. Your router on the other hand, though can have VPN installed on it, it lacks an interactive user interface by itself. At the very best you get a few buttons here and there; nothing much for in-depth interaction.
Though there are a couple of bespoke VPN meant for your router, they are not that many options out there. Though installing a VPN right on your router secures all internet-enabled devices on your local network.
Hotspot your Computer or Mobile Device with active VPN connection
If you can’t install a VPN on your router (not all routers have that capability) the second option would be to connect your console to a Wi-Fi network beamed from your computer or mobile device.
As it works out, open your computer, connect to the internet, and then launch the VPN app. Connect to the VPN server of your choice, and only then create a hotspot from the computer. Go to your console, and connect it to the Wi-Fi network beamed from the computer with an active VPN connection.
The procedure remains more or less the same if you want to use your smartphone or tablet to create the hotspot for your console to connect to the internet.
