In this article, we will go through how to get Roku US channels in Canada or any other country in the world
If you live in Canada or any country outside the US aside from the UK, you should have noticed by now when you try to add a channel or app to your Roku that it is not available in your region, you get a nice message indicating the channel you want is not available in your region, that’s why I’m writing this article so you can get around this geo-restriction and access anything you would as if you were in the US.
Please note I do have an affiliate link in this post and I thank you if you use it
So what do we need to get this working?
- We will need an American Roku account, so click here to create a new account
- We need a Smart DNS Proxy, click here to sign up for a 14-day free trial no Credit Card required
Why use a DNS, not a VPN?
Although a VPN is still a good option unfortunately it’s not the best option for Roku, not only because there are no VPN apps you can install on the Roku, but you would need to install VPN software on your router and that’s not a good option either as you would need a router that supports the ability to even have VPN and not all routers can do that.
Now DNS is the best viable option not just because it works, but because it’s easy to set up and every router on the planet has the ability to change it’s DNS settings, what would make things even easier would be if we could change the DNS on the Roku directly but this is impossible.
Setting up a US Roku account & Smart DNS Proxy
The easiest way to come up with a fake US address would be to use a service like fakeaddressgenerator to provide you with a fake address you can use
I’m just unsure if a payment method is required by Roku as I use PayPal, but please let me know in the comments, once the Roku account is complete it’s time to head over to smartdnsproxy and create an account.
Once logged into your new SmartDNS account you will be presented with the following
Click the Setup button the get started and notice the region setting next to Roku is already set to “United States”
Scroll down the How to setup page to the Set up for whole network section, click Choose your router, and select your router from the list
In my case, I have a Netgear so I selected Netgear and click Setup
Smart DNS Proxy does a great job of providing simple to follow instructions to get you set up, from the IP of your router and even the default passwords and where to find the DNS settings, in my case they can be found under Basic Settings but before we can apply DNS settings we need to know the closest servers, click here to see a world map of servers Smart DNS Proxy has available
Simply click your country, in my case I select Canada and I see there are 4 DNS servers
The way your router should be set is the closest server to you will be DNS1 and the second closest DNS2
Time to Setup the Roku
Over at the Roku we need to perform a factory reset, to do this go to Settings > System > Advanced system settings > Factory reset punch in the code prompted on the screen, and hit OK
Roku will give you a message indicating your remote will need to be paired again after the reset
Start the factory reset, this process should be quick and the Roku will restart
Once restarted, pair your remote with the Roku and go through the prompts
Once you get to the Activate your Roku player page, the code you see on your Roku needs to be linked to your new US account
Log into your new US account through roku.com/link and type in your pairing code
Once you hit submit Roku.com will take you through some prompts that cater to the content you are looking for and any additional apps you might want, once you are finished your Roku will begin downloading all necessary components, just a heads up this might take a while
Once this process completes you are all set and should be ready to watch some great free content
I recommend that you download the following Channels or Apps by simply using the mic on your remote or the search feature
Roku Channel / Crackle / plutotv / XUMO
All that’s left is for you to sit back relax and enjoy this new content you have available
0 Comments