In short, this post describes how to use VPN to watch from tvplayer.com, which streams World Cup legally in the UK.
If you already have VPN, then simply head over to tvplayer.com.
If not, I will guide you to set up your own VPN server, for free. However, this requires knowledge with running terminal commands.
If you have no idea what the heck a command line is, then you probably should just pay for a VPN service. Alternatively, ask me to share a VPN account with you?
1. Sign Up for tvplayer
Sign up an account (it’s free).
When prompted for address postcode, use “S11 8PG” (this is somewhere in UK).
2. Sign Up for DigitalOcean
DigitalOcean provides developers with servers around the world.
Sign up DigitalOcean with my referral link, and get FREE $10 credits – enough to run a VPN server for 2 months!
3. Create the server
This is where you need to run commands on your computer terminal :) You can simply copy each block of code (single or multiple lines), paste, then enter to run.
On your macOS terminal,
cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub|pbcopy
The command copies your computer’s SSH key. Go to DigitalOcean Settings > Security > Add SSH Key and paste. If you pasted nothing, then run ssh-keygen first.
In DigitalOcean dashboard, click on Create > Droplets > One-click apps > Docker 17.12.0 on 16.04 (latest version might differ).
Choose the cheapest $5/month droplet size, with 1 GB memory etc.
Choose UK for the datacenter region, as that’s where we want to VPN to.
Under Add your SSH keys, make sure your computer is selected.
Note down the IP address for your droplet (the ipv4) eg. 111.111.111.111.
4. Setting up VPN service on the server
Run the following, but remember to replace all 111.111.111.111 with your droplet’s IP address earlier:
DROPLET_IP_ADDRESS=111.111.111.111 && \
ssh root@$DROPLET_IP_ADDRESS
You will be on the server’s terminal. Run,
DROPLET_IP_ADDRESS=111.111.111.111 \
VPN_PORT=8349 \
VPN_NAME=vpn-uk \
OVPN_DATA=ovpn-data && \
docker run -v $OVPN_DATA:/etc/openvpn --rm kylemanna/openvpn ovpn_genconfig -u udp://$DROPLET_IP_ADDRESS:$VPN_PORT && \
docker run -v $OVPN_DATA:/etc/openvpn --rm -it kylemanna/openvpn ovpn_initpki && \
docker run -v $OVPN_DATA:/etc/openvpn -d -p $VPN_PORT:1194/udp --cap-add=NET_ADMIN kylemanna/openvpn && \
docker run -v $OVPN_DATA:/etc/openvpn --rm -it kylemanna/openvpn easyrsa build-client-full user1 nopass && \
docker run -v $OVPN_DATA:/etc/openvpn --rm kylemanna/openvpn ovpn_getclient user1 > $VPN_NAME-1.ovpn && \
exit
It will take long while (few minutes).. When prompted,
- Enter PEM password or pass phrase eg. “1234”
- Enter common name eg. “vpn”
You will be back on your computer’s terminal. Run,
scp -r root@$DROPLET_IP_ADDRESS:/root/*.ovpn .
With that, you would have downloaded the VPN config file vpn-uk-1.ovpn.
5. Running VPN
Finally, you need a OpenVPN application. Install TunnelBlick, then open the ovpn file.
On mac’s menu bar, click on TunnelBlick icon and “Connect uk-vpn-1”. If all good, you now have a VPN tunnel all the way to UK!
Hopefully you can now enjoy FIFA World Cup 2018 on tvplayer.com!
Troubleshooting: Sometimes, DigitalOcean’s server is not exactly where you choose the datacenter region to be. You can confirm with whatismyip.com. If the location is not as expected, repeat from (3).
Want to thank me? You may support and download my SG Football app (: