Using a VPN on a smart TV

Why put a VPN on a TV?

People usually want a VPN on a TV for privacy from their internet provider, or to reach services from home while traveling. Be realistic about streaming: services block many VPN addresses, results change often, and using a VPN to watch another country's catalogue usually breaks the service's terms. See why streaming services block VPNs and streaming while traveling.

Which TVs can run a VPN app?

Android TV and Google TV

These run Android underneath, so most major VPN providers publish TV versions of their Android apps. Search for the provider in Google Play on the TV, or open the app's Play Store page on a computer and choose your TV as the device. Sign in with the TV remote or a code, connect, and you're done. Some also offer split tunneling on TV; Proton lists it for Android TV. That helps if one app refuses VPN connections.

Amazon Fire TV

Older and most current Fire TV devices run Fire OS, which is based on Android. VPN apps install from the Amazon Appstore. Proton's support pages say Amazon started rolling out Vega OS, a Linux-based system, on Fire TV Stick devices in late 2025, and that Vega OS sticks need a separate Proton app. If you have a new stick, check that your provider supports Vega OS before you subscribe.

Apple TV

Until 2023, Apple TV couldn't run VPN apps at all. With tvOS 17, Apple added third-party VPN support so developers can build VPN apps for Apple TV, 9to5Mac reported. VPN apps can be installed on Apple TV HD and Apple TV 4K models running tvOS 17 or later, and NordVPN released its tvOS app in December 2023. Install the provider's app from the App Store on the Apple TV, if it offers one.

Samsung and LG smart TVs

Samsung's Tizen and LG's webOS are closed systems. VPN providers' own help pages say neither lets third-party apps create a VPN connection, so there's no VPN app to install. You have four options:

• A VPN on your router. Every device on your network, including the TV, goes through the VPN. See VPN on a router.
• A streaming stick or box. Plug a Fire TV, Google TV or Apple TV device into the TV's HDMI port and run the VPN app there.
• Share a VPN connection from a computer. Windscribe, for example, describes turning a Windows laptop into a hotspot and connecting the TV to it. It's fiddly for daily use.
• Smart DNS. Some providers offer DNS addresses that you type into the TV's network settings to change which region certain services think you're in. Windscribe notes Smart DNS doesn't encrypt anything, so it gives you no privacy from your ISP.

The router option

A VPN on your router covers the TV and also consoles and smart-home devices that can't run apps. The trade-offs are slower speeds on weak router hardware, one VPN location for everyone unless your router supports per-device routing, and more setup. ASUS, for example, documents per-device routing under the name VPN Fusion. Our router guide walks through it.

How to check the TV is using the VPN

TVs rarely have a usable browser. The easiest check is on the router or VPN app: most VPN apps show the connection status and server. If your TV has a browser, open our What is my IP tool and confirm it shows the VPN's address. For a router VPN, check from a phone on the same Wi-Fi with its own VPN app turned off.