The Netgem PLEIO Freely TV box is one of the newest ways to watch British free-to-air channels without an aerial or satellite dish. It brings together live BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, plus catch-up apps, all through your internet connection.
If you take your Freely box abroad, or you live outside the UK full-time, you will quickly hit a problem. Freely relies on UK content providers, and those services are geo-blocked outside Britain.
It is very easy to use a Freely or Netgem PLEIO box abroad as long as your internet connection appears to be in the UK. The most reliable way to achieve that is with a VPN router that uses a genuine UK residential IP address.
This guide explains how it works, why standard VPN apps will not fix the issue, and how to get smooth and uninterrupted Freely TV access anywhere in the world.
The Freely TV platform delivers all major UK free-to-air channels over the internet instead of using an aerial.
The Netgem PLEIO box provides:
It works well for travellers, motorhomes, holiday homes and British expats, as long as the box can contact UK streaming servers.
Freely relies entirely on a UK internet connection. Every major service checks your location and blocks access if you are outside the UK.
Typical errors include:
This happens because your IP address is not in the UK.
You cannot install a VPN app on most Freely boxes, and even if you could, BBC iPlayer and ITVX block most commercial VPN IP ranges.
A pre-configured VPN router solves the location issue by making your entire home network appear to be in the UK.
Your Netgem PLEIO box connects to the VPN router by Wi-Fi. The VPN router then connects through a UK residential IP address that looks exactly like a normal household broadband connection.
This means:
You simply plug the router in and connect it to your existing internet connection.
Setup takes only a few minutes and works with pretty much any internet provider in most countries.
It is the most reliable method for smooth UK streaming abroad.
Each router includes access to a UK residential IP with subscription terms of:
Each term runs continuously but can simply expire until your next trip abroad. There are no penalties or reactivation fees.
The Netgem PLEIO Freely TV box is an excellent internet-based alternative to aerials and satellites, but it is designed for use inside the UK.
To use it abroad, you need a UK IP address that the streaming services trust.
A VPN router with a UK residential IP provides exactly that. It offers plug-in simplicity and consistent streaming quality.
