How to watch RTE outside Ireland? [Working in 2022]

Are you a big fan of RTE, the national television channel of Ireland? If you are, you might have noticed that once you leave Ireland you are not allowed to watch the channel online anymore, because their shows and streams are blocked with a so-called geo-block.

A geo-block is a tool that checks your current location based on your IP address, and if it realizes that you are located outside of Ireland, meaning that you are surfing with something else than an Irish IP address, you will not be allowed to watch the channel anymore. So, what is the solution to this problem? An Irish IP address.

An error message you might see if you try to watch RTE Player abroad.
An error message you might see if you try to watch RTE Player abroad.

How to get an Irish IP address?

To watch RTE from outside Ireland you need to get hold of an Irish IP address and that can be arranged quite easily with a VPN service. A VPN is a connection that connects your computer to a server in Ireland, and once connected, all your movements on the Internet will seem to originate from that machine in Ireland, and not from your computer or tablet or mobile phone wherever you are in the world.

What you will need to do to be able to watch RTE from outside Ireland and those programs locked by a geo-block is, therefore, to subscribe to a VPN provider with servers in Ireland, connect to one of their servers, restart your browser and enjoy surfing the Internet with an Irish IP address.

RTE from outside Ireland

Best VPN providers for an Irish IP address

We have tested several VPN services to check which of them gave the best speeds and results as we connected to their servers in Ireland. Based on our tests we can warmly recommend the following three services which gave the best speeds.

The only VPN we currently know of that works with RTE is ExpressVPN. This is a brilliant VPN that is capable of unblocking RTÉ but also giving you access to Netflix content in several countries. Click the button below to visit their website and to purchase a subscription.

ExpressVPN49% discount – 3 free months

ExpressVPN has a 30-day full refund policy, so if you don’t like it, you can simply ask for your money back. They have apps for all the big platforms, and one subscription can be used on an unlimited number of devices at the same time.

It is very hard to find a VPN that is actually giving you access to RTÉ Player abroad.
We have been testing a lot of different VPN providers in order to watch RTÉ abroad. We have tested Surfshark, NordVPN, PrivadoVPN, IPVanish, PureVPN, IvacyVPN, and even more services. In the end, we only found ONE VPN working with RTÉ, and that is ExpressVPN.

1. Purchase a PrivateVPN subscription

Click the link above to visit the ExpressVPN website and to purchase a subscription.

expressvpn and rté ireland

2. Download the ExpressVPN application

When you have purchased a subscription, download the ExpressVPN application to your computer, your tablet, your phone, your gaming console, your TV, or whatever device you use. Run the application and connect to a server in Ireland.

3. Visit the RTEPlayer website and watch your favorite content

Now it is time to visit the RTE website. For the purpose of testing the VPN and streaming, I decided to stream some episodes of Killing Eve on RTE. It worked perfectly, and it is also a fantastic show.

Killing Eve on RTE Player

It is really easy, and it is a convenient way for everyone to watch RTEPlayer abroad. It can also be used to watch Virgin Media Player, BBC, ITV, and lots of other TV networks and streaming services worldwide.

Throughout 2020 and 2021, we didn’t manage to find VPN services working with RTE. But, we are of greater luck in 2022, so follow these instructions to watch RTEPlayer outside Ireland in 2022.

What to do now?

Head over to the ExpressVPN website, subscribe to their VPN service, download their software, connect to their server in Ireland and watch RTE from outside Ireland in not long from now.

ExpressVPN49% discount – 3 free months

As you give the RTE Player a try and decide to stream RTE content abroad, you will at once be able to stream lots of great content. You can for example stream Fair City, a very popular TV series. Beneath you can see a screenshot made by us as we watch Fair City outside Ireland on RTE.

RTE Player from abroad
Watching Fair City on RTE from abroad

On RTE you can also watch the weather forecast, different news programs, sports events and lots of other goodies. We hope these instructions will help you stream RTE from abroad. If you should have any problems or questions, use the comment field beneath.

We hope these instructions will help you out. Should you have any trouble or need further help, write a comment and we will do our uttermost to help you out!

11 thoughts on “How to watch RTE outside Ireland? [Working in 2022]

  1. Anthony Brougham says:

    Has RTE player finally blocked PureVPN from viewing it in the UK. I have PureVPN and I get the Message “This programme cannot be streamed due to rights restrictions” or am I doing something wrong?

    • Thomas Stein says:

      You are doing it correctly, but unfortunately, it seems as if RTE has blocked PureVPN and all the other VPN providers we have tested. We will look for further working solutions and update the article once we have more information.

  2. Anthony Brougham says:

    I Have PureVPN . I can get a Dublin IP but RTE player gives me the message ” This programme cannot be streamed due to rights restrictions”. What am I doing wrong or has RTE finally been able to block PureVPN

  3. Thomas Stein says:

    I have just tried this and watched RTE with PureVPN. This is, in other words, a perfect solution if you want to stream the FIFA World Cup matches on RTE outside Ireland! Will of course miss Ireland during the tournament, but it is still worth watching!

    • Thomas Stein says:

      Yes, we originally wrote it years ago, but just a few days ago we tested the instructions and they still work if you want to access and stream RTEPlayer in Ireland from elsewhere in the world. Hope you will enjoy it!

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