Editor’s note: This post is likely only of interest to people living in China who want to watch YouTube, Netflix, or other online content on their TVs. It may also be of interest to people who want to protect their internet usage from prying eyes in the now post-world realities of repealed net neutrality.
Living in China is pretty amazing as there are many of new places to visit, literally billions of people to meet, and lots of culture to experience. There are times, however, that you might just want to binge watch some Netflix or YouTube because, oh I don’t know, the air quality outside resembles the inside of a chimney. While YouTube and anything Google is technically blocked by The Great Firewall and Netflix just won’t let you stream content while in China, there are ways around this situation and get this awesome programming on your TV via Chromecasting! (That’s a verb, right?)
First up, let’s discuss equipment, services, and things you will need:
- VPN access (I use ExpressVPN; use this link to sign-up so we both get 30 days free if you’re in need of a good VPN in China)
- A wifi router with the ExpressVPN app installed on it
- While it is possible to set up a virtual VPN on your laptop, it’s not something I’ve attempted
- Chromecast (or other streaming media device like Roku or AppleTV)
Personally I bought a Linksys 3200ACM from FlashRouters.com while in the USA and had it preconfigured for ExpressVPN as I’m not the most savvy computer networking guy out there. FlashRouters.com can preconfigure other wifi routers for you with different VPN providers if you so desire. The Linksys 3200ACM wifi router I bought was quite pricey and is likely overkill for my small 2br apartment, but hey, if you’re going to do something do it right!
The wifi router came with instructions on how to set it up on my home network and it was pretty simple to do that. After testing the VPN connection was working (if you’re in China, just go to www.google.com and see if it loads), it was time to hook up my Chromecast.
The Chromecast gets plugged directly into an HDMI port on the TV and set up is pretty simple. Just be sure to have the Google Home app installed on your phone or tablet and follow the prompts for setting it up. At the end of setup you might be shown a screen indicating that while the Chromecast was set up it cannot be reached on the network. Don’t worry if you see this, just ignore it for now.
Next up, it’s time to try things out! Load up the YouTube app on your phone or laptop and find a really cute cat video — hey, that’s all YouTube is for, right? Look for the casting option in the app and choose your Chromecast. Yes, it’s that simple!
OK, so things might not be that simple as your VPN connection might be too slow at times for streaming content seamlessly or your Chromecast might not be discoverable on your network. Below are some troubleshooting tips that I follow when things go awry. If you find another tip you want to share, leave a comment!
- Reboot your Chromecast by unplugging it for a few seconds then plugging it back in
- Reboot your phone or tablet
- Reboot your wifi router (this one tends to allow the Chromecast to become discoverable on your network most often)
- Change your VPN server by logging into the admin page and selecting a different option on the VPN | VPN Connection tab.
- Los Angeles 3 is needed for Netflix; Taiwan 1 sometimes works as well
- Any location can be used for YouTube — choose the closest location to where you are to help minimize ping latency
One other troubleshooting tip you might want to try if you really want to watch Netflix but are having issues connecting your wifi router to the Los Angeles 3 server: Set your VPN server to the one closest to your physical location and then on your laptop, tablet, or phone use the ExpressVPN app to connect to the LA 3 server. For some reason this usually works for me and while you won’t be able to watch Netflix on your TV/Chromecast through this route, you will be able to binge watch Stranger Things no problem! (OK, maybe some buffering issues but that’s outside of my control…)
Do you have any other troubleshooting tips or advice on how to stream blocked content? Drop a comment in the box below!