Chromecast upsetting VPN when casting

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nzbsgfan

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Topic # 160475 7-Jan-2015 22:53

Just a quick question, someone may be able to answer .

I'm using an Astrill VPN on my iPad to allow streaming of Hulu while I'm on holiday.

As a final step I've also brought along my Chromecast to cast from the iPad to a TV.

The iPad streams Hulu via my folks wifi when the VPN is enabled, but as soon as I attempt to cast to the Chromecast I get the whole Geoblocking notification on the TV screen.

From my initial investigation it appears this may be due to the Chromecast using the two Google DNS lookups via my folks WiFi - and not via my iPads VPN.
In this case routing the DNS via my parents router would not work as they are not using Unblock US or any similar service.

Is there any way I can directly cast to my Chromecast without it utilising my folks Wifi connection?
I suspect Google uses metadata for their analytics and they wouldn't allow an ad-hoc connection without connection to the Internet .... Am I correct in this assumption?

Cheers

Mark.

freitasm

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Reply # 1210272 7-Jan-2015 23:45

When you cast your device is just passing a token to the streaming device. Chromecast will use that token to access the content on your behalf.

This is done directly, nothing else goes from your device to the Chromecast. This means the Chromecast MUST have direct Internet access. The only ways to bypass geoblocking are either by configuring the router to use a third party DNS and blocking Google DNS (may not work with some routers) or configure your router to use a VPN automatically (which in some cases can be configured for different devices, etc but requires special router software).

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nzbsgfan

81 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 10

Reply # 1210649 8-Jan-2015 16:22

Thanks for the clear response :)

I tested this at home before I went on holiday - but was obviously behind my WIFi VPN at the time - not realising that's how it works with Chromecast .

Thanks again.

Mark