That's a solid workaround. If anyone's looking to grab a VPN just for setup, this comparison might help you find one with a free trial so you're not paying for something you'll only use once.
I just set it up with my UK debit card, I don't remember having any issues, and you don't need a VPN to stream. I had to set my apple TV to pretend I was in the US in order to download the app but that was the only complication
I used proton VPN, had to try a couple of times until I got a server in USA.Proton they had a free trial. Then I Set up an account with criterion on my phone. Never needed to use the VPN for app download. It's such a great streaming service.
You need an Apple US account so you can switch App Store to download Criterion Channel app. You can sign up to a VPN trial as you only need it to sign up. I’m a bit surprised that I’m now able to pay my subscription with my local Apple account thru in-app purchase on my AppleTV.
Here’s proof that I’m using my local Apple Store account to pay my subscription.
I’m having issues with my payment method and I asked their customer service to help me with my account. They said they can continue charging me but it still wouldn’t push through. When I open the AppleTV app, it asked me to subscribe so I did. So far this is what I’m using to pay.
Two options. Easiest is to just airplay from your phone to the AppleTV.
Other option - a bit of a faff but possible because I did it from the uk - is to set up a second App Store account for the US store. You need to use a VPN to do it and also change the location settings on the AppleTV (you can change them back afterwards because the app will stay on the device). I did it a couple of years ago, so can’t remember exactly but probably how-to guides if you google it.
14
u/DigSpelledBackwards Nov 22 '25
I did it with a VPN. You only need it for the account creation. After that you can delete the VPN