install nordvpn on apple tv

Apple TV is among the most popular streaming devices many streamers love. It has a lot of TV series and movies, but there are also geo-restrictions on its content. You cannot access its entire library due to geo-restrictions. Similarly, if you choose to carry your Apple TV while traveling abroad, you will not be able to catch up on our favorite content that was available back home, because of regional restrictions.

To bypass all restrictions and access all your favorite content, no matter where you are, you will need a VPN for Apple TV. A VPN will hide your actual location and IP address and assign you an IP address from your desired location, using which you can access the content of your choice.

NordVPN is our top recommendation for Apple TV as it comes with excellent security features like military-grade encryption, kill switch, double VPN, DNS leak protection, onion over VPN, and more. Likewise, it comes with excellent unblocking capabilities and offers super-fast speeds for gaming, streaming, torrenting, and more. However, you cannot install NordVPN directly on your Apple TV as it does not support VPN apps. Here are the three best and easiest ways to install NordVPN on Apple TV.

  1. Setting Up the VPN Using NordVPN Smart DNS
  2. Install NordVPN on Your Router
  3. Share VPN Connection With Your Apple TV

1. Setting Up the VPN Using NordVPN Smart DNS

Using NordVPN Smart DNS is the quickest and easiest way to set up NordVPN on your Apple TV. SmartDNS is among the advanced technologies NordVPN supports. This feature will help you unblock certain geo-restricted streaming services, but you cannot rely on it for online security and encryption. That is because SmartDNS will let you spoof your location and get around regional restrictions, but it will not secure and encrypt your connection the way a VPN would. However, you can use this method to install NordVPN on Apple TV if you wish to get around geo-blocks and access your favorite streaming service.

Here’s how to set up NordVPN using SmartDNS on your Apple TV.

  • You must have a NordVPN account and you can start with whitelisting your IP address on your VPN profile.
  • Click on General > Network.
  • Go to Wi-Fi and choose your network and click Configure DNS.
  • Select Manual
  • You will see an empty text box in which you will have to type in the SmartDNS server address NordVPN provided. Type in 86.99.103 for primary DNS and 103.86.96.103 for Secondary DNS (if available).
  • Hit Done and restart your device before you get started.

Once your device is restarted, you can start streaming what you wish.

2. Install NordVPN on Your Router

The next way to set up NordVPN on our Apple TV is by installing the VPN on your router. In this method, instead of installing an app directly on your Apple TV, you will be installing the VPN on your router. By setting up the VPN on your router, you can secure all the devices you connect to the internet through that router. You can use NordVPN on six different devices at a time, but when you set it up on your router, you can secure multiple devices connected to the router.

The following are the steps involved in the process of setting up NordVPN on your router.

  • You will have to find the IP address of your router and log in to your router. (Type in the IP address of your router on your browser and log in.)
  • You can now configure your router for VPN.

Once the VPN has been set up, go to Settings on your Apple TV and then to Network. Select Configure Wireless and choose your internet connection.

3. Share VPN Connection With Your Apple TV

The next way to install NordVPN on your Apple TV is by using your laptop as a router. Mac laptops may not be suitable for sharing the VPN connection with your Apple TV as they can only share internet connections but not VPN connections. You will need a Windows computer or laptop to share the VPN connection with your Apple TV.

You can share the VPN connection with your Apple TV from your Windows laptop or desktop via mobile hotspot or through WiFi. Here are the steps to share the VPN connection from your device that runs on Windows 10 with your Apple TV.

  1. Navigate to Settings
  2. Go to Network & Internet and then to Mobile hotspot
  3. Click on Wi-Fi and turn on Mobile hotspot
  4. Go to Settings
  5. Navigate to Network & Internet > Change adapter options
  6. Find and right-click on TAP-NordVPN Windows Adapter and click on Properties. Remember to switch to the TCP or UDP protocol accordingly.
  7. Toggle to the Sharing tab and check the box beside Allow other network users to connect through this computer’s internet connection.
  8. From the dropdown below Home networking connection:, choose the hotspot you just created. You will find the hotspot above the adapter named Microsoft Wi-Fi Direct Virtual Adapter.

Once you set up the virtual router, go to Settings on your Apple TV and click on Network. Navigate to Configure Wireless and connect to the hotspot to start using NordVPN on your Apple TV.

Why Do We Recommend NordVPN for Apple TV

NordVPN is one of the top-rated and most-trustworthy VPN services available on the market. Here are the top reasons why we recommend NordVPN for Apple TV.

  • Server Network – NordVPN is one of the top VPN services with a vast server network. It has over 5600 servers in around 60 countries. With thousands of servers available, you can easily find a speedy and secure server and will not have to connect to an overcrowded server.
  • Super-fast speeds – NordVPN’s servers are optimized for speed and this makes it an excellent choice for streaming. Likewise, it supports the NordLynx protocol to offer the best possible speeds. You can be assured that you will not be interrupted by buffering while you watch your favorite show or movie.
  • Device connections – No matter on what device you install and use this VPN, your data and your connection will be encrypted and secure. You can install NordVPN on your devices that run on Windows, iOS, Android, macOS, and Linux, routers, smart TVs, and more. You can install the VPN on multiple devices and secure around six devices at a time.
  • Security features – NordVPN comes with some of the best security features, including military-grade 256-bit encryption, kill switch, onion over VPN, double VPN, DNS leak protection, dark web monitor, split tunneling, and more. All its servers run on RAM, which means your data will never be stored or leaked.
  • NordVPN for Apple TV – You can secure your Apple TV with NordVPN. Be it Apple TV 1st Gen, Apple TV 4k, or Apple TV HD, you can secure them all with this VPN.

The Final Word

Though Apple TV doesn’t support VPN apps, there are luckily a few other ways to install it on your Apple TV. If you are looking for the quickest and easiest way to install the VPN on your Apple TV, you can choose the first method and use NordVPN SmartDNS to install it on your Apple TV. But if you are looking for security and encryption, you can choose one of the other two methods to install NordVPN on your Apple TV.

NordVPN offers discounts and deals on its subscriptions. If you’d like to know more, head to our page on VPN Coupon Codes.