How to setup a VPN on the Nvidia Shield TV

This post will show you how to setup a VPN on the Nvidia Shield TV and Shield TV Pro. This will hide your IP address when streaming online.

If you are are the owner of the Nvidia Shield TV or Nvidia Shield TV Pro, and you want to stay secure when streaming online, we will show you how to setup a VPN on your shield TV device.

You might want to use a VPN to bypass Geo-Locked content, or to offer more security when streaming, which of course is illegal in some countries.

This might mean, you will not want to leave trace of your internets identity on any website or app you may be using.

Regardless to whether you have the Nvidia Shield TV or the Shield TV Pro, this VPN tutorial will be the same, as they both use the same version of Android TV OS, so you won’t need 2 different setup tutorials.

Do I need a VPN for the Nvidia Shield TV?

You do not need to use a VPN on the Nvidia Shield TV or TV Pro unless you want to hide your activity from your ISP.

If you use your Shield TV just to watch Netflix, YouTube, or Amazon Prime (Get a FREE 30 day trial), then you may only need a VPN to unlock more content that is not available in your country (This is known as Geo-Unlocking).

Whilst you do not need a VPN to watch Movies or Shows on the Nvidia Shield TV, you might want to consider the laws in your country if you are using your shield to watch illegal or copyrighted content from apps like Kodi or other streaming apps.

A VPN is used by streamers for security. Using a VPN on the Nvidia Shield TV will hide your IP address by providing your device with an IP address from your VPN service. This means your ‘Real Identity’, where IP addresses are concerned, will not leave traces on any website or app you stream from.

Using a VPN on the Nvidia Shield TV will also stop your ISP (Internet Service Provider) from being able to monitor your activity when streaming. If you live in the 5 Eyes Jurisdiction, your internet provider WILL be logging your activity, which can be held up to 2 years for authorities to gain access.

How to setup a VPN on Nvidia Shield TV & TV Pro

To setup a VPN on the Nvidia Shield TV or TV pro you can follow the below tutorial. This step by step guide will get you set up in a few minutes.

For this VPN setup tutorial we will be using IPVanish.

IPVanish is considered to be the fastest VPN for streaming. If you are looking for a VPN outside of the 5 eyes, you can also use the same setup method for any of the 3 VPN’s below.

• ExpressVPN
• NordVPN – 1 Month Free
• ProtonVPN

Step 1 – Create a VPN account

1 – First Create your VPN credentials. Visit IPVanish (or a provider above which are outside the 5 eyes if preferred), and choose your subscription and sign up with an email address and password.

2 – Verify your email if needed, and make note of your login details you created in step 1 – normally your email address and password.

Step 2 – Download the VPN app to Nvidia Shield TV

1 – On the Nvidia Shield TV, navigate to the Google PlayStore and click to open.

2 – Using the Search bar, type in ‘IPVanish’ and click the ‘back’ button, or ‘search’ and continue to Select the IPVanish app.

3 – Select the IPVanish app (pictured above), and click on ‘Install’

4 – Once download is complete, click ‘Open’

5 – Using the login details from Step 1 – login using your email address and password

6 – After login, you can now connect to your VPN by choosing to change the below 3 options from the left side of your screen, or leave on default for the recommended best speeds;

• Country – Use your country of residence for faster speeds or another country to Geo-Unblock content.
• City – We recommend using ‘Best available‘
• Server – We recommend using ‘Best available‘

7 – Click on the ‘Connect‘ button located at the top left of the app, as shown above to connect to a VPN.

8 – Click ‘Allow‘ on any VPN access, or permissions request that pop’s up. You are now connected to a VPN.

That’s it – you are now connected to a VPN on your Nvidia Shield TV and your ISP will not be able to monitor your acitivity.

We can go in to some advanced settings to ensure your VPN is ALWAYS connected every time you boot your Nvidia Shield TV if you solely use it for streaming – this is very easy!

How to automatically connect to a VPN on Nvidia Shield TV

If you want your Nvidia Shield to ‘automatically’ connect to a VPN when you turn it on, there are a few things to change from the IPVanish app.

You can follow the below tutorial to ALWAYS be connected to a VPN when using the Nvidia Shield TV.

Step 1 – Click the ‘Settings‘ cog, located to the top right of the app.

Step 2 – Tick the ‘Start IPVanish‘ box at the top of the settings screen to automatically start IPVanish when your Nvidia Shield TV turns on.

Step 3 – Click ‘Startup connection action’ and choose your preference, we recommend using ‘Automatically connect to the fastest server available‘

Step 4 – Tick the ‘Auto Reconnect‘ button

Step 5 – If you are using an ETHERNET connection (wired), enable ‘Allow LAN access‘

OPTIONAL SETTINGS

• If you wish to Split Tunnel your internet access and stop certain apps from using the VPN, choose which apps you wish to exclude from the VPN connection.
• You can choose to ‘Scramble’ your VPN connection which helps to obfuscate the connection, this is useful if you have apps that prevent the use of a VPN. It might not work, but it is worth a try.
• You can also choose to open a specific application after your VPN connection is established – this is useful if you want to automatically open Kodi, or any other streaming app.

That is how easy it is! You are now secure, protected from your ISP tracking your activity, and can stream with confidence, under a NEW IP address.

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