The smartest way to watch restricted online content and bypass geo-blocking in other countries is by using a local IP address so, you can be seen as local without actually being in the country! There are several ways to go about masking your IP address using what's called a VPN, smart DNS or a combination of both.
The StreamLocator router effectively creates an alternate WiFi network to mask your ISP IP address so, you can be seen as local in another country. The StreamLocator router is a much easier way to create a virtual private network (VPN) without requiring the technical knowledge needed to setup a VPN on a router, which requires installing DD-WRT firmware if the router is not VPN-ready.
Getting a FlashRouter is probably easier since it already comes pre-installed with DD-WRT. Speaking of open source firmware, the StreamLocator also uses open-source firmware – OpenWRT - which along DD-WRT and Tomato are the big three router firmware.
If your router is VPN-ready, the process is easier since DD-WRT firmware will be installed, although it still requires having to configure a VPN tunnel and the OpenVPN client, which requires having to access your ISP router control panel. With the StreamLocator router, the process of creating a VPN is extremely simplified without having to access your ISP router control panel and without affecting or changing any settings on your ISP router; hence you can easily revert back at any time.
You're literary up and running in under 5 minutes with the StreamLocator router, which automates the routing of the streaming traffic for you. Also, because the StreamLocator router creates a private Wifi network, the Internet connection is encrypted and, you can connect an unlimited number of devices to the StreamLocator router's network without worrying about online privacy.
Connection speed is the second key factor when using a VPN or smart DNS proxy, which is another popular way to access geo-blocked content because a smart DNS doesn't affect the performance of the Internet connection. With a VPN, the Internet connection speed is traditionally slower because the connection is encrypted, whereas with a smart DNS there is no encryption; hence why the Internet connection speed is not affected.
Creating a smart DNS can be very convenient too because you can easily and inexpensively setup a DNS via your ISP provider, which sound nice but there is a catch and that is the ISP provider being able to snoop/track you. The StreamLocator router uses both Smart DNS and VPN hardware so, no third-party gets to filter your internet activity, track your DNS requests or store activity logs because everything is handled on a single, stand-alone device, rather than on someone's remote server like with VPN software.
StreamLocator supports multi-country switching too, meaning you can be seen local in different countries at the same time so, you can stream content from different countries without having to switch countries. Country switching works for most services, with the exception of Amazon Prime, which doesn't support country switching within the same Prime account. StreamLocator also doesn't support simultaneous streaming of Roku US and Now TV, unless you're streaming the UK version of Roku.
Without counting the antennas, the StreamLocator router measures 21cm long, 14.5cm wide and 3cm tall. The unit slopes towards the front so, the height of the unit is shorter towards the front at 1.5cm high. Taking the antennas into account, the StreamLocator router is 24cm long, 26cm wide and 20cm high. At 330 grams, the StreamLocator router is very lightweight, thanks to its plastic construction and perforated base, which helps keep the weight of the unit low, as well as allow air flow for ventilation purposes.
There aren't any perforations on top of the unit, which is a good thing since it stops dust from getting inside the unit, causing overheating and slow Internet. On the base of the unit, there is also two hole openings for mounting the StreamLocator router on a wall.
The connectivity ports are all located on the rear of the unit and include a reset pinhole button and WPS button. The StreamLocator router is powered by 12V/2A and looks like a regular router and functions practically like a router but more powerful, thanks to five Gigabit Ethernet ports, including a dedicated WAN port for connecting the StreamLocator router to your home router.
While the StreamLocator router looks like a regular ISP router, it isn't since StreamLocator hub cannot function standalone so, it requires being able to piggyback off of an ISP outer in order to work. The setup process consists of two basic steps: 1)Connecting the StreamLocator router to your ISP router and 2) Creating an account. The StreamLocator router connects via Ethernet connection (a short Cat5e Ethernet cable is included) to any Ethernet port on the back of your ISP router.
There isn't a "sign up" link on the StreamLocator website so, after connecting the router to your ISP router, you have to manually enter the following url https://my.streamlocator.com/go on the Internet browser of your computer (or smartphone) in order to sign up for an account, which requires providing a valid email address since you have to verify it.
After that is done, you are taken to the "relocation country" page where you can manually choose the location for Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, DAZN, Roku and Zattoo. These services do require an account creation in the specific country so, if you are in the UK and want to stream Netflix, Amazon Prime, Zattoo and Roku in a different country, you will need to create accounts for those countries.
Stream Locator supports a lot of free services, standalone paid services and cable subscription services too, which StreamLocator automatically re-locates countries; hence no manual re-location needed. Hulu Live TV is not fully supported on all devices and neither are Apple TV channels, although the standalone apps for each service on Apple TV are supported. StreamLocator does give you free access to free services but does not get you free access to paid-for services. As of November 2020, StreamLocator has currently 89 services which include the following
Free Services:
- US Based:
- Peacock
- IMDb TV
- Tubi
- Plex TV
- Pluto TV
- Crackle
- Pandora
- FilmRise
- Xumo
- The CW
- Adult Swim (US cable login required for some content)
- Crunchyroll US
- VRV
- PBS
- US Roku Channel
- UK Based:
- BBC iPlayer
- All 4 (Channel 4)
- My5 (Channel 5)
- iTV
- UKTV Play
- TVPlayer
- Zattoo:
- Zattoo Germany
- Zattoo Switzerland
- DPlay:
- DPlay UK
- DPlay Italy
Standalone Paid Services:
- Netflix:
- Netflix USA
- Netflix Canada
- Netflix UK
- Netflix South Korea
- Netflix Germany
- Netflix Mexico
- Netflix France
- Netflix Brazil
- DAZN:
- DAZN Canada
- DAZN Germany
- Disney+:
- Disney+ USA
- Disney+ UK
- Disney+ Canada
- Acorn TV:
- Acorn TV US
- Acorn TV UK
- US Based:
- HBO MAX
- HBO Now
- Hulu*
- Amazon Prime USA - learn how Prime relocation works
- Sling TV
- AT&T TV Now
- CBS All Access
- Showtime
- NBC Sports Gold
- ESPN+
- Philo
- Starz (Cable login available)
- Shudder
- Epix NOW (Cable login available)
- FuboTV
- VUDU
- UK Based:
- Amazon Prime UK - learn how Prime relocation works
- Showmax UK
- NOW TV
Cable Subscription Required:
- US Based:
- NBC (NBC profile login available)
- NBC Sports
- CBS Sports
- ESPN
- FX Now
- TBS
- TNT
- Showtime Anytime
- USA Network
Because the StreamLocator router plugs directly into your ISP router, it creates a Double NAT network, which is not an issue for streaming content but can create an issue with Xbox or PlayStation, preventing you from joining games, downloading games and causing lag when playing online. In this case, you will need to do a "manual device setup" in order to prevent double NAT.
The StreamLocator hub Wifi signal does not directly compete with your IPS router's Wifi signal because the router determines an unused channel on every boot. That said, if the StreamLocator router operates in a very congested environment there could be a competition for a WiFi channel, which can be remedied by enabling modem only on your ISP router.
The USB port on the back of the StreamLocator router is currently not operational so, it is not known whether the USB port on the hub will have the same functionality as the USB port on an ISP router, which lets you wire a printer or create a NAS hard drive so, everyone on the network can have access to it. The StreamLocator hub does not support mobile USB modems; hence you won't be able to connect a 4G modem USB port like you can with an ISP router to get Internet when your ISP provider's Internet goes down.
As mentioned earlier, the StreamLocator router is not designed to work as a standalone Wifi router so, it can only be used with Stream Locator's subscription plan, which works at £5.50 per month ($6.99) on a 12-month plan. Shorter plans will include a subsidized hardware cost depending on the duration. StreamLocator services cannot be used with a third party hub but Stream Locator does have future plans to launch platform-supported apps.
You can register the StreamLocator router to multiple ISP routers as it is not tied to a specific household so, you can even take it to another house/country. The StreamLocator router cannot be purchased separately and there is no buy-back program but, the router can be resold and details updated to the new owner. Stream Locator actually encourages and support re-use as they don’t want to contribute to any more electronics waste. The StreamLocator router is not yet available to buy but you can get early bird access.
0 comments