TV When Away was founded in 2012, in Derby England. It provides a VPN using cloud technology for prices that some would find cheap but others would find a bit pricey considering this VPN doesn’t allow torrenting and P2P file-sharing and has servers only in the UK.
TV When Away offers VPN, proxy, and SmartDNS services with just one subscription. Their services are mainly used for streaming by people from the UK who want to watch their favorite UK TV shows while they are on holiday anywhere in the world. Aside from accessing UK TV services such as BBC iPlayer, Sky Go, ITV Hub, My5, and others, you can also access UK sites, apps, and other content. If you’d like a VPN that has servers in countries from around the world and not just the UK, there are plenty of secure and reliable VPNs that will offer you a number of different locations and servers.
TV When Away is compatible with the major devices and operating systems including Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. This VPN is relatively fast and safe taking into consideration that it uses the OpenVPN protocol as a third-party software but there is not a lot of information available about privacy and security on their website. However, you can reach out to their customer support via the online ticketing system or via email and ask them if you have any specific questions. I contacted them through the ticketing system and got an email response 2 hours after submitting the ticket form, which is pretty prompt. Unfortunately, the answer I received wasn’t satisfactory.
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Short on Time? Here Are My Key Findings
- Mainly used for streaming online UK TV content from everywhere. Unblocks Netflix UK, BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, Sky Go, All 4, My5, Amazon Prime Video UK, and many others when you’re on holiday wherever in the world.
- Fast speeds with potential slowdowns at peak times. Slowdowns while video streaming can be expected in certain locations at peak times. Take a look at my speed test results for more.
- Provides VPN services through the OpenVPN protocol. There is not a lot of information on security but considering they use the OpenVPN protocol, streaming should be safe and secure. I go into more detail about this below.
- Servers only in the UK. Their servers are located only in the UK but the total number of servers is unknown. I tested their servers and have reported my findings further down.
- Keeps log files. Log files are stored in case of potential software bugs, security violations, or abusive users. I’ll tell you exactly what they log below.
- No free trial. There is no free trial for their services. Instead, they offer one-week, month or year passes aside from their monthly and annual subscriptions.
- Doesn’t allow torrenting and doesn’t support P2P activity. TV When Away doesn’t allow downloading content via torrents and it also doesn’t allow P2P file-sharing.
- No live chat support. You can contact TV When Away by submitting a message through the online ticketing system on their website or via email. However, there isn't live chat support. I spoke with customer support to find out how the service is.
TVWhenAway VPN Features — 2024 Update
7.0
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Price
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5.33 USD/month
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📆
Money Back Guarantee
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30 Days |
📝
Does VPN keep logs?
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No |
🖥
Number of servers
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1+ |
💻
Number of devices per license
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4 |
🛡
Kill switch
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No |
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Based in country
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United Kingdom |
🛠
Support
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Ticketing System/Via Email |
📥
Supports torrenting
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No |
Streaming — Unblocks All Online UK TV Services Such As Netflix UK, BBC iPlayer, and ITV Hub
TV When Away unblocks only UK TV streaming services including Netflix UK, BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, Sky Go, All 4, My5, Amazon Prime Video UK, and many others.
Unblocks: Netflix UK, BBC iPlayer, Sky Go, ITV Hub, My5, All 4, Amazon Prime Video UK, and All Other Online UK TV Services
There aren’t many UK services that TV When Away can’t unblock. As stated in their description of the subscription plans, they offer unlimited bandwidth and no buffering while streaming. On their website, there is not a full and concise list of all of the streaming services that TV When Away provides, however, in the response email about gaming that you can find below, they said that they provide access to all online UK TV services.
Blocked By: Every Other Platform Outside the UK
Considering that TV When Away has servers only in the UK, it doesn’t unblock platforms that are outside the UK.
Speeds — Relatively Fast but Some Slowdowns Can Be Expected at Peak Times
TV When Away’s speed is relatively fast. According to their website, the connection speed has a lot to do with the customer’s location and internet traffic, and the speed they recommend for using their service is 2Mbps. It is also stated that, generally, downloading and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services will work just fine even if the connection speed slows down. However, there might be some slowdowns in certain locations while video streaming, especially at peak times.
Are TV When Away VPN’s Speeds Fast Enough for Gaming? Most Likely Not.
TV When Away VPN most likely can’t be used for gaming. Taking into account that they don’t have live chat support, I contacted their customer support via the online ticketing system asking them about the speed their services provide for gaming.
They responded to my question pretty vaguely by saying that they essentially provide access to all online UK TV services when you’re away from the UK. I didn’t get a straightforward yes/no answer or an explanation.
It’s a shame that this VPN isn’t good for gaming because its SmartDNS allows it to be installed on Playstation, Wii, Xbox, and other gaming devices including PS Vita, PS3, PS4, and Wii U. Nevertheless, if you want to have access to the worldwide region-locked game servers you can try some of the top VPNs for safe and lag-free gaming.
TV When Away’s customer support response on gaming
Server Network — Servers Only in the UK
TV When Away VPN has an unknown number of servers in only 1 location — the UK. They haven’t mentioned the total number of servers on their website and there is no information about it anywhere on the Internet. So if you want to unblock streaming services from other countries around the world, for example, Netflix US or Netflix CA, and not just Netflix UK, you can take a look at the best Netflix VPNs.
However, if you want to access only UK TV services from anywhere around the world, then TV When Away would do the job. After you register, you will be given a UK IP address and you can watch your favorite UK TV shows when you’re on a holiday outside of the UK.
Security — No Information Other Than They Use the OpenVPN Protocol
TV When Away VPN works by connecting to the OpenVPN protocol which means that streaming is expected to be safe and secure considering that this VPN protocol is one of the most recommended and safest protocols available.
OpenVPN very successfully encrypts and secures your online activity and it is updated regularly. On top of that, this protocol shouldn’t leak your IPv6, WebRTC and DNS but it is best to check this information on each of the servers that you’re connected to, just to make sure.
Worth mentioning here is that with one subscription TV When Away offers SmartDNS services as well. Nonetheless, on their website, there is no information disclosed about the level of encryption this VPN uses. Also, they haven’t mentioned whether they use HTTP or HTTPS as a protocol for the HTTP proxy. Last but not least, TV When Away doesn't offer either a VPN firewall or a kill switch.
Privacy — Vague Information and Partial VPN Logging Policy
TV When Away’s privacy policy is as vague and hard to find as its security policy. I found two of their websites - TV When Away’s website seems older and not updated but still similar to the newer one called When Away (without TV in front of it).
When you try to sign up on TV When Away, it says that TV When Away is now part of When Away and a link is given to redirect you to the newer When Away website. On one hand, the TV When Away website’s Terms of Service and Privacy & Cookies link can’t be found anywhere on the website. I had to google TV When Away Terms of Service for the page to show up in Google search so I can open it.
On the other hand, on WhenAway’s website, you can find their ToS at the bottom of the homepage. In When Away website’s very short ToS and Privacy & Cookies, it is stated that they don’t give or sell your personal information to third parties except if you violate some UK laws or if you violate the rules for the service they provide.
With that being said, searching the Dark Web or engaging in any kind of online piracy is definitely not recommended with this VPN. It is also mentioned that the personal information they receive through emails or through the online ticketing system will be used only for the needs of their customers’ queries related to their accounts and the services that TV When Away provides.
Last but not least, they disclose that they don’t store financial information about their customers but they keep your log files on their servers. In one of the clauses in their ToS, very vaguely they say that they store log files only to monitor the servers’ performance and to identify software bugs, potential security violations, and abusive users, not to censor or monitor their customers’ online activities. I have to mention that the ToS I found on both websites are the same. Even though this VPN should be safe, I wouldn’t use it because of the lack of information and non-transparency about it. It’d be much better and trustworthy if people could know what exactly they are paying for.
Torrenting — Not Allowed
Torrenting is not allowed with TV When Away VPN. In their Terms of Service in one sentence they state that torrenting as well as P2P file-sharing are not allowed.
Does TV When Away VPN Work in China? Yes.
TV When Away allows you to connect to servers in the UK while you’re in China and pretty much anywhere else in the world. You can check the countries in which you can use this VPN by typing the country of your choice in the search bar given at the bottom of the TV When Away website’s homepage.
TV When Away’s country search bar on their website
Simultaneous Device Connections — Not Allowed
TV When Away doesn’t allow simultaneous device connections from the same account. You are allowed to use your account on as many devices as you want but only 4 device can be connected at a time.
Device Compatibility — Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and More
TV When Away VPN is compatible with Windows, macOS, iOS, Android devices, and routers. Their proxy services can be set up in Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer while the SmartDNS service can be used on PS Vita, PS3, PS4, Wii, Wii U, Xbox, and on the smart LG, Samsung, Panasonic, and Sony TVs.
In order to find all of their connection guides when you’re still not a user of their services, you have to google this information because it is not visible on the When Away’s website, whereas on the TV When Away website you can find a couple of guides linked in one of the FAQs. However, if you already have an account, the guides should be easier to find in the Client Control Panel.