Tag: outside the UK

UPDATED! How to listen to BBC 6Music (and all the other BBC radio stations) if you are outside the UK

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I wrote a post on how to do this back in July. But things have changed.

First off: Yes, you can still listen live to 6Music with no issues and no restrictions here.
For other BBC radio stations, see here (scroll down for the list of links).

But if you want to use the BBC Sounds app, then a simple VPN connection will no longer suffice. And so here is a new post with a better method of doing things.

To rewind, listen back or use any of the other benefits that overseas users used to have, then you will have to open the BBC Sounds app, at which point you will be faced with the dreaded “The BBC Sounds app is closed for users outside the UK” screen.

Which is why you are here.

Thankfully, there’s a four stage process to get around this.

1. First, you’ll need an email address registered in the UK: one with a .co.uk suffix. If you don’t have one of those, you can get one free at mail.co.uk (you’ll need a UK cellphone number to register your account) or GMX mail (no UK cellphone number required).

2. Once you’re set up there (it’s a 5 minute process), use your new .co.uk email address to set a BBC Account registered in the UK here. You’ll need to enter a UK postcode to complete your registration. If you don’t have one of those, you could generate one here.

3. Thirdly, you will need a VPN, set to the UK. I use Nord and it works very well. If you also want to use Nord (because it works very well), please consider using my affiliate code to get a few extra months free for both of us.

4. Finally, go to the BBC Sounds app on your phone and CLEAR ALL DATA – DO NOT DELETE THE APP!

Set your VPN to the UK, open the BBC Sounds app, login with your new UK-based account and it’s like the good times never went away.

Remember to refresh your UK VPN server occasionally, and if you are using split tunnelling (if you don’t know what this is, you’re not using it) also make sure that the BBC Sounds app is not on your VPN app’s excluded list.

The fine print: I take no responsibility for anything, as ever. I’m merely documenting a process which allows me to use the BBC Sounds app. This method works for me, and I don’t feel too bad about using it as (really weirdly) my non-UK based smart speaker still allows me to do all the BBC Sounds things without any account changes, VPNs or postcodes. No. I have no idea why either.

Happy listening, Music Lover.

How to listen to BBC 6Music (and all the other BBC radio stations) if you are outside the UK

Posted on

Hey, Music Lover! I wrote this back in July 2025. It’s now November 2025 and if you want to use the BBC Sounds app from overseas, pop over to this new UPDATED post to find out how.

The original post continues below:

We knew it was coming.

The BBC Sounds app has closed for me and the other people living outside the UK. I’m sure that you could slip in the back door via a VPN, but the BBC are (allegedly) rather good at spotting those things and not allowing them to work.

The signs of trouble were there this morning when I was in the gym, as the app glitched onto Radio 4 Xtra, and gave me a bit of Steptoe & Son while also still playing Hit by The Sugarcubes on 6Music:

Sample lyrics:

I’ve been hit, with your charm.
How could you do this to me?
You dirty old man!

But mixed messages aside, just a couple of hours later, it really was gone:

Ironically, when I clicked through onto that new app, I found that Radio 4 was about to broadcast this show: 6. The Only Friend That Mattered.

Ouch. Way to rub it in, guys…

But don’t worry. Hakuna matata. Nem panikus.

There’s still a perfectly legal, perfectly straightforward route to listen live to your favourite BBC radio stations – including 6Music, wherever you are in the world: here are the details.

Let me save you some time: here’s the direct link for the 6Music feed through your internet browser. And it’s working for me.
Three dots in the top corner, save as shortcut to your home screen, Bob are your uncle. The logo even looks the same.

Sadly, there is no obvious route to listening on catch-up or for downloading shows for those of us outside the UK. Aside from trial and error with a VPN. And (allegedly again), that can often be rather hit and miss and somewhat tedious. Or so I’m told, etc etc.

I’ve also just tested whether I can still get 6Music on my smart speaker (IYKYK) and yes, even right down here in the far bottom corner of Africa, that’s still working fine. Whether that will continue (I actually don’t know from where it plays it, it just plays it), I just don’t know. Time will tell.

This hasn’t been a clean break: some of the links from the new feed pages don’t work, although the actual feeds are fine. If the site thinks you’re in the UK, it tries to take you to the app, but then the app doesn’t work. There are clearly some issues that need to be ironed out, and whether that will affect our ability to continue to listen from overseas remains to be seen.

Or… er… heard, I guess.