MLB.tv is one of the most popular streaming services for baseball fans, but due to rights restrictions, many people are unable to watch games when they’re not located in the US or Canada. If you’re looking for a way to bypass MLB.tv blackouts and watch all your favorite teams no matter where you are, check out our guide on how to do it with a VPN!
The “mlb tv blackout workaround” is a 2020 How To Guide that shows you how to bypass MLB.tv blackouts with a VPN.
MLB players are now barred from attending Spring Training. However, it won’t be long until there is again movement. You’re in luck if you want to view the MLB.tv schedule for 2022 because I’ll teach you how to get around the blackouts in this post. (For when they finally get their act together and start playing ball, you know.)
You’ll need an active MLB.tv membership to use this blackout workaround, but once you do, you may watch every game from anywhere in the United States, even when traveling overseas or while residing in a blackout area.
How to Get Around Blackouts on MLB.tv
This brief tutorial will show you how to use a VPN to unblock all MLB games if you don’t have time to read the whole post and would rather get right into the action.
- Join a reputable VPN company that provides a big number of server locations both domestically and abroad, along with excellent bandwidth and quick speeds. As the finest choice for swiftly watching MLB games, I suggest NordVPN.
- Install and launch the VPN application of your choice on your computer.
- Select a geographic service where the game you want to view is not blocked by finding the VPN server list inside the software. The ability to get around limitations on games with national blackouts has been shown by servers situated in Canada and Mexico.
- Open your preferred browser and go to the MLB.tv website to watch the game.
SAVE WITH NORDVPN: When you join up for a 1-year membership with NordVPN, you get 3 months for free. There is no danger in giving it a try since there is a 30-day money-back guarantee.
MLB TV Blackouts Can Be Avoided With a VPN
Many Major League Baseball fans in the United States have expressed outrage after paying steep monthly or yearly membership costs to MLB.tv only to discover that they are unable to view as many live games as MLB.tv seems to promise.
It turns out that based on the viewer’s geographic location, MLB.tv imposes live stream bans to various games. The promises MLB.tv makes on its website, which indicates that subscribers may view every out-of-market regular-season game live, seem to be in conflict with this.
However, hidden away in the fine print and T&Cs is a completely different story. MLB.tv has a blackout policy that explains that games are subject to local, regional and national blackouts. The policy states:
There may be local and/or national blackouts for all live games broadcast via any MLB.TV product, the MLB App, or any other site or device where MLB.TV is sold or accessible. If a game is blacked out in a certain region, MLB.TV cannot stream it live. If you have an MLB.TV subscription and live in a region that experiences blackouts, the relevant game will be stored and made accessible around 90 minutes after it ends.
Fans are upset that many local games are geo-restricted on MLB.tv in order to comply with local license agreements. To see the sports they wanted, they had to sign up for extra cable TV subscriptions.
The good news is that there is a workaround for the blackout regulations, and you can use a VPN to watch every game on MLB.tv (VPN).
By connecting you to a server in a different area and providing you with a new IP address, a VPN service provider may trick web services into thinking you are in that place.
This implies that if you choose to connect to a server situated in a location where the game is not prohibited, there is no justification for websites like MLB.tv to limit your access to broadcasts.
You must pay a monthly cost to sign up for a reliable VPN that will unblock MLB.tv safely while providing fast speeds and high levels of security. The costs associated with a VPN service provider, however, are often relatively inexpensive and much lower than those associated with cable TV channels.
What Function Does a Live Blackout Serve?
The games that might be blacked out are listed on the MLB.tv website. The list includes the impacted games up front so you can use it to make appropriate plans for the games you want to watch.
You may be wondering why certain MLB games are subject to a blackout.
Local broadcasting rights are the major cause of game blackouts.
MLB clubs agree on which broadcasting firms get to telecast certain games before the season even begins. The rights to broadcast the games of a local MLB club are often granted to local broadcasters.
These games are only televised locally, thus MLB.tv does not provide streaming access to them.
MLB.tv employs geo-locations to assess if a stream of a particular game should be restricted or made accessible to see for each individual viewer attempting to access the streaming video in order to enforce the blackout online.
This is done by websites like MLB.tv by accessing your device’s IP address. Each internet-connected device is assigned an IP address, which pinpoints your precise location.
Websites may determine your present location in the United States (or anyplace else in the globe) by reading this IP address.
You will be banned and may receive one of the following messages if your IP address indicates that you are within the blackout area:
“We apologize. We’ve established that you can’t watch the game you choose since you live in one of the relevant club’s home television broadcast areas. You may get live audio of this game as part of your MLB.TV membership.
Due to regional or national blackout restrictions, this video is not currently accessible. If you need help, click ‘Learn More’ instead.
You will be allowed to view the game if your IP address demonstrates that you are outside the blackout area.
With the use of a VPN, you may effectively unlock previously restricted games by switching your IP address to one located outside the blackout area.
Getting Around the Blackout with a VPN and Your Web Browser
The good news is that getting access to any MLB game you wish to watch on a computer is a rather straightforward procedure. All you have to do is open your online browser, subscribe to a VPN service, and follow a few simple instructions.
After signing up and downloading your preferred VPN program, connect to a server outside of the blackout zone, then delete all of the cookies from your browser. Your game will be ready to view after you have loaded the MLB streaming content page.
By connecting to a server in Mexico, I was able to watch a Kansas City Royals game during a nationwide blackout while testing this out on a couple games using NordVPN.
I then connected to a NordVPN server in Canada, where I was able to watch a Miami Marlins game despite a nationwide ban, to make sure this regularly worked.
Additionally, NordVPN performed well while playing games that were blocked locally.
When I initially tried to watch a St. Louis Cardinals-Pittsburgh Pirates game from within the blackout zone, I encountered the following:
However, the game was unlocked and I got seamless, nonstop access to the action by connecting to a server outside of the blackout zone.
It’s important to remember that you should always attempt to connect to a server that is situated as near to you as is practical.
Choose the server location that will enable you to see the game but is also the least amount of miles away, such as Minnesota rather than California, if you are located in Chicago and want to watch the Cubs or White Sox.
This will increase your stream’s quality and streaming speed.
Blackouts on the MLB At Bat App for Android and iOS may be avoided
Android users used to be able to use a VPN app to modify their IP address and a another app to spoof their GPS location to match the VPN location they chose.
This would persuade MLB. The stream would function if the device was outside of the blackout area, according to the Bat app.
However, as of the 2017 season, this strategy was ineffective, making it much more difficult to view blackout MLB season games on Android and iOS.
Now that it can identify whether your Android device is utilizing a phony GPS position, the MLB At Bat app requires your GPS location before granting access to a broadcast.
This season, you’ll need to take additional measures if you want to get around a blackout on the MLB At Bat app for iOS or Android. In order to get access, Android devices must be rooted, while iPhones and iPads must be jailbroken.
The techniques listed below are not guaranteed to work, and there is a chance that you might harm your device and render it useless if you use them wrong. Be very cautious.
On Android, get around MLB At Bat Blackouts
- You must first root your Android smartphone. This is a difficult and complicated procedure. If you aren’t particularly cautious when working, you could make a mistake. You may find instructions on how to root your particular smartphone online. The procedure you must follow differs depending on the device.
- Install a phony GPS app from the GooglePlay store, like FakeGPS, which can spoof GPS position. (You may skip this step if you are selecting option C below.)
- Get MLB At Bat now. Simply remove the app cache in your device’s storage settings if it has already been installed. (If you are utilizing option C below, omit this step.)
- You may then give one of the following a try.
Option A:
- Install Hide Mock Locations from the Xposed Module by downloading it (requires root).
- Go to Settings > Developer Options and enable the option “Allow mock locations.” If you are using one of the latest versions of Android, you can choose your GPS location-spoofing app here.
- Turn on the blacklist mode under Hide Mock Locations.
- The next step is to add MLB At Bat to your blacklist from under Hide Mock Locations.
- Start your GPS spoofing application. Change the location pin to a place where your VPN has a server that is accessible and is not affected by the blackout.
- Now open your VPN client. In the previous stage, you connected to a server near to the location you chose in the GPS-spoofing program.
- Use the MLB At Bat app to watch the game live!
Option B:
- Move your GPS app from “/data/app” to “/system/app” using Root Explorer or a similar file-managing program (requires root).
- Restart the computer.
- Go to Settings > Developer Options and then, if already enabled, disable Mock Locations.
- Create a new location outside of the blackout zone in your GPS-spoofing app. Make sure you choose a location where your VPN service has a server before changing it.
- Connect to a server in your VPN app that is near to the location you specified in your GPS-spoofing app.
- From the MLB At Bat app, stream the game you want to see!
If you are utilizing option B and run into any difficulties, it may be worthwhile to attempt the following: Enter recovery mode on your Android smartphone, then delete the “Cache/Dalvik Cache.”
In the MLB At Bat settings, you may also choose to “remove data,” after which you should attempt to log in again to watch the game. According to several users, this resolves any problems they may have had.
Option C:
- Install XPrivacy by downloading the Xposed Module (requires root).
- When MLB first came online You’ll get a list of permissions when you click Bat. Open your device’s Settings menu once you see the permissions list.
- Locate and click the “Randomize Now” button.
- Select an IP address that is not in the blackout area.
- Limit all rights except from Internet.
- Change the location settings on your Android device to “High Accuracy” mode.
- Go back and finish installing MLB. At Bat, and when the game is over, broadcast it!
iOS workaround for MLB At Bat Blackouts
- You must jailbreak your iPhone or iPad in order to use MLB At Bat on them. A word of caution: If this complicated operation is not completed properly, your device may become permanently inoperable. The process for jailbreaking an iPhone or iPad depends on the device’s model. By doing an internet search for steps, you may get instructions for your particular item.
- Download and install Protect My Privacy from the Cydia store (PMP).
- Install MLB At Bat, then find the game stream you want to watch.
- The MLB app will request permission before seeing your location. Your GPS position will be used, but PMP will provide a prompt in its place. Instead of preventing access to your GPS position, you may choose to “guard” it.
- For this to function, you may also need to use a VPN to change your IP address.
- Enjoy the game right now on your streaming gadget!
FAQ on MLB TV’s blackout bypass
Playoffs Are Included with MLB TV Subscription, Right?
According to the MLB.TV website, all live games during the MLB Postseason will be blacked out in the United States (including the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and Canada, with the exception of those games for which Authenticated Access is accessible.
Each game of the 2020 World Series will be available for live streaming on devices for authenticated users in the US. Users from other countries won’t need to authenticate.
Will an MLB Blackout Work with a Smart DNS Service?
MLB Blackouts may be unblocked with a Smart DNS service. However, depending on the provider, your results may differ, just as with a VPN. I encourage you to use any free trial that the vendor of Smart DNS may be offering to see whether it works. A VPN is still the most dependable method for bypassing MLB bans, however.
From which teams am I blocked?
Location-specific blackout limitations apply throughout the United States. For more information, enter your zip code at MLB.TV. Following that, the website will let you know which team’s games are blacked out in your region.
How Does MLB.tv Find Out Where I Am?
In order to pinpoint your location, the MLB.tv streaming site analyzes your IP address and, on devices that support it, your device’s GPS.
How to Watch MLB Games in Blackout
You may use a trustworthy VPN, like NordVPN, to alter your device’s IP address so that you can see MLB games that are blocked. On certain devices, you may additionally need to either deactivate the app’s access to the GPS data or switch off the device’s GPS radio.
Yes, the same kind of blackouts that apply to games aired on MLB.tv also apply to games shown on MLB Extra Innings.
