Latest FilmOn Update

Roku

So over the last few weeks FilmOn have,
a) restricted the free streams to only 4 minutes
b) blocked those outside of the UK from accessing the main UK channels.

Now I’ve come up with a method to get around a), the Roku code watches for the stream to stop and then automatically restarts it, there will be a brief (less than a second) gap as the old stream stops and the new one restarts.
If you prefer to have a constant high quality stream subscribing to FilmOn is your only option. You can then login to your account via the About screen.

As for b) it’s not something I’m going to try to work around. Originally it was possible to get the UK streams by making the API requests via Europe, as these were small bits of text it was cheap enough to bounce them through my own servers and then the actual video streams were requested directly from the Roku box. However passing the actual video streams through my hardware is too costly and a breach of the terms of service for my hosting.
Now I know that I have a large number of expats who use the app in America, as well as those who just enjoy good TV. It’s possible that you could do some local tweaks to get around the geo-blocking, maybe a VPN or a DNS proxy, but I have no experience of any of these options working, what changes you would need to make to your Roku box or router and won’t be providing support.

66 thoughts on “Latest FilmOn Update”

  5. Thanks for all your hard work. I’m over here in the states and happy with the free channels. Is there any way you could add Timeless Westerns? It is a free filmon channel. I would really appreciate it.

    Reply

  6. Sad, but the reality of it is… They don’t want us to watch good content. LOL.. I still come over to watch Live News from Florida. Thank You for that, since I don’t have an OTA Antenna yet.

    Reply

  8. Ryan, you rock brother. Had given up all hope of retrieving watchable tv on my Roku. Many thanks for your workaround. So pleased there are people like you on this planet.

    Reply

    1. I’m also in the U.S. I have 2 x Roku’s and none of them are working for BBC etc. In fact most of the channels have disappeared. Do you have them? If so, what did you do? I even tried a DNS Proxy. Thanks

      Reply

  13. Hi Ryan, Thanks for great work on FOTV. (My Now box is in a cupboard) As I understand, if I buy a Roku stick I can side load your code and use FOTV: my Fire stick and TV are connected thru a DNS proxy to enable me to watch live UK TV when I am in Spain, but having Filmon would be a bonus.

    Reply

    1. @jonathan, not exactly sideloaded, just using the Private Channel feature of the Roku store to install extra apps. I can’t be 100% sure about a DNS proxy actually working, as I’m in the UK but I’m sure someone will say if they’ve got it working.

      Reply

  17. there are a number of smart dns services that can unblock filmon. one that is tried and tested is unotelly – it actually has a unique option for “filmon uk”. another one that i personally use right now is called ‘smart dns proxy’ – filmon uk also works.
    smart dns is very easy to setup, requires no tech-knowledge.
    prices are around USD 5 a month, but with deals and longer sub period, you can get crazy deals

    Reply

  19. Hi Ryan,

    Thanks for the work on this. The little gap is quick, and it’s better than it was! A week ago the channels wouldn’t load at all.

    Reply

  22. Ryan thank you so very much for your hard work. I do have a few channel requests from the filmon website if possible to add:

    World Food Championships (under Food & Wine)
    Bid America (under Lifestyle)
    Globetrotting TV (under Travel)

    Reply

  23. Hey Ryan, am in Canada. Am having a problem with the app. The app doesn’t always open. Probably once out of twenty tries do the channels finally show. Usually just goes back to roku screen. I’m just wondering if you have any ideas as to why this is ? Have uninstalled etc and installed. Any ideas mate. Thank you so much for all you do.The real difference you make is to families like us on the breadline. If I could shake your hand, I would.

    Reply

  24. im overseas and i have installed the app.
    i do see the full channel list but clicking on any channel results in a black screen with : Loading Channel Name.

    Any idea?

    Reply

    1. Not much of a chance, tvplayer won’t release the zip file and even if they did uncle Rupert has shut down all now TV boxes so developer mode and sideloading is impossible.

      Roku is the way to go.

      Mark

      Reply

  26. Hi Ryan. I’m using your app (v2.1 Build 8) on my Roku 3. I also have a FilmOn subscription.
    All channels were working great. I was able to use your app until today.
    When I open the app it shows the FilmOn logo and then after 10 secs it closes back to the main menu.
    I removed the app, reset the unit, reinstalled the app (software update). It still does the same thing.
    Please help.
    Thanks.

    Reply

    1. For folks in the US, the on again off again UKTV private Roku channel is back up. The subscription is a reasonable $1.99 per month. Format isn’t as nice as what Ryan offers, but it was nice to see Corrie live yesterday! https://www.rokuguide.com/channels/uktv

      Also for us in the US wilderness, Britbox_US is a joint venture of BBC and ITV. Software has a few glitches but the on demand programming is pretty good – so sports or news and no live programming. You can find them on Roku channel search. Their fee is about $7 per month.

      Thanks, Ryan. Miss your service!

      Reply

      1. Thanks, Rachel!
        I’m in the US also and added UKTV back to my Roku after reading your post. It was so nice to see live UK shows and commercials once again. This morning, though, it seems to be having issues – going to the “loading…” screen after just a couple minutes. Then when I click back and start the channel again the show completely restarts to the beginning (this is multiple channels – ITV, BBC, Really, 5star, etc). So, I wonder how long we’ll have before all the good channels disappear again.
        I also have Britbox, which has some good options. However, AcornTV (also available in Roku channel store) has a lot more series (seasons) available for some shows.

        Thanks, Ryan, for creating & maintaining your awesome app. It still works for the kids’ shows here in the US. I’m happy for anything we can get over here!

  28. Hi Ryan,

    For the past 2 days E4 has been out of sync, is there anything that can be done about this? The audio has almost 10 s of lag.

    Reply

  29. I, purchase Ruku on Tuesday 23rd of Aug, 2017 and already having problem with the filmon software update stream remaining on my, TV screen, when trying to update it doesn’t work either, and it’s blocking a portion of what ever movie I, maybe watching, and it’s very annoying. I, tried to removed but can’t I, also report it, and I, was told that a technician would call me right away. It is 2:00 am Wenday morning, and no one called yet. l, personally don’t like this, if not fix later this Wenday morning. I, will cancel this order and money must be returned. If not I, will report this to the Federal Government Fraud Dept.

    Reply

  30. hi Ryan,
    would you be able to add bbc news to your roku channel? that is the only one i seem to be missing from the list.
    btw, still using your app, but now with a filmon sub. its still much better than the since revamped official filmon roku channel. i have used tv player on roku, but the streaming quality is poorer and less stable than filmon… at least here, in hungary. by using a smart dns service, its possible, and fairly easy (and cheap) to bypass geo-blocking.
    thanks in advance

    Reply

  31. Hi Ryan. Not sure if you will be bug fixing the FilmOn app anymore.

    Your app hasn’t been working for a few days now. When the app loads it shows the channels but there aren’t any ‘channel logos’ and it just freezes. It doesn’t even load a channel when you select it. I have a FilmOn subscription.

    I really hope you are able to fix this. I will make another payment if need be.
    Thanks in advance.

    Reply

  33. hi,
    has anybody else experienced connection problems with filmon in the last couple of days? this is not az app-related issue, because the filmon website almost always loads really slow, as well. the app often wont start, or only after multiple attempts (it often just returns to the home screen instead of loading)

    Reply

  34. so, it seems filmon might have done something to prevent these non-official apps to run normally, because i had an old plex channel for filmon as well, and that stopped working also. however, the official filmon roku app works normally. unfortunately, they still havent been able to put together a smoothly working, user-friendly app as Ryan’s…

    Reply

  35. Same here, it’s a shame , let’s see if Ryan has any thoughts on this as the app is his baby !
    You never know the app had been presumed dead in the past but came back.

    Mark

    Reply

  40. there is definitely something going on at filmon, because their website is dead slow still. Ryan’s app doesnt load for me either today, and neither does the plex filmon app (loads but wont start the streams). the official roku filmon app does work, although loading time is quite long.

    Reply

    1. Yes, I think a lot of people are having problems but I just assumed it was due to the horrible snow storm (Storm Emma hitting the Beast from the East). Yesterday, none of my channels would load except Sky News & BBC News. Today, a few channels are working okay (Really, channel 5, etc) but ITV & BBC channels seem to be stuck in a loop – playing the same footage for a couple minutes before freezing up.
      Anyway, I expect everything will be back to normal soon.

      Reply

  45. hi Ryan,
    would it be possible to add the new filmon channels to your app? like the box music channels, or ‘drama’? and also bbc news.
    a lot of the extra (non-uk) channels are not working anymore.
    i know you’re not developing this app anymore, but as far as i see, as a user, i cant customize the channel list.
    thanks in advance

    Reply

  46. Help!

    I have two apps in my Roku device–one called “FilmOn TV” and another one just called “FilmOn,” the latter one with an “about” message that it was created by a guy named “Ryan” (you?) in the United Kingdom because “he lost his aerial TV” service. Anyway, only a few channels that interest me–a few classic TV channels–are in the menu of “FilmOn,” which are “TV Gold,” “The Lucy Show,” “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and a few more

    But that other app, the one called “FilmOn TV” used to play 24/7 streams of whichever TV shows I pre-selected from FilmOn website’s Classic TV sub-menu after I added the app to my Roku menu. Now, however, the same single episodes of each of my “favorite”FilmOn TV Classic TV series’ play repeatedly, instead of switching to another episode after each playing. Have you any idea how to fix this problem or if it may be fixed at all?

    I read online the founder of FilmOn TV is a Greek millionaire who now lives in Hollywood and is being sued by several media companies, and wonder if this has something to do with why I am no longer able to view my favorite classic TV shows in the FilmOn TV app in Roku.

    I also recently lost in Roku a great app called cCloud, plus before that XTV and Channel Pear. It seems as if many of these private apps are disappearing from the Roku menu, according to what I read online because Roku is being banned in Mexico and so must comply with non-piracy laws by getting rid of these private apps.. These apps supposedly function based on a system using some programs called “m3u8” and IPTV, which I have no idea how to use. I would like to learn from someone how to use these programs, because I understand it is possible to set up one’s own streams of favorite programming in a private app and watch through Roku or another program called “Kodi,” if one knows how to use these “m3u8” and IPTV files.

    If you, Ryan and/or anyone else reading this message may shed some light on any of what I have described in this post, please let me know. I am especially interested in some tutoring about the M3U8 and IPTV process and Kodi, so I may set up my own app of private streams to watch through Roku and/or Kodi.

    Reply

    1. By the way, I reside in the United States, if that will help you, Ryan, or anyone else to help me figure out what may be going on with the FilmOn TV app in my Roku device.

      Reply

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