How to Change DNS on Apple TV and Roku

Televisions and streaming boxes are the devices people most want to fix and the ones with the fewest settings. Both Apple TV and Roku will accept DNS by hand, but the job is easier and more durable done at the router.

The quick answer

Apple TV: Settings, Network, your connection, Configure DNS, Manual. Roku: Settings, Network, Set up connection, then your network, Advanced options, and set the DNS servers. Or set DNS once on the router and leave both devices alone.

Apple TV

• DNS is per network — the same limitation as an iPhone, so a change made at home does not follow the device to a hotel.
• Apple TV has no VPN client and no browser, so a proxy is only usable if the router provides it.
• If you use iCloud Private Relay on other devices, note it does not cover Apple TV traffic.

Roku

• DNS is set inside the network setup flow, so you may need to re-run that setup to reach the field.
• Roku has no VPN support at all, in any model.
• The DNS field accepts plain resolvers only; there is no encrypted DNS option.

Why the router is the better place to do this

One change at the router covers the television, the console, the phones and the laptop, and it survives each device being reset or replaced. Per-device DNS is how people end up with a house where one television works and another does not, and no memory of why.

Where this stops, and what solves it

DNS on a streaming box clears name-level filtering for that device. Neither platform will change your country, and Roku cannot be given a proxy or a VPN at all.

For content that is licensed per country, the address has to be in that country and the setting has to live somewhere that can hold it — a router. Our static IPs work at the router for every device on the network, for the full 30-day term.

Common questions

Can I install a VPN on Roku?

No. Roku has no VPN client and no way to sideload one. The only route is a router-level configuration that covers the whole network.

Does Apple TV support a proxy?

Not directly. Apple TV has no proxy setting; a router-level proxy or a VPN at the router is the way to cover it.

Why does one app work and another not on the same TV?

Different apps check different things. One may only care about the country of your address, another may refuse known hosting ranges entirely.