How to Watch YouTube on Apple TV and Android TV in 2026

YouTube is effectively dead in Russia unless you are running a VPN. But watching a 4K documentary on a 6-inch phone screen while a 65-inch OLED TV sits dark in your living room is incredibly frustrating.

Connecting a Smart TV to a modern proxy protocol like VLESS or Reality is not as straightforward as connecting your phone.

The Toaster Analogy

Why is it so hard? Think of your smartphone as a Swiss Army Knife. It is a general-purpose computer designed to handle almost any software you throw at it. Your Smart TV, however, is a toaster. It is designed to do exactly one thing—stream video—as cheaply and efficiently as possible.

Because TVs lack processing power and open software ecosystems, developers have historically struggled to build complex VPN clients for them. But in 2026, we finally have good options.

Apple TV (tvOS 17+)

Apple recently changed its policies and finally allowed native VPN applications on the Apple TV App Store. If your Apple TV is updated to tvOS 17 or later, you are in luck.

1. Open the App Store on your Apple TV.
2. Search for Streisand or FoXray. Both of these apps fully support VLESS and Reality protocols.
3. The hardest part is getting your subscription link onto the TV. The easiest way is to copy your VLESS subscription link (starts with vless://) on your iPhone, open the Apple TV Remote app on your phone, and paste the link into the TV’s text input field.
4. Hit connect.

Android TV & Google TV

If you have a Sony, Philips, Xiaomi, or any TV/stick running Android TV, the process is also straightforward because Android is an open ecosystem.

1. Open the Google Play Store on your TV.
2. Search for v2rayNG or Hiddify.
3. Install the app. Similar to Apple TV, you will need to input your subscription link. Hiddify makes this slightly easier by allowing you to scan a QR code displayed on your phone screen using your TV camera (if you have one) or by manually typing a short-link.
4. Connect the profile.

The Brutal Reality: LG (WebOS) and Samsung (Tizen)

I need to be radically honest: if you have an LG TV running WebOS or a Samsung TV running Tizen, you cannot install a modern VLESS client directly on the TV. The operating systems are locked down, and the apps do not exist.

You have two choices:

1. The Hardware Fix: Buy an Apple TV 4K or a cheap Xiaomi Mi TV Stick (Android), plug it into the HDMI port, and follow the steps above.
2. The Router Fix: Install the VPN directly on your Wi-Fi router. This forces every device in your house—including your LG or Samsung TV—through the secure tunnel automatically.

Setting up a router with OpenWrt and Xray is technically demanding. If you want the “Router Fix” without the migraine of configuring Linux firewall rules, our VPN Setup Service includes remote router configuration. We configure the hardware so your TV just works, exactly like it used to.