YouTube TV in Multiple Locations? (The Full Guide)

If you’re a user of YouTube TV, you might wonder whether you would be able to watch your favourite shows using the same membership subscription, in more than one location.

This is important when you change location from the place you had already set as your Home Area, and still want to watch and record your preferred networks from your new location.

In order to answer this question, it is important to first understand what the Home Area feature means, and how it works.

YouTube TV’s Home Area Explained

When setting up your YouTube TV subscription, you would have to set your Home Area. The Home Area is the setting that determines the local TV networks you can have access to. In essence, YouTube wants to know where you spend the most time watching YouTube TV.

This is set when you enter your home zip code or when you give permission on your device to access your location on GPS. If you sign up on YouTube TV with an existing Google account, and there is an address registered on that account, the app will pick the zip code for that address automatically.

YouTube then uses this information to connect your account to the channels that are local to you. This is means that when you leave the location you have set as your Home Area, you would be unable to watch those local channels, and are likely to get the Outside Your Home Area error.

When You Travel Outside of Your Home Area:

• You would only be able to watch local programs for your new location
• You would not be able to record any programmes in the new location
• For Sports, you may watch games that are aired over affiliate networks. So, you can watch the same games in your new location, as in your Home Area location…as long as it is aired over an affiliate network. However, you would not be able to record the game.

Can I Change My Home Area?

Seeing the restrictions placed by the Home Area setting, you may want to change your Home Area whenever you are staying in a new location for a long time.

To Change Your Home Area:

• Open the YouTube TV app.
• Select your profile photo
• Select Location
• Select Home Area.
• Select Update Home Area.

Officially, you can only change your Home Area twice a year.

Note:

• You need to be present in the location you want to select as your new Home Area in other to make the change
• You need to use YouTube at least once every 3 months in your current Home Area in order to continue receiving and recording the local networks in your Home Area

Now that you understand how the Home Area works, let’s take a look at the answers to the questions you may have around using YouTube TV in multiple locations.

Incorrect “Outside Your Home Area Error”

YouTube TV users have reported occasions where they received the Outside Your Home Area error when they tried to open the app, even though they had not left their set Home Area. This error usually occurs on Smart TVs and Android TVs, and started when Google made some changes to their verification structure.

To resolve this error, Google has advised that users follow the steps below:

1. Open the Settings app on your phone
2. Select Apps and Notifications
3. Select YouTube TV and select Permissions
4. Select Location
5. Confirm that YouTube TV is allowed to access your location

Or

1. Open the Settings app on your phone
2. Select Apps
3. Select Permissions
4. Select Permissions again
5. Select Location
6. Select YouTube TV and ensure that it is allowed access to your location.

After completing this, then continue to the steps below:

1. Log into your account at tv.youtube.com/verify, and follow the prompts to verify your location.

OR

1. Open YouTube TV app on your phone
2. Select your profile photo
3. Select Location
4. At Current Playback Area, Select Update

This will enable YouTube to re-register your location and match it with your Home Area.

Can You Watch YouTube TV in Multiple Locations At the Same Time?

Users often confuse Location and Home area when using YouTube TV. Location simply means setting your current geographical location, and you can do this as many times as you change location. This simply gives you access to the local networks in your new location.

Home Area, on the other hand, gives you the extra feature of being able to record the programmes you watch. Also, in a new Location, you will not have access to the local networks in your Home Area.

So, yes, you can use your YouTube TV account in multiple locations. You would not be able to record programs in the locations except your Home Area, though.

Just like with the Home Area, you cannot normally choose a location that you are not physically in.

To update your location on your TV:

1. Open the YouTube TV app
2. Select your profile photo
3. Select Location
4. At Current Playback Area, Select Update
5. Then, open tv.youtube.com/verify on your mobile device, and allow access to your device location when prompted

To update your location on your app or a web browser:

1. Open YouTube TV
2. Select your profile photo
3. Select Location
4. At Current Playback Area, Select Update

Your current location will be updated and you can watch the local networks in your new location. If you do not update your location, you will get the Outside Your Home Area error.

Can I Watch YouTube TV in 2 Different Houses?

Yes, you can watch YouTube TV in 2 different houses. If the houses are in different states, the users only need to sign into their registered accounts and update their locations as detailed earlier.

Can I Share YouTube TV with Family in Another State?

YouTube TV has a great feature for sharing your membership subscription with family members. You can allow up to 5 family members apart from yourself (making it 6 in total) to use your subscription.

These family members can use the subscription from wherever they are, even in another state. However, there are terms and conditions for this to work, and we will outline them in details.

Create A Family Group

The first step is to create a family group. This automatically assigns you as the Family Manager. This makes you the only one who can buy subscriptions for the group, add members, and set the Home Area.

To create a family group:

1. Sign in to YouTube TV.
2. Select your profile picture
3. Select Settings
4. Select Family Sharing
5. Select Manage.
6. Create a Google family group. You can use email addresses or phone numbers to add family members
7. Check the box to Agree to the YouTube Paid Terms of Service and Google Privacy Policy.
8. Select Next.
9. Your family members will get an email invitation to join the group using their Google Accounts to sign in.

Location Caveats

• The family members cannot be part of more than one family group
• The family members must primarily live in the same country that you the Family Manager has set as Home Area
• The family members can use YouTube TV in another state under your subscription. However, they would need to use YouTube TV in the Home Area location at least once every 3 months (90 days). Otherwise, YouTube TV will not work for these family members, and they would need to get an individual subscription.

Can You Watch YouTube TV While Traveling Outside Home Area

Yes, you can watch YouTube TV outside your Home Area. To do this, you would need to sign in to your account and update your location first, as detailed earlier.

The restrictions are that:

• You will not be able to watch the same local networks as in your Home Area. The exception is for sports programmes that are available in other regions other than your Home Area.
• You will not be able to record programmes when outside your home area
• You would need to use YouTube at least once every 3 months back at your Home Area location.

Can You Watch YouTube TV in Multiple Locations at the Same Time

Yes, you can watch YouTube TV in multiple locations at the same time. Wel, that’s physically impossible. This simply means that your single subscription can be used in multiple locations at the same time.

Caveats When Watching YouTube In 2 Different Locations at the Same Time

• One subscription can only have 6 accounts tied to it. All of these 6 users can watch from wherever they are at the same time.
• You cannot exceed the device limit for each account. Each account is allowed only 3 devices at a time. That is, each user can only stream using 3 devices at a time.
• The local networks that each user is able to see depends on their respective locations
• Only the user in the Home Area location can record live programmes

Once you are within the bounds of these restrictions, you can stream on YouTube TV in multiple locations at the same time.

Do You Need 2 YouTube TV Accounts to Watch In 2 Locations

To answer this question, we need to explain two terms on YouTube TV:

1. YouTube TV Membership Subscription Account: This is the account used to pay for and set up the YouTube TV membership account. It sets the Home Area, creates Family Groups, and manages them
2. YouTube TV account: this is the account used to watch YouTube TV. It could be the main membership account or any other account that is tied to the main membership subscription account, such as the accounts of the Family Group members. Up to 5 accounts can be tied to the main membership subscription account.

That said, you only need one Membership Subscription account to watch YouTube TV. However, users in the other locations need to sign in with their own accounts that are added under your main subscription account.

If you are the single user and are merely moving from one location to another, you do not need another account.

How Many Locations Can You Share YouTube TV In

There is no restriction placed primarily on the number of locations that you can share YouTube TV in, simultaneously. The restriction is solely on the number of accounts and devices.

So:

• Only 6 accounts can share a YouTube membership subscription
• Only 3 devices can be used by each account simultaneously, no matter the location.

So, as long as these limits are not exceeded, your location limits won’t be exceeded either. If all the 6 accounts are being used on all the 18 possible devices (3 devices for each user times 6 users) at the same time, then there are 18 possible locations for simultaneous use on your YouTube TV.

How Often Do You Need to Login In Your Home Area YouTube TV

You need to log in at your YouTube TV Home Area location at least once every 3 months. YouTube/Google/Alphabet…whichever you know it by…uses this to revalidate your subscription and relevant local network requirements.

Also, if you have a Family Group, all the members of the group must use YouTube TV in the Home Area that you have set, once every 3 months. Failure to do this will deny them access to the subscription.