"Upgrade your browser" - to what exactly?

[GaryF]

Thanks for the link, although of course that doesn't resolve the problem, it doesn't explain why it shouldn't work now.

I'm not concerned about OS vulnerabilities, and yes, there are compelling reasons why I haven't upgraded to a later OS, the main programs I use do not function on Win10 or later. There are no later versions of those programs which do.
To upgrade now (W11) I'd need a brand new computer to even meet Windows system requirements.

One thing I haven't mentioned yet is that when this first began (Thursday evening, 13th October) on Firefox, I tried changing the user-agent string to other OS/browsers and the Android one worked fine. This illustrates my point that there's no actual technical reason why my existing OS/browser should not work fine, it's just that the BT server is simply preventing access for the browser for no tangible reason.
It could, of course, just be poor programming on their part, too lazy to include an acceptable level of backward compatibility, or simply that they don't even fully test on all systems and rely on user feedback to spot any issues.

By all means, providers should encourage users to upgrade their software when necessary, but this level of blocking strikes me as illogical and officious.

[rbz5416]

Then probably best to look at a cheap Now or Amazon Fire HDMI stick to plug straight into the TV & run the app on that.

[DarrenDev]

Browsers are never blocked without reason - and age isn't a valid reason. Were you using the same content for each test? The other thread that is mentioned here discusses a browser that just isn't capable of playing DRM protected content.
I'll try to find out tomorrow why your browser is being blocked.

[GaryF]

Yes, exactly the same content. Worked absolutely fine, with no error messages using the Android/Firefox user-agent string. Then, on Saturday, that work around didn't work either, as though it'd been added to a list of 'undesireable' browsers.
I would add that trying the MAC Safari user-agent string partially worked, in that it got past the block, but wouldn't render any video stream, which I can fully understand.

As for viewing on another device, I can watch BT Sports on my Android phone, but squinting at such a small screen isn't exactly enjoyable. Of course, BT block screencasting the video from my phone to my Smart TV, which is extremely annoying and seems pointlessly prohibitive to me.

[-Richie-]

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@GaryFwrote:

Of course, BT block screencasting the video from my phone to my Smart TV, which is extremely annoying and seems pointlessly prohibitive to me.

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Casting is only not suppported on the Free BT Sport Mobile promotion, any of the chargeable ways to get BT Sport support casting.

[DarrenDev]

Mirroring your Android phone screen to another display is blocked if the connection to the display isn't secure, or if your subscription is for small screen only (i.e. included as part of a BT Mobile subscription, or included as part of an EE mobile subscription and you haven't paid for the large screen add on).
The connection to the display needs to be secure to reduce video piracy.

[DarrenDev]

I've been thinking more about the comments that setting the user agent to Firefox on Android allows the video to play.
The only thing that the web site does differently on mobile is prevent the enhanced player from being used, as it doesn't work. If it's only the enhanced player than is being blocked with the VC089 error, then you should still be able to use the standard player.

Instead of clicking the sporting event from the main pages or what's on list, try going directly to the channel from the TV Guide - https://www.bt.com/sport/watch/tv-guide . This should launch the standard player, which offers maximum device support.

[GaryF]

Thanks, but considering that just duplicates the functionality of my smart TV, it seems a bit daft to resort to that just to use the BT Sport app. The latter is the only app that's not available on my LG TV, all other streaming sites have their own apps which I have access to.

[GaryF]

I've never tried the enhanced player option, so I've no idea if that would've ever worked for me, but going directly to the channel from the TV Guide makes no difference I'm afraid.

[DarrenDev]

I've reviewed every reported instance of VC089 in the last 24 hours, and they all reported a browser that wasn't supported. Specifically, Firefox needs to be 88 or higher, and Chrome needs to be 89 or higher.
For the enhanced player, there is specifically a block on Windows 7 as our providers say it won't work (they don't say why) - that block has been in place for 3 years, and it shows VC088. You can use the standard player instead by selecting the channel rather than the specific match.
If you could log in before you try watching, I'll be able to find your specific logs to find what your browser is reporting and why it's being blocked.