Unplugging and replugging them doesn’t trigger the location check, only if you perform a factory reset.

As long as the free VPN has a U.S. IP address, it should work. Proton VPN has the U.S. as an option on its free tier, for instance. To use it on the Onn 4K device during setup, you’d either need a router that sends all traffic through the VPN, or to tether the VPN from another device.

Since the Onn 4K Pro has an Ethernet port, I tethered the device to my Windows laptop to share its VPN signal (requires configuration of the Ethernet settings). An alternative for the non-Ethernet devices seems to be via a hotspot, either with Windows or rooted Android. Should rooting Android not be an option, this post claims it’s possible to do without rooting.

Having set three of them up in Europe myself, as far as I can tell the VPN is only needed one time to set up the Onn 4K Pro (or any of the other Onn Android TV boxes). After that, a VPN shouldn’t be needed unless the device is reset.

Note that Stremio, SmartTube, and Projectify Launcher work on any Android TV device (versus Amazon Fire TV, which blocks Projectify Launcher), so you can get a non-Onn brand one to avoid the initial setup hassle. I personally preferred spending a bit more to get 3GB of RAM and 32GB to ensure a smooth experience, but the same apps will work on 2GB RAM devices too (like the similarly geolocked $US20 Onn 4K and $US30 Onn 4K Plus).

It would seem that it’s possible. Some devices are listed as having official builds and other unofficial builds, the Onn 4K Pro being in the latter category. Most streaming apps would also require Widevine L1 to stream in HD, which would be another step.

Reading this thread would indicate that Projectify Launcher works too. Note that Dolby Vision apparently won’t work.

It’s geolocked to the U.S., so it’s important to note that they would need to use a VPN to bypass it during setup.

While something that runs Linux would probably be more free, in terms of usability, I would recommend a Google TV box paired with Projectify Launcher to have a UI with just apps and wanted channels rather than preinstalled bloatware. Lets you use all the regular streaming apps, with Stremio + a debrid service + Torrentio as a streaming option for additional movies and shows, SmartTube for ad-free YouTube + SponsorBlock. You can also remove unnecessary menu options in SmartTube to simplify things further.

I don’t use IPTV services—perhaps someone else could chime in to help with that—but I’m sure they would work on Android TV too.

In the U.S. the Onn 4K Pro from Walmart is the best specs-per-dollar option (US$50 for 32GB storage and 3GB RAM), but as a VPN is needed to bypass the U.S. geoblocking during setup, you might need to get a different one.

qBittorrent has a built-in search tool. There are several plugins you can use with it to search for content. Of these, I recommend installing Jackett—a tracker result aggregator—and the Jackett plugin for qBittorrent.

How about the criminal violations conducted by those in the Epstein files?