‘Game of Thrones’ Live Stream: How to Watch Episode 4 Online for Free

how to watch game of thrones livestream

How to watch the Game of Thrones livestream for episode 4. (HBO)

If you’re looking for a live stream of tonight’s Game of Thrones episode, called “Book of the Stranger,” you have a number of free options to choose from, regardless of whether you have cable. The fourth episode of season six will air at 9 p.m. Eastern tonight, May 8, on HBO, with After the Thrones available on Monday. (To learn more about how to watch After the Thrones, please see our story here.) Episode three left us all on the edge of our seats, wondering where Jon Snow is going and why he decided to leave the wall. The frightening reveal involving Ramsay Bolton also left fans very worried. Hopefully, some of these nagging questions will be answered tonight. But when it comes to Game of Thrones, the answer is sometimes scarier and more disturbing than the question.

Here’s a rundown of the streaming options available for tonight to watch the fourth episode of season six:


If You Have a Cable or Satellite Subscription That Includes HBO

If you have a cable or satellite package that includes HBO, you can watch the fourth episode for free via HBO Go. It’s a streaming service that’s included with a regular HBO cable subscription. You’ll need your cable or satellite log-in information to access the service.

On a computer, go to HBOGO.com and choose “Sign in” in the upper righthand corner. On mobile devices, open the HBO GO app and choose “sign in.” You’ll need to choose your TV provider, then enter your username and password for your  TV account. If this is your first time using the service, you’ll need to create an HBO Go ID.

HBO Go is available on these supported devices, including Apple TV, Apple mobile devices, Amazon Fire, Android mobile devices, Android TV, computers, Chromecast, Playstation 3 & 4, Roku, Samsung Smart TVs, TiVO, and Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

During the premiere and episode two, thousands of users reported trouble using HBO Go and authenticating their log-in. If you experience problems tonight, check HBO Go’s Twitter feed for error reports.


If You Don’t Have a Cable or Satellite Subscription & You’re Only Interested in ‘Game of Thrones’ & Other HBO Programming

If you’re in the United States and you don’t have a cable or satellite subscription that includes HBO, you can use the HBO NOW service. It costs $14.99 per month, but it has a free one-month trial. This means that you might still be able to watch tonight’s episode free during the trial, depending on when you signed up. But soon, you’ll have to decide if you’re ready to shell out the money to keep watching. With Game of Thrones, the answer will likely be yes.

Quite a few people had problems with HBO NOW during the first two episodes. Some users ended up in a frustrating signup loop, where they kept getting prompted to restart their subscription to watch the show, even though they were already signed in. If you get this error tonight, you can troubleshoot it here.

Signing up for HBO NOW is a little complicated, so you’ll want to follow these steps:

1. First Subscribe to HBO NOW

HBO NOW is a standalone streaming-only service, but there are only two ways to sign up, depending on if you want to sign up via a mobile device or on your computer. Signing up through a mobile device is easier.

If you want to sign up through a mobile or TV device, you’ll need to download the HBO NOW app:

  • If you have an iPhone or Apple device, get the app on the App Store here.
  • For Android, the app can be downloaded at this link.
  • For Amazon devices like Fire, download from the Amazon App store at this link.
  • For Apple TV, the app is already installed and should be on your home screen.
  • For Roku, add the HBO Now channel through the channel store.
  • For Samsung Smart TVs, search for HBO Now on the Smart Hub.
  • For Xbox One or Xbox 360, download HBO Now in the Apps window.

If you need more details on where to go to download the app, visit the page here. To find out if your specific mobile or TV device is supported, please visit the webpage here.

If you want to sign up for HBO NOW on your computer:

Contact a participating Internet or mobile provider about purchasing a subscription. You can buy a subscription from Optimum here in the northeastern U.S., or through Verizon here.

After signing up, you’ll need to complete an HBO NOW profile. On your computer, start here, choose your provider, and sign-in with the username or password from your Internet or mobile account. From a phone or tablet, download the app here, open the app, tap “link to your new subscription,” and choose your provider. Sign in with your username and password from your Internet or mobile provider and complete the registration.

If you want to watch HBO NOW on a computer, you’ll need either Mac OS 10.6 or later or Windows Vista or later. Supported browsers include Chrome 37 or later, Firefox 31 or later, Internet Explorer 10 or later, and Safari 7 or later.


If You Don’t Have a Cable or Satellite Subscription & You’re Interested in Additional Channels Beyond HBO

Users without cable or satellite access to HBO, but who are interested in watching HBO and other channels, can watch “Book of the Stranger” — and all other HBO programming — through Sling TV, an online streaming service that provides access to a handful of channels for a monthly fee. The service’s Best of Live TV Package, which includes channels ranging from ESPN to CNN to AMC, costs $20 per month, but you’ll have to select the HBO add-on, which is an extra $15 per month. But you can watch a week’s worth of episodes for free via Sling’s free 7-day trial. If you keep Sling beyond the trial, you’ll have to pay $35 a month — $20 for the Best of Live TV package and $15 for the HBO add-on.

To sign up for Sling, follow these steps:

1. Click here to sign up for Sling TV. You’ll need to enter your credit card information when signing up, but if you cancel your subscription before the trial period ends, you will not be charged.

2. When you sign up, you’ll be prompted to select Sling’s standard Best of Live TV package, which costs $20 per month. You’ll also have the option to add extra packages, all of which come with a monthly fee but are included in the free trial. If you’re primarily interested in watching the Game of Thrones, you’ll need to select the HBO add-on.

3. Download the Sling desktop app, and navigate over to HBO to watch the second episode of season six.

With an App:

Users with a subscription to Sling TV can watch it on the Sling app, which you can download for free in the App store or the Google Play store.

There’s also a Sling app for Roku, Chromecast, Nexus player, ZTE and XBox One. Click here for a full list of compatible devices.

Click here to sign up for Sling TV. You’ll need to enter your credit card information when signing up, but if you cancel your subscription before the 7-day trial period ends, you will not be charged.


Episode Preview for ‘Book of the Stranger’

To prepare for tonight’s episode, “Book of the Stranger,” you might also be interested in the very best maps of Westeros, so you can keep track of what’s happening during the show and where the characters are. In the preview for “Book of the Stranger,” below, it looks like we’ll catch up with Sansa and Brienne, finally see what Littlefinger has been up to, learn more about Theon’s latest journey, and see what Daenerys has planned next.

To get prepared for tonight’s episode, please see these stories: