Are you struggling with slow VPN speed? You’re not alone. Most of us use Virtual Private Networks as a way to ensure privacy when browsing the Internet. This protects you from third-party interference and makes you practically untraceable.
While most VPNs make good on this promise, they may also come with a few bugs. Keep in mind that networking is a complex business. So it’s no surprise that using a VPN should come with certain complications.
One of the most common complaints from VPN users is that it slows down their browsing, downloading, streaming and upload speed. Slow VPN speed is an annoying problem for sure. It can feel like you’re trading one problem for another – privacy for slow speeds.
If you’re looking for ways to overcome slow VPN speed, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve got just the tips and tricks you’re looking for.
1. Choose a Good Server Location
It’s incredibly important to choose the right server location but unfortunately, it’s something that most people don’t realize.
What does this have to do with slow VPN speed? Well, you first have to understand how VPNs work.
For example, let’s say you want to use a VPN to fix routing problems that you experience while playing online video games. Connecting to a VPN can completely transform the way information travels across the Internet. It will help you avoid issues like intermediary network outages.
For instance, if you’re playing a video game in New York and that’s your actual location then you’ll be able to enjoy super-fast loading times. This is because it’ll take only 20 milliseconds on average for the data to travel across the Internet.
However, if you’re playing online video games but you are connected to a VPN server in France then you should expect your latency to be 250 milliseconds. That’s a significantly longer distance for data to travel across the Internet. This is why you’ll be faced with a slow VPN speed.
2. Reduce Encryption Level
There are many different security protocols available to VPNs nowadays. Most VPNs will use a combination or a few of them. This means some of these protocols may not be supported by the particular VPN that you use.
It’s important to consider the fact that encryption is a computationally expensive endeavor. This means every single piece of information that leaves your device has to go through an encryption process. It also means that every piece of data that comes into your devices needs to be decrypted as well to ensure optimal safety.
Now, a slow CPU on your device can bottleneck the amount of information that can be processed. This will lead to slow VPN speed. The moral of the story here is that super strong encryption comes with unexpected caveats.
3. Don’t Set Up the VPN on the Router
When you sign up for a VPN, you have two options to choose from. You can set up the VPN on each individual device that you use or on your router. Our advice; go with the former!
The thing about routers is that they don’t require next-gen CPUs in order to work properly. This is why they can be slower than the latest smartphone. Combined with the encryption issues mentioned above, this can cause slow VPN speed.
4. Try TCP and UDP
On the whole, TCP is slower than UDP. The main difference between the two is that TCP requires two endpoint connections and it does this thing where it’s constantly checking to see if data has been safely received by the destination. On the other hand, UDP simply sends data to its destination without checking to see if it has arrived safely.
That’s why TCP will always lead to slower speeds and it’s one of the reasons why most people prefer to use VPN over it. Keep in mind that this service might be different depending on the service provider but manual switching should be supported in your VPN settings.
5. Upgrade Your Internet or VPN Plan
Let’s face it; you didn’t sign up for a VPN specifically to boost your Internet speed because it’s not designed to do that. That’s what your ISP is for! Instead of blaming your VPN for slow browsing speeds, perhaps you should consider upgrading to a faster Internet plan.
Sometimes the solution is as simple as switching to a wired connection instead of using Wi-Fi. Be proactive and look out for innovative VPN services like IPVanish that won’t throttle your connection.
Which VPN service are you using and are you happy with your Internet speed? Sound off in the comments below!
