I recently tested my VPN speeds with SpeedTest .net and found that the speeds I get when using an overseas exit server were way below what I get when using domestic exit servers.
That led me to search for ways to speed up my VPN connections. Based on the questions and answers I've found, either I am the only person who doesn't give a cr@p about domestic exit servers, or more likely, most of the people complaining about slow VPN speeds don't realize that they and those that are answering their question are talking about two different things. The askers are asking about overseas exit servers and the answerers are answering about domestic servers.
Most of the article I have found touting the "fastest VPN services" are only talking about domestic exit servers and don't even give hard comparisons charts showing the actual numbers from the tests they supposedly did to determine the winners.
I know that in my case the question I am asking is specifically about overseas exit servers and if there is a way to increase my speed when using them.
I use VPN Unlimited, to which, for reference, you can get a lifetime subscription for under $40 if you shop around for deals. Note that lifetime service is different from infinity service. Infinity is for more devices that can use your subscription.
I have no complaints about VPN Unlimited's service. They have exit servers in the countries I want them in. And on the two or three occasions that I contacted them via phone and email their responses were fast and helpful. Most of those occasions were regarding purchases, not their service.
So, here is what I really want to know. Is there a way to increase the connection speed when using overseas exit servers?
I use my VPN service primarily to get around geographical restrictions. I'm guessing that many of those complaining about slow VPN speeds are actually complaining about overseas exit servers and not a domestic connection. Based on my very limited testing (as in one test), my domestic speed dropped from 30 Mbps to 22 Mbps. A big drop but still fairly fast. When using a WiFi connection the speed drop was even less. It is entirely possible that I have something set up wrong in the PC I am using. I'll be troubleshooting that possibility and report back.
I understand how exit servers work and that the server's traffic volume affects my speed. Most of the servers I use normally have under a 40% workload. Maybe that is high enough to cut my speeds to 10 Mbps or lower, but even the exit server in Australia with a 5% workload doesn't provide any more speed.
Maybe it is my VPN service, but I can't guess at that since all of the articles and forum posts focus on domestic exit server speeds. And those don't appear to take as big a hit.
Ping times on those overseas exits bounce all over the place. I did multiple tests on my main system and at first though a longer ping time meant slower speeds, but that turned out to be false.
So, I'm turning to the amazing crowdsourcing solution providers of Tom's Hardware for the answer.
That led me to search for ways to speed up my VPN connections. Based on the questions and answers I've found, either I am the only person who doesn't give a cr@p about domestic exit servers, or more likely, most of the people complaining about slow VPN speeds don't realize that they and those that are answering their question are talking about two different things. The askers are asking about overseas exit servers and the answerers are answering about domestic servers.
Most of the article I have found touting the "fastest VPN services" are only talking about domestic exit servers and don't even give hard comparisons charts showing the actual numbers from the tests they supposedly did to determine the winners.
I know that in my case the question I am asking is specifically about overseas exit servers and if there is a way to increase my speed when using them.
I use VPN Unlimited, to which, for reference, you can get a lifetime subscription for under $40 if you shop around for deals. Note that lifetime service is different from infinity service. Infinity is for more devices that can use your subscription.
I have no complaints about VPN Unlimited's service. They have exit servers in the countries I want them in. And on the two or three occasions that I contacted them via phone and email their responses were fast and helpful. Most of those occasions were regarding purchases, not their service.
So, here is what I really want to know. Is there a way to increase the connection speed when using overseas exit servers?
I use my VPN service primarily to get around geographical restrictions. I'm guessing that many of those complaining about slow VPN speeds are actually complaining about overseas exit servers and not a domestic connection. Based on my very limited testing (as in one test), my domestic speed dropped from 30 Mbps to 22 Mbps. A big drop but still fairly fast. When using a WiFi connection the speed drop was even less. It is entirely possible that I have something set up wrong in the PC I am using. I'll be troubleshooting that possibility and report back.
I understand how exit servers work and that the server's traffic volume affects my speed. Most of the servers I use normally have under a 40% workload. Maybe that is high enough to cut my speeds to 10 Mbps or lower, but even the exit server in Australia with a 5% workload doesn't provide any more speed.
Maybe it is my VPN service, but I can't guess at that since all of the articles and forum posts focus on domestic exit server speeds. And those don't appear to take as big a hit.
Ping times on those overseas exits bounce all over the place. I did multiple tests on my main system and at first though a longer ping time meant slower speeds, but that turned out to be false.
So, I'm turning to the amazing crowdsourcing solution providers of Tom's Hardware for the answer.