Hey there, is your VPN dragging your entire internet all the way down to a crawl? Looks as if you are browsing on dial-up in the 90s. We’ve all been there – you join up for a VPN to preserve your data personal, however suddenly streaming, browsing, and the whole thing is way slower.
And buffering, ugh! It’s frustrating, but you do not need to ditch your VPN. We will walk you through a few quick tweaks to hopefully get your speed back up. First up is changing your VPN protocol to see if that helps.
And if all else fails, we’ve got a couple of backup plans like trying a different VPN service or upgrading your bandwidth.
Read on to start troubleshooting!
Why Does My Internet Speed Slow Down When Using VPN
One of the most common VPN issues customers revel in is reduced net speed. There are some motives why your VPN may be slowing down your internet connection.
Before diving into solutions, it’s crucial to consider the foundation of your internet connection. For businesses that rely heavily on VPNs for secure remote access, having a strong business internet service is paramount. Business internet plans are designed to handle higher traffic volumes and provide more reliable connections, which can significantly mitigate VPN-related slowdowns. Whether you’re a small business owner or managing IT for a larger corporation, ensuring you have a robust business internet setup can make a substantial difference in VPN performance.
While you connect with a VPN, your net visitors are routed through an encrypted tunnel to a VPN server, often positioned in a particular city or state. This added distance data has to travel can increase latency and reduce bandwidth, slowing down your speeds. The farther away the VPN server is the more significant the impact.
VPN encryption also requires additional processing power which can curb your speeds. Stronger encryption methods, like AES 256-bit, provide more security but also more speed loss compared to lighter encryption. The device you use and its technical specs determine how much of a hit your speeds take. More powerful devices can handle the extra workload better.
Bandwidth throttling by your internet service provider (ISP) when using a VPN may also be an issue. Some ISPs deliberately slow down VPN traffic. A VPN masks what you do online, and ISPs often throttle bandwidth to discourage VPN use. Switching to a different VPN protocol like OpenVPN over TCP may help.
The number of active VPN users connected to the same server can congest the network and degrade performance. At peak times, servers tend to be more overloaded. Connecting to a less populated VPN server or a server in a location where it’s currently off-peak hours may improve your speeds.
10 Ways to Improve Your VPN Speeds
A slow VPN connection can be frustrating. Here are some tips to boost your VPN speeds:
1. Connect to a server nearer your physical location
Typically speaking, the closer a VPN server is to your physical location, the quicker your connection speeds should be. Your traffic will have less physical distance to travel when routed through a nearby server rather than one halfway around the world – for instance, if you reside in Boston your VPN connection would likely be much quicker connecting to New York City or Montreal rather than one as far off as Sydney or Tokyo for instance.
Not always applicable when streaming content from specific countries or accessing gaming servers from specific places; but when looking for faster connection speeds, try connecting to several VPN servers nearby where you physically are and see which yield faster speeds – some VPN apps even include speed testing features built right in for easy comparison – Ookla Speedtest can also be helpful when checking speed.
ExpressVPN stands out by offering 160 servers located across 94 countries — you’re bound to find something convenient near where you reside!
2. Try and connect to an under-loaded server.
Too many users can cause VPN servers to become overloaded and reduce connection speeds significantly. Some VPN providers display current server loads either within their apps or websites – choosing those with lighter loads may lead to faster connection speeds; otherwise, try connecting to multiple ones until one gives the fastest results – sometimes this just requires trial-and-error!
3. Change VPN Protocols
The protocol your VPN uses affects its speed and security. Try switching to a faster protocol like OpenVPN UDP or WireGuard. Those are often quicker than protocols like OpenVPN TCP or L2TP/IPsec. See if your VPN provider offers special protocol choices and do some checking to find the quickest one for you.
OpenVPN remains the gold standard VPN protocol of today, boasting both speed, stability, and security benefits that have made it so widely adopted among VPN services. Many providers now also provide newer protocols like IKEv2 and WireGuard that offer faster speeds alongside exceptional security; some even developed their own proprietary solutions like ExpressVPN Lightway or NordVPN NordLynx that aim to deliver both advantages.
Switching protocols, if offered by your VPN provider, could result in faster connection speeds for VPN use. Just be wary that while they appear secure enough, these alternatives haven’t been extensively field-tested as much as OpenVPN has and shouldn’t be your first choice when making critical VPN choices.
4. Check Your Internet Connection
Make sure you have a quick, stable net connection. A slow network connection will mean slower VPN speeds. Ethernet connections are commonly quicker than wireless, so connect your device at once to your router if possible. You can also attempt switching to a faster wireless band like 5 GHz.
5. Enable split tunneling if available
If your VPN provider offers split tunneling capabilities, enable it to see if that can boost the speeds of your VPN. Split tunneling enables only necessary traffic to travel through VPN encryption while keeping other traffic unencrypted by sending it directly through regular internet connectivity.
For instance, when using your VPN for streaming content online gaming may slow down. By allocating only streaming traffic through it you can optimize its speeds without being burdened by unnecessary traffic running through. This way, the excess load won’t burden your bandwidth!
6. Reboot Your Computer
Restarting your computer refreshes its memory and can release any resources being used by background processes. After rebooting, you may find your VPN connects and browses faster. For the best results, reboot your router and computer at the same time.
7. Disable Your Antivirus
Your antivirus software program can often intervene with your VPN connection and sluggish down speeds. Briefly disabling your antivirus may help. Be sure to re-enable it when you’re done using your VPN for the best security.
8. Close Unnecessary Background Apps
Other apps and browser tabs running in the background on your device can drain resources and slow your VPN. Close any apps you’re not using, especially streaming media, file sharing, and torrenting apps. The fewer things running, the faster your VPN can perform.
9. Restart Your Router
Restarting your router can refresh your net connection and reset any community troubles. Unplug your router for a few minutes, then plug it again in. This simple trick can often give your VPN a quick speed boost.
10. Update Your Hardware
If your device is older, it may struggle with the additional load of running a VPN. Upgrading to a newer, more powerful router and computer or laptop could significantly boost your VPN speeds. Newer models have better processors and more memory to handle the encryption required for VPN connections.
Conclusion
So there you have it – a few ways to stop that slow VPN from ruining your internet. Switching protocols might do the trick. Or try connecting to a different server location that’s less congested. Worst case, you may need to upgrade to a paid VPN with faster speeds. But don’t ditch your VPN just yet – a secure connection is worth an extra few seconds of buffering. Stay safe out there, and happy browsing!
Frequently Asked Questions:
A lot of people wonder if using a VPN slows down their internet connection. The short answer is: that it can. Here are some common questions and answers about VPNs and internet speed:
