Technology can be quirky, so it’s not uncommon to encounter problems with your VPN from time to time. But you don’t have to run to support every time something isn’t working right. And you should not give up on using a VPN because it seems like a hassle to keep them running smoothly. We would like to share a few simple fixes with you today that can help improve your VPN speed and performance. If your VPN is experiencing connectivity issues, there are also a few tips below on restoring your connection. Having a VPN to protect your online presence from spies, hackers, cybercriminals and data miners is too important, so don’t toss it aside just yet.
Speed
VPN connections naturally cause speed loss on your Internet connection because there is rerouting going on between the server that your ISP connects you to and the VPN server you are connecting through. This speed loss can be minimized if you choose a VPN server that is closer to that original server. Some countries have a lot of servers to choose from while others don’t allow any at all because of government censorship. Therefore, when you select your VPN provider, nearby server options should be on your priority list after determining who gives you the best levels of VPN privacy and security.
If you are unable to connect to a server that is close to you, consider upgrading your Internet plan. If your original connection speed without the VPN is already slow, you will not be able to get reasonable speeds once you connect to a VPN server. Using a VPN that can give you a foreign IP address is useful and sometimes necessary to get to content that you would otherwise be blocked from accessing. But if your Internet connection can’t handle even slight speed loss, then you will still not be able to load the sites and services that you want to access.
Where more than one nearby server is available to you, check the speed and connection stats for these servers. Your VPN service should be able to provide these for you on their website, or on the VPN app itself, sometimes along with a speed checker. When a certain server is being used by a large number of people at once, speed can also be affected. Testing server speeds at different times of the day can help you find the best connections for top speeds during the times that you need it.
Performance
If you have a reasonably good Internet connection and you are connected to a nearby server and yet you see that your connection is lagging, your settings may need some tweaking. Proper VPN configuration is necessary to ensure that your VPN is performing well. Take a look at the protocol that you are set to, and test your speed. Then change that protocol and test your speed again. Do this for each protocol that your VPN service offers until you get the best speed.
Sometimes the protocol that you are using is determined by the server that you are connected to. You can usually see this – for instance, OpenVPN or PPTP/L2TP/IPSec – on your provider’s server list. If not, you can contact your provider to see what protocols are allowed on their different servers. Try using a nearby server that matches the protocol that you want to test for speed and then complete your speed comparison.
Be sure to note, however, that some protocols will not give you the best level of security for your connection. Keep in mind the level of protection you need for your session, whether browsing, gaming, searching or downloading, and balance this with the speed that you need. Some VPNs will allow you to configure your setting to use a different protocol with different types of traffic, like VoIP, file sharing, email, video streaming and SSL. This will give you better options for balancing speed and security depending on where you are going online. For instance, you can use the most secure protocol, OpenVPN, when you visit sites that do not provide good security and use the fastest but least secure protocol PPTP – which is not encrypted – when you know that the site or service you are going to use is secured and you are not sharing sensitive information.
Other Issues
Sometimes, your installed security applications can cause conflicts with your VPN. This is a common issue with all kinds of software, but it doesn’t mean that you have to give up one or another of your apps. To see where the problem might be, check each app – antivirus, firewall, or other security feature – by temporarily deactivating it and then running your VPN and speed test. When you locate it, see if you can tweak its settings to allow the VPN, or tweak the VPN protocol assigned to that app.
If you still have problems, check to see if your VPN, your operating system or your hardware drivers need upgrading. Many times, a new version is released to fix known performance issues. Also check your router’s firmware to make sure that it is up to date since this might be causing your speed issues. DNS settings can also affect VPN performance, so you can try manually setting them to OpenDNS and test again. You can also try GoogleDNS and see if this works better for you.
If the problem persists, try reinstalling the VPN app. On systems that have not been cleaned out for some time, bugs develop that can interfere with your software. You might also want to check your system status and give it a good cleaning out, and possibly defragment your memory before reinstalling your software. Finally, if you still can’t get your VPN to work right, contact your provider.